Why You Should Attend a Sober Living Facility or Halfway House After Primary Treatment

Finding Support Groups

In a sober living house, all of the positive influences around you combine to form a single message: stay clean. It is a real challenge for people to change their personal habits even under normal conditions, especially if those habits have been reinforced through months or years of compulsive behaviour. A structured, sober environment makes adjustment to ordinary life a much easier prospect, particularly for long-time users.

Residents learn to take care of themselves in their new lifestyle, one step at a time. They also receive support and advice from others who are going through the same challenges – as well as therapists and addiction experts who can teach additional skills for staying healthy and operating independently out in the world. Like a set of training wheels on a bicycle, a sober living house represents an excellent safety feature for those who have taken a bad fall.

Addiction recovery requires putting into practice the teachings and methods introduced in treatment centres. It is an excellent opportunity for residents to test out their newly acquired skills whilst under supervision. This process, in turn, allows residents to develop a healthy amount of self-confidence in preparation for their eventual return to modern society.

Moreover, formal support groups are commonly found nearby, such as Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous meetings. Attendees can build real connections that further reinforce a commitment to healthy living through refined and effective 12-step programmes for recovery.

Through each of these support mechanisms, recovering addicts – particularly those who have struggled with addiction for a long time – will receive the support they need to make their recovery a successful one.

How to Choose the Right Sober Living Facility or Halfway House

When trying to choose the right halfway house, there are many things to consider. But what should you look for when trying to decide which halfway house to attend? Here are some of the things you should look for.

Research the Available Halfway Houses and Sober Living Facilities

The first step to finding the right sober living facility is to research the available options. There are two things you should look into:

• Accreditation and Licensing – Consider the different legal requirements that halfway houses and sober living facilities need to follow. At the very least, a good halfway house or sober living facility should have the appropriate national certifications and licenses.
• Reviews and Testimonials – The best halfway houses and sober living facilities will have a range of positive reviews and testimonials left behind by satisfied clients. When looking for a good facility, it’s always worth looking into the reviews left by past clients.

When it comes to the selection of the correct facility, you also need to consider your personal requirements. When looking for an appropriate facility, it should be tailored to your personal needs, so consider the following:

• Does the halfway house offer any specialised programs dealing with your particular addiction? If so, that could make that halfway house a better choice for you. Generalised halfway houses often offer only generalised programs, so they might not be the best choice for you.
• Does the halfway house offer any dual diagnosis programs? If you have a dual addiction, like alcohol and meth, then you may require a unique program that can deal with such a situation. In these cases, you should look for a halfway house that offers these kinds of programs. 

Benefits of Sober Living Facilities

So, what are the benefits of attending a halfway house? Let’s take a closer look at the different advantages offered by attending this kind of facility.

• It offers an organized environment to those needing a structured reintroduction to society. Strict structures and rules can make it easier for people to adapt in the initial stages of recovery.
• It offers a sense of accountability. In a halfway house, residents are held accountable for their actions. These facilities institute regular drug testing, curfews, and other house rules to ensure that individuals take responsibility for their own sobriety.
• Sober living facilities ensure that recovering addicts have the support of other people who are facing the same challenges and have similar goals.
• A halfway house or sober living house offers individuals transitioning from rehab, in-patient treatments, or other intensive programs a crucial intermediate step. It helps them get the transitional support they need to reestablish themselves in society.
• Relapse prevention – Halfway houses help prevent relapses by creating a controlled and drug-free environment where patients are held accountable for their own actions.
• Another great advantage of halfway houses is that they offer excellent skill development programs. These include life skills training, as well as employment and educational support networks to help patients get the education and jobs that they need.
• Building a sober social network – The final advantage of a halfway house is that it offers positive peer influence and shared social experiences with people who understand what you’re going through.

Common Concerns about Halfway Houses and Sober Living Facilities

When you mention the word halfway house, many people have an immediate list of concerns and misconceptions. The reality of the matter is that these facilities have a lot to offer. Let’s address some of the most common concerns and misconceptions around this type of facility.

