Life After Rehab: Aftercare at Cliffside Malibu
Long Term Recovery
Preparing to Return Home
The goal of treatment is to create within you the skills and ability to stay in recovery – in your life with the people you love and who love you. Our sincerest commitment is to help you maintain your recovery at home. We will go to any length to assist you. As committed as you are to your recovery, so are we.
Before you return home, you will work with your personal therapist to uncover the triggers and difficult situations or people that are most likely to cause you to want to return to use. You will also create contingency plans for unexpected situations. You will have a list of people to call and actions you can take when you become uncomfortable. We use your time in treatment to create within you the ability to face life sober and to work through difficult situations or interactions with troublesome people. If you stay in treatment until you are discharged, you will find upon returning home that the work you have done with your personal psychotherapist will enable you face and overcome problems that previously would have triggered addictive behavior.
What We Help With
Your Aftercare Plan
Your aftercare plan is something your therapist builds with you to set you up for success after treatment. Planning starts in your first days at Cliffside, not at the end of your stay. Your therapist, case manager and medical team work together on it, and with your permission, they involve your family and any outside providers who will support you at home.
Every plan is individualized. Some people are ready to return home after treatment, while others do better with a step-down level of care such as sober living, extended residential treatment, a partial hospitalization program (PHP) or an intensive outpatient program (IOP). People with heavy work demands may benefit from a sober companion. Your plan may also include outpatient care, psychiatry, ongoing therapy, medical follow-up and recovery meetings.
Almost everyone needs a well-trained, caring psychotherapist to continue the work begun at Cliffside, and we’ll help you find one. If acupuncture, yoga or another therapy helped you here, we’ll help you find those resources in your hometown too.
Discharge is a coordinated handoff, not an abrupt end. Before you leave, your next providers know who you are and what you need, so your care continues without a gap.
Long Term Recovery
Staying Connected After You Go Home
Returning home can be an anxiety-filled experience. Even though you will be fully prepared to face life and remain sober if you stay through all three levels of care with us, life feels “different” after treatment. There are a lot of firsts. You will walk by a liquor store for the first time sober or have Thanksgiving dinner without getting high. You will deal with people in a different, more meaningful way, being fully present and engaged in relationships. This would make any addict apprehensive. The longer you’ve been using, the more nervous you may be.
But we are here for you! In addition to the support you will receive from those professionals overseeing your aftercare plan, we have an entire department for alumni relations – to help you overcome unforeseen obstacles that come up in your path. Some of our local clients will return to meet with Cliffside Malibu staff on a private basis. Others have used Skype or other technologies to “check-in” when needed. There is a weekly therapeutic gathering open to alumni, where you can speak to others who have had and worked through similar experiences to yours. The point is – you are not alone. Cliffside Malibu’s staff will do whatever we can to help you create the life you want for yourself upon your return home.
We are Here for You
Alumni Community and Discovery365
Your relationship with Cliffside doesn’t end when you walk out our doors. An Alumni Coordinator reaches out 48 hours after you leave, then checks in weekly and monthly. You can join about 10 alumni events and meetings each month, plus our annual alumni reunion every July, and your family can continue with education and support.
Every patient also receives Discovery365 at no additional cost: a full year of post-treatment engagement and outcomes check-ins that help our team step in when you need more support. Beyond that, we’re only a phone call or email away, ready to help until your recovery is so firmly part of your life that you can’t imagine losing it, no matter what life throws your way.
Recovery doesn’t always follow a straight line. If you return to substance use after leaving Cliffside, reach out. Your Alumni Coordinator will work with our admissions and clinical teams to help you find the right level of care, whether that’s added support at home or a return to treatment. Re-engaging is part of care, not a failure of treatment, and there’s no judgment when you call.
Stories of Success
What Our Patients Are Saying About Cliffside Malibu
Confidential Insurance Verification
Accepting Most Major Insurance Plans
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
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Your Recovery Starts Here
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