Advantages of Residential Treatment Programs for Recovery Success

Advantages of Residential Treatment Programs for Recovery Success
Featuring Fellowship Hall Clinical Director, Kelly Scaggs

A residential treatment program is defined as a live-in health care facility that provides therapy and aid for substance use disorder. Residential treatment programs also address and manage some of the health, mental illness, and behavioral issues that are caused by the disease. 

Outpatient treatment and counseling programs are also utilized as a measure of substance use disorder treatment. This includes intensive day programs, individualized drug counseling, and group counseling. While all forms of treatment are beneficial to those suffering with substance use disorder, residential treatment has significant advantages. 

It is a well-known adage in the recovery community that you cannot get well in the same place that you got sick. This is more pertinent now than perhaps ever before. Many impacted by substance use disorder are bound to their home due to the COVID19 shelter in place ordinance. While being home and having downtime is a haven for some, it can provoke challenges for those struggling with alcoholism and/or addiction. 

Triggering home environments, idle time, isolation, financial strain, stressors, and anxiety about the rapid changes in the world, feed and drive the disease. Fellowship Hall Clinical Director  Kelly Scaggs says that residential treatment programs can help combat some of these factors: “Anytime someone can come to residential treatment, it is advantageous because they are able to step out of their own environment into a new place that is completely recovery focused. Right now, you also have the advantages of personal interaction to combat isolation. 

Fears associated with stepping away from a career, friends, and family members often serve as obstacles between the individual and residential treatment. Kelly believes that “now is the perfect time to seek help as everyone has been asked to step away from their life because of the virus. This is the perfect time to seek treatment, get help, and come out of this current situation better than before.” 

Residential treatment provides individuals with an opportunity to focus exclusively on self-improvement and building their support network for life after treatment.  “This is one of the only times where folks can focus solely on what they need to do to heal themselves while also stepping into a huge support network,” Kelly says.

According to Kelly, the ideal way to establish long-term success in recovery is to build a solid foundation during residential treatment, progress to an intensive outpatient program, then move to outpatient treatment.

At Fellowship Hall, we have nearly 50 years of experience in helping individuals discover the path to recovery and build lasting support networks to help them maintain their recovery for the long-term. For more information about our programs and services, check our Treatment section on our website.