One of the most important goals that anyone can make in their entire life is the goal to break free from dependency or addiction to drugs or alcohol. Anyone who has struggled with addiction knows that breaking free from dependency on substances is not only crucial to improve one’s life, but that it may actually save one’s life as well. However, as with any important goal, to ensure success, one must make a plan. Following a plan can make reaching goals far easier, and when the goal is as important as recovery from addiction, a solid plan is necessary to come out on top.
Making a plan can be easy with an outline and direction. Here, we offer steps that anyone can follow to make a substance abuse treatment plan to help them take the first steps toward recovery and to stay on track during the difficult but extremely rewarding path to a life free from drug or alcohol use.
What is a Substance Abuse Treatment Plan?
What is a substance abuse treatment plan? A substance abuse treatment plan is a written document that will help an individual who is struggling with addiction to meet his or her goals. Creating a treatment plan for substance abuse treatment and recovery will help that individual to determine personalized goals and objectives and will help them to clearly see the required steps to meet their goals over a specified timeline that will work for their individualized situation.
While someone can create a substance abuse treatment plan independently, it helps to create a plan with the assistance of a substance abuse counselor or clinician. These professionals have likely helped countless others create similar plans in the past, so they know what will work and what will not. When someone with no experience in this area tries to create a plan on their own, they may set lofty goals that will be difficult to achieve and they may become frustrated as a result – or may even give up – when they find that they can not even reach seemingly simple goals early on with success.
People wishing to break free from addiction to drugs or alcohol should work closely with an addiction recovery professional to create a plan that can work based on the individual’s wants, needs, desires, personality, substance abuse history, mental health issues, past trauma, and other factors.
Key Elements of an Effective Treatment Plan
Every effective treatment plan for substance abuse must include certain elements to ensure success. These elements are numerous, but an effective addiction treatment plan does not need to be complicated. In fact, the more simple and straightforward the plan, the easier it will be to follow.
Most substance abuse treatment plans begin with identifying problem statements. The individual who is struggling with addiction must recognize his or her problem and should state what the problem is or what the problems are at the beginning of the plan. This aligns with the structure of twelve-step programs and truly, any recovery-focused treatment. Admitting one has a problem with drugs or alcohol and admitting that problem is something that must happen first before any other work can be done.
Next, the individual should work with his or her addiction treatment professional to set goals for recovery and to define objectives for reaching those goals. Together, the two should develop attainable goals, put these goals in order, and then put these goals on a timeline.
Any time anyone wants to set goals in any realm, using the SMART goal system is helpful. SMART is an acronym that recommends that goals be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. These are excellent recommendations to follow, as goals that are not specific or measurable make it impossible to know when they have been achieved. Goals need to be achievable so the person who is trying to achieve the goals does not get frustrated because they are out of reach. They need to be relevant to the situation and to the individual so that one can stay focused on them, and they need to be time-bound as well, simply because open-ended goals with no deadline are generally too loose to create urgency and may make it difficult for someone to remain motivated and dedicated to them.
Finally, one final crucial element of a substance abuse treatment plan is plans for intervention if things go awry. Most people working on recovery from addiction to drugs or alcohol fail the first time they try to get clean and sober, but if plans are made to deal with slips and other issues as they arise, they will be able to get back on the right track much more quickly and easily if they have a plan to follow.
Each of these elements of a substance abuse treatment plan is crucial for setting oneself up for success. Again, a treatment plan should be written down so it can be consulted every step of the way for directives on each next step.
Steps to Create a Substance Abuse Treatment Plan
Substance abuse treatment planning doesn’t have to be difficult. Sitting down with an addiction recovery professional and working through each element can take time, but with proper motivation, guidance, and attitude, creating the plan will surely flow and develop quickly.
The first step in treatment planning for substance use disorders is to find an addiction professional to help create the plan. He or she will likely show the individual a treatment plan example so that person can get an idea of what an effective treatment plan will look like. From there, the professional and the client can work together to identify the problem, set goals, create a timeline, and create plans for interventions for situations in which the plan doesn’t go as planned.
Role of Therapy and Counseling in a Treatment Plan
Therapy and counseling should be a part of all treatment planning for substance abuse. Without these types of support systems on an ongoing basis, success may be difficult or impossible. Therapy or counseling with the addiction professional who helped the individual create the substance abuse treatment plan will be most useful, as both parties will already be on the same page about the individual’s goals, steps to reach them, and timeline. Therapy and counseling will provide support as the client moves through each step of the plan to reach his or her goals.
Even when the goal of recovery is achieved, ongoing therapy and counseling will be immensely helpful for long term success.
Alternative Treatments to Include in a Plan
Substance use disorder is complicated. The causes of addiction and the types of addiction can vary drastically from individual to individual. That’s why every treatment plan must be individualized for each person. Some people benefit from inpatient treatment to start out, while others may be able to participate in outpatient treatment to reach their goals. There are a lot of alternative treatments that can be considered as well, such as a visit to an ibogaine treatment center outside of the country or participation in therapies like art therapy, equine-assisted therapy, EDMR therapy, and others. It all depends on the needs of the individual. Since every person is different, every substance abuse treatment plan will be different too. When someone works with an addiction recovery professional to create their plan, that professional will ask many questions to determine what paths to recovery are right for the client.
Common Challenges in Implementing a Treatment Plan
Everyone who wishes to break free from addiction to drugs or alcohol will encounter challenges along the way. Limited access to treatment in certain areas can be a huge challenge and so can things like lack of access to transportation to get to therapy and counseling. Personal problems such as loss of a job, relationship issues, a death in the family, and other stressful situations can also make it difficult for some people to reach their goals – even if the treatment plan is excellent. This is why it’s necessary to work with addiction professionals every step of the way when working on recovery. They will help the individual to find solutions to these problems instead of just giving up when faced with challenges.
A substance abuse treatment plan can always be amended when challenges arise.
The Importance of Aftercare in a Treatment Plan
When someone struggles with substance use disorder, they will unfortunately always struggle with it. Sure, life gets much easier once the active addiction is halted, but recovery is something that people with substance use disorder will have to work on for the rest of their lives. Substance abuse treatment programs are only the beginning, which is why a long term substance use disorder treatment plan is so important. When a treatment plan is created, treatment and recovery can be supported long term, even after active use and addiction is long in the distance past.
Aftercare, or ongoing therapy and counseling, will help individuals remain on a healthy path for the rest of their lives, so they can avoid returning to active drug abuse ever again.
With a good plan in place, you can break free from addiction. People do it every day. It’s not easy, but it can be done – and have a good plan will help.
At Transcend Clinic, we want to help you break free from your addictions and we have the experience to give you the support you need. Our patient and friendly staff is standing by at our facility in Cancun, Mexico, to answer any questions you may have about ibogaine treatment for addiction. We are confident that we can help you and we can’t wait to welcome you here. Contact us today.