Support Groups

Addiction and recovery from it can lead to a lonely lifestyle. Substance use can lead to isolation, and mood and health changes during detox and recovery can stretch the coping skills of people in recovery. Many addiction treatment programs consider this and provide counseling and therapy to their guests. But happens when guests return to normal life?

If you’re in recovery and feeling like you need support from a social network, you can look for support groups to join – if your treatment provider hasn’t recommended a few to you already. Some addiction treatment programs can transition you to rehab aftercare programs that place you into support groups in your area.

If you’re looking for a drug rehab center with addiction treatment and rehab aftercare programs, contact Ashwood Recovery online or call 888.341.3607 to find out more about our services.

What Are Rehab Support Groups?

Support groups are essential to recovery because they let participants know that they don’t have to be isolated or disconnected from others. These social networks provide a community that offers assistance, advice, and others to explore skill-building activities.

Participants in support groups won’t be judged by their actions and choices. Instead, they may find that others in the group have had similar life experiences and can understand exactly what they’ve been going through. Exchanging information in support groups can also provide people in recovery with access to new coping strategies that may work better than what they’ve been doing so far.

Support groups can also hold participants accountable for their actions, though. Having a social network with members that keep each other on the path to sobriety can be vital to someone’s recovery plan. Groups can offer the type of encouragement that can motivate participants to do better and to stay healthy – whether or not they’ve gone through a setback.

Benefits of Rehab Support Groups 

How do support groups work? To understand why they’re so important to people in recovery, from any addiction and with any co-occurring disorders, you need to be aware of the benefits they offer to participants:

• Meeting new people who understand the difficulty of leading a sober life
• Learning new coping skills to conquer cravings
• Getting non-judgmental support during difficult emotional times
• Knowing you’re not alone in your road to recovery

Rehab support groups are only one part of a drug addiction treatment. While you can count on support groups to hold you accountable and give you social support, it cannot replace individual therapy or other professional means of support. Rehab support groups are often designed to work with a personalized rehab aftercare plan.

Differences in Rehab Support Groups

Support groups can be guided by campuses, churches, clinics, community organizations, hospitals, mental health service providers, treatment providers, or support agencies. Most support groups are voluntary and peer-led or group therapy sessions put together by psychotherapists. 

 

Peer-led support groups typically hold meetings in a more informal and casual setting. Members are on varying places in the path to recovery, and there’s a huge emphasis on sharing individual stories. Attendance can be voluntary, and there may not be a leader with medical training. Self-help groups that are often peer-led include prominent programs like SMART Recovery and Alcoholics Anonymous. 

When a psychotherapist leads a rehab support group, meetings tend to be conducted with a treatment plan in mind. All participants are at similar points in their recovery plans. Groups put together by a therapist may go through group counseling or group psychotherapy.

Support groups can also be created for the friends and family members of people in recovery. In general, support groups offer a ready system of accountability, help, encouragement. While someone in recovery can depend on these groups, their friend and family members can also heal along with them in their particular support groups.

Find Support Groups With the Help of Ashwood Recovery

Finding the way back from addiction can seem intimidating, but it doesn’t need to be. Other people have firsthand knowledge of what going through recovery feels like. Join a rehab support group today. At Ashwood Recovery, we offer drug addiction treatment programs and a drug rehab center, and options for aftercare. Contact us online or call 888.341.3607 to learn more about our rehab support groups.