• Stigmatisation – One of the most common concerns people have had about attending halfway houses is that there is such a stigma surrounding them. Of course, in modern times, the stigma about getting treated for addiction is considerably less. The important thing is to ensure that people understand what a halfway house is and how it helps.
• Cost and Accessibility – Another common concern about halfway houses is that they may be quite expensive, especially if you wish to attend a private facility. However, many sober living facilities receive subsidisation. In some cases, there are also other payment options you can make use of.
• Accessibility and Location – The final of the three major concerns about halfway houses is that they may be inaccessible to the general public. 
  • One of the reasons it may be so is that there may not be a halfway house in the immediate vicinity (that said, international treatment centres have their advantages)
  • The other reason is that some facilities may have too little space for the people requiring help. Overcrowding is a serious problem with many sober living facilities.

What are the Requirements for Getting Into a Halfway House?

Most halfway houses and sober living facilities have a list of requirements that potential patients need to meet before they can get in. Some of the most common requirements include the following:

• Completion of a primary care program – To get into a halfway house, you need to have completed a primary care program at an in-patient facility or another type of intensive program.
• Being Committed to Sobriety – Before you get accepted into a halfway house, you typically need to prove that you’re genuinely committed to your sobriety. This may involve a period of abstinence from substance use and/or a willingness to engage in the recovery process.
• Agreement to Random Drug/Alcohol Testing – Most halfway houses require that patients submit themselves to regular drug or alcohol testing. 
• References – When you’re applying to enter a halfway house or sober living facility, they will generally require references or recommendations from those who know you and can vouch for your willingness to become sober.
• Interviews or Assessments – Most halfway houses have an interview process that you need to go through before you can get into the facility. If you fail the assessment or the interview process, you can’t get into the facility.
• Ability to Pay – While some halfway houses or sober living facilities are subsidised, most will require some sort of payment. An inability to pay the requisite fees may also keep you from entering the facility.

How Long Do Residents Stay at Sober Living Facilities?

The average length of stay in a halfway house or sober living home typically ranges from 3 to 12 months. Furthermore, as covered, halfway houses have a 12-month residential limit, meaning that it’s impossible to stay in such a facility for longer. Private facilities usually don’t impose such limits. 

As for answering the question of how long you should stay in a sober living facility, this depends on your individual circumstances and the severity of your addiction. Think about the pros and cons of staying in such facilities and whether or not you’re ready to come home. 

How Does a Day in a Sober Living Home Look Like?

How your day in a sober living facility looks will mostly depend on the sober home you choose to live in. When undergoing The Dawn’s step-down program, for example, your daily routine will most likely involve:

• Daily meals onsite;
• Daily morning process and support groups;
• Weekly individual counselling sessions;
• Access to on-site facilities, such as a gym, swimming pool, or yoga studio;
• Access to on-site medical care;
• Daily shuttle service for excursions to the nearest town (which is something heavily encouraged).

Better Care for Better Outcomes

All of these carefully planned features would suggest that addicts who join a sober living house are more likely to avoid relapses – and studies show that this is indeed the case. One such study looked in detail at residents who stayed at sober living facilities, comparing their data to those who did not. Reviewing their medium-term outcomes (18 months after first entering a sober living facility), the study found significant improvements among those who stayed in a sober house.

For those residents, psychiatric evaluations showed much more positive results, while drug and alcohol addiction declined. Residents from a sober house were also less likely to be arrested in subsequent months and more likely to be employed. Overall, the 12-step addiction recovery method, as well as effective social support systems, were shown to have a highly positive effect. 

The study also stressed the importance of being surrounded by peers who are not using drugs or alcohol. Maintaining sobriety is far more manageable in an atmosphere where others also abstain from the consumption of addictive substances. Most sober houses create an effective environment for recovery by actively monitoring their residents to ensure that they remain on the path to wellness and sobriety.

Conclusion

Now that you understand the basics about halfway houses and sober living facilities, you can see how essential these facilities are for helping rehabilitated addicts reintroduce themselves to society.

From helping people establish a stable life with good routines to providing the support they need to help them establish a life, halfway houses provide essential services. To find out more about our in-patient treatment programme, contact us. 

As the leading rehabilitation facility in Thailand, The Dawn Rehab has become the #1 choice for those seeking effective and quality care. Discover our unique treatment programme and start your road to recovery today!