Even when someone has reached maintenance, it doesn’t mean they’re cured of addiction. Like diabetes or heart disease, it’s a chronic condition that requires major lifestyle changes to keep under control. As such, it’s crucial that people in addiction recovery make continuous active efforts to maintain sobriety. Complacency or a sense that the work is done once you reach maintenance is often a one-way ticket to recovery relapse.
Aftercare helps you stay on track and keep practicing what you learned while in rehab. Whether it’s individual therapy, support groups, 12-step meetings or an outpatient treatment program, we recommend staying in some form of aftercare for at least one or two years after you complete a course of rehab program.