For many individuals with substance use disorder, the prospect of beginning treatment is overwhelming. Going to rehab can certainly seem like an intimidating collection of unknown spaces and places. Just the thought of what rehab might look like can cause someone to run back and escape to the familiar: drugs or alcohol.
Fortunately, a day at treatment can be exciting and rewarding, and a day at Illuminate Recovery can be even more so than other outpatient treatment participant recovery facilities. We take a comprehensive approach to enhancing our clients’ recovery, and every member of our staff is part of client care. We want our clients to heal spiritually, physically, and emotionally, and we strive to meet that goal every day.
To discover exactly how we do this and take the mystery away from your impending recovery process, follow along for an overview of a typical day in rehab at Illuminate Recovery. Keep in mind that our two primary programs differ a bit in length, as our partial hospitalization program (PHP) begins at 10 AM and ends at 4 PM. Our intensive outpatient program (IOP) also begins at 10 AM but ends at 1 PM.
Individual Therapy
Individual therapy, or one-on-one therapy, is an essential part of recovery. These sessions take place in an intimate office space that is welcoming, comfortable, and private. Many people worry about these sessions, but there’s nothing to be worried about or afraid of. At Illuminate Recovery, therapy is a tool for building the essential skills you’ll need to remain in recovery. In individual therapy sessions, we use methods like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to retrain the brain to react differently to negative emotions, uncomfortable events, and situational stressors.
In one-on-one therapy, clients meet with a therapist