Alumni Programs

Treatment for drug and alcohol abuse does not end once a patient leaves our facility. Following recovery, patients are in a very vulnerable and fragile state as they try to reintegrate back into their everyday worlds. We are committed to preventing relapses and have set up several alumni programs to help our patients stay sober. We work to maintain an ongoing post-treatment relationship with our patients so they can learn relapse control and self-management to lead a life of sobriety.

Alumni Network

Your Addiction Recovery Safety Net

Our Alumni Program is just a stop in the early chapters of a person’s journey into recovery. We realize there’s a long road ahead, which will be filled with temptation, distractions, stressful situations and several other things which may knock a recovering addict off course. Our alumni network helps patients make the right decisions following rehab and helps keep them on the right path. The program is built on a foundation of constant contact. From the moment a patient leaves our facility and reenters their regular world, we maintain contact with them, making weekly calls for up to a full year. We call former patients to make sure they have not slipped into a relapse and to ascertain how they’re dealing with the transition from rehab to home. We also establish regular communications with two other points of contact for our patients, to ensure the patient is being forthright about their substance use.

We’re Here, Just in Case

While the ultimate goal of any drug or alcohol rehab program is for patient to enter treatment only once, there are many cases where patients suffer an unfortunate relapse. The alumni network will make immediate arrangements for patients to re-admit into treatment in the event of a relapse. The last thing a patient needs is for all of their hard work in treatment to be all for naught. A relapse doesn’t have to mean the end of sobriety; it can be just a bump in the road with the help of our alumni network.

Alumni Program

Stay On the Path of Recovery

Part of the reason we’ve experienced such a high rate of success is our continued commitment to our patients, even after completing residential treatment. Our facility is only the first step on the road to recovery, but the alumni program at Behavioral Health of the Palm Beaches stays with its patients long after that first step has been completed. We coordinate alumni events, send out newsletters and share inspirational stories in our alumni program to keep patients going strong. Patients are encouraged to check in from time-to-time following rehab and let us know how they’re doing. We also encourage our alumni to remain in contact with each other to provide a source of strength and help in relapse prevention. Remember that recovery is a lifetime journey – don’t forget where your journey began and be sure to be an active part of the Behavioral Health Alumni Community.

Relapse Prevention

Make the First Time Count

After a patient has spent weeks away from home, repairing the damage done by addiction and restarting their lives in sobriety, almost nothing can be more painful than a drug or alcohol relapse. It kills a recovering addict’s momentum, makes them feel like they have no hope and also discourages close friends and family members who had hoped they’d turned a corner. Yet relapse is a tragic, but very real part of the recovery process, with over 50 percent of rehab patients relapsing within 12 months of graduation. Most frequently, relapse is either the result of an incomplete rehabilitation, or of a patient failing to apply the things they learned in treatment. Many patients don’t divorce themselves of the negative catalysts in their lives, powered by a false sense of victory over addiction. While it takes just a short time to develop an addiction, it takes a lifetime to defeat one. Relapse prevention education is one of the hallmarks of the addiction care at Behavioral Health of the Palm Beaches, and can keep you or a loved one going strong in recovery. We Stop it before it Starts In nearly 20 years as leaders in the industry, we’ve found that it’s much better to be proactive in relapse prevention, as opposed to reactive. Our goal is to arm our patients with as much education and as many tools as possible in the fight against relapse. Education begins during the initial stages of rehab, where we use our evaluations to determine the severity of a patient’s addiction. The next phase of relapse prevention focuses on raising the self-awareness of our patients. We want them to understand what relapse is, what causes it, what behaviors, feelings or activities are associated with their substance abuse and how to avoid situations in which they will be vulnerable. We also focus on behavior awareness and modification and coping strategies. Develop a Plan for Sobriety Remaining sober following recovery takes more than good intentions and strong willpower. For most addicts, substance abuse was a dominating force in their lives before rehab; they will need to come up with a plan to fill that newly found free time and to avoid high-risk situations. In some cases, this may mean a patient will have to plan on making new friends, finding new hangouts and discovering new hobbies to keep them occupied. Our addiction care specialists work with patients in developing a sound and realistic plan for sobriety, giving patients even more ammunition in their fight against addiction. Relapse prevention services are available to individuals in residential and intensive outpatient treatment.