“Our goal is to cultivate a lifestyle and skill set so that life is worth living and addiction is not such a daily challenge,” says John Guldner, LPC, Senior Primary Therapist at Hamilton. “While vigilance is always necessary, those struggling to overcome addiction can get to the point where their efforts are not exhausting.”
The evidence-based curriculum is a carefully structured set of psychoeducation groups providing knowledge and tools that patients can apply specifically to recovery efforts. It also focuses on stressors related to the pandemic, such as isolation, and how these challenges impact recovery. Themes include:
LIVING SOBER: Addressing day-to-day ways to cope, the curriculum focuses on areas like recognizing growth, gratitude, mindfulness, opposite-to-emotion skills, and post-acute withdrawal symptoms to watch for.
RELATIONSHIPS: In addition to communication, rebuilding trust, and setting healthy boundaries, letting go of guilt is an important focus when working to create value in relationships. Patients learn to separate past actions and behaviors from their present identity.
STAGES OF CHANGE: While change takes time, therapists help patients understand that it won’t be hard forever. Other topics include realistic goal setting and recapturing values that may have become obscured during substance use.
RELAPSE PREVENTION: The curriculum provides specific tools to address urges and recognize triggers or warning signs of relapse—especially those that may be unexpected, like hearing a song that can put someone in the mindset of a past time when they used substances. When triggers are recognized early, they can be addressed more easily.
SOCIAL SUPPORT: A focus on building networks of support can help sustain recovery after discharge. The curriculum also helps patients prepare for the transition to a more fully functioning world as pandemic restrictions ease.
“We’re seeing patients at a very vulnerable time in their lives and at a unique point in our history,” says Guldner. “We work to provide them with as many opportunities and as much information as they can absorb while helping them navigate the challenges of our current times.”
