Mini Series 1 - What are the odds of long-term success?

Busting Addiction and Its Myths

In this podcast, we answer the question... What are the odds of achieving long-term sobriety?

We are often asked what the odds are of long-term sobriety after a period of treatment.

That question of "odds" is second only to the question “can you help Johnny get clean and sober?" that we get asked over and over.

We don't ever want to look like we are evading the issue by saying simply "it depends". But the fact is that "it" - the odds of long-term success - does indeed depend on several factors which families need to pay close attention to.

1. The length of time invested in primary intensive treatment and in a secondary (sober living) setting. The odds go up the longer someone stays in a healthy, healing environment.

2. The willingness of the individual to surrender old ways of thinking and the eagerness to fully participate in all the therapies and activities made available. These are critical in the early stages of recovery.

3. The understanding that the client must absolutely own his own recovery after treatment, for treatment is but a U-turn to get back to the right direction in life. This understanding then means following through on the "aftercare" part of his program: connecting to a 12-step recovery group, attending meetings, using his sponsor, reading the literature, developing a daily ritual, and so on.

At SafeHouse, we believe that traditional rehabs do not pay enough attention to the support clients need after treatment. Our We Care aftercare program is designed to close that gap.

Bottom line, the "odds" of long-term sobriety hinge almost completely on the strength of the personal commitment the recovering person makes to work hard to recover one day at a time.