Categories
Sober living

What Did We Learn from Our Study on Sober Living Houses and Where Do We Go from Here? PMC

Sober living houses are alcohol and drug-free environments where residents can establish or maintain their sobriety. Through peer support, proven recovery principles, peer empowerment, and individual responsibility, residents can solidify their sobriety and prepare to return home or live independently. Something important to note is that sober living houses are not the same as halfway houses. While they are both residences designed to support folks in maintaining sobriety and transitioning back into society, there are some key differences.

sober living program

While completing a substance abuse rehab program before moving in may not be required, it can help individuals to stay sober. However, if residents are willing to remain sober, follow all house rules, and guarantee medical stability, they should feel free to apply. Recovery and sober living homes can empower individuals to get the help they need, and the aftercare required to complete rehabilitation.

So, how do sober living homes work, anyway? What even are they?

There’s camaraderie with other recovering people who are also rebuilding their lives. Creating healthier friendships and being part of a family of people committed to a new way of life is a HUGE aid to recovery. We can also help you decide if you or your loved one would benefit from a sober living program. If you’re seeking substance abuse treatment, consider us here at Harris House.

However, many residents enroll in sober living homes without going to rehab. You don’t need any special qualifications to enter a sober living home aside from a commitment to recovery and a desire to work on oneself. Participants were interviewed within their first week of entering a sober living house and again at 6-, 12-, and 18-month follow up. To maximize generalization of findings, very few exclusion criteria were used and very few residents declined to participate. Primary outcomes consisted or self report measures of alcohol and drug use.

Sober Living Ohio

If you are interested in researching sober living homes near you, you can consult their directory via their free search tool. Although it may seem unlikely, asking for a loan or gift from family and friends can be an effective way to raise money for a sober living home. When people come together and contribute their resources, it is often possible to accumulate large amounts of money. Additionally, your loved ones are likely supportive of your desire to achieve sobriety and will likely view this as a worthwhile investment in your future. When people feel like they are “cured,” they usually abandon these tools and inevitably return to old habits of substance abuse. Attending treatment for a short period of time is also rarely sufficient to repair the damage wrought by addiction.

sober living program

Thus, they are optimal for residents who are capable of handling a fair amount of autonomy and who can take personal responsibility for their recovery. Expansion of freestanding SLHs in communities might therefore ease the burden on overwhelmed treatment systems. In communities that are unable to fund a sufficient number of treatment programs for individuals with substance use disorders, freestanding SLHs might be a clinically and economically effective alternative. The availability of treatment slots for individuals released from jail or prison or particularly lacking. For some those offenders who are motivated for abstinence and capable of handling some degree of autonomy SLHs might be a viable and effective option for recovery that is currently underutilized.

Are You Looking at Sober-Living Houses? Here Are a Few Things You Should Know

The most important factor determining one’s length of stay should be the needs of the individual resident. A study on sober living in The Journal of Psychiatric Drugs showed that the benefits of these facilities are not limited to merely lowering rates of relapse. Residents measurably improve in terms of their employment outcomes, academic success, psychiatric symptoms, and even likelihood of getting arrested. Because sober living homes focus on providing holistic help to each resident, graduates emerge not just clean and sober but prepared to live successful sober lives. These homes, which often required or encouraged residents to attend 12-step programs, numbered in the dozens by the 1960s.

  • Residents must also work or attend school and participate in outpatient treatment programs.
  • While a sober living house doesn’t offer individual or group counseling, it offers structure and support to help you maintain your sobriety.
  • We therefore suggest that there is a need to pay attention to the community context where those interventions are delivered.

One individual could be prepared to rejoin society after three months, while another would profit from a lengthier stay. In fact, according to research published in the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, the average stay in sober living facilities ranged from 166 to 254 days. Residents develop nourishing connections with their peers, 5 Tips to Consider When Choosing a Sober Living House enhance life skills, discover ways to make a living, and feel a sense of belonging and community. Sober living environments call for letting go of old beliefs, discovering new ideas, and using coping strategies in real-world situations. Residents get strength and drive from their peers and the staff’s continued support.

Recovery Philosophy in Sober Living Houses

However, some houses will allow other types of activities that can substitute for 12 step groups, provided they constitute a strategy for maintaining ongoing abstinence. Our goal is to help you overcome your addiction and develop the tools you need for a sustainable recovery. Give us a call to learn more about our addiction treatment programs for men. Sober Living Homes, or SLH, provide continuing care after addiction rehabilitation treatments. These homes are also known as transitional living or recovery residence programs.

This program is designed to provide assistance as you develop a firm foundation in your newfound sobriety and learn to live a sober life independently after rehab. Maintaining sobriety can be a difficult process, however, a sober living house may provide you with the kind of structure and support you’ll need to maintain your sobriety. If you’re having a hard time adjusting to a sober life, reach out to a mental health professional who specializes in addiction and substance use. While some may be hungry to integrate back into society after a stint in a treatment program, there is an expectation that you will remain an active participant in the home and follow its rules. Some sober living houses may be placed in neighborhoods with high crime rates. While staying in a sober living house, individuals have independence and flexibility with their schedule and time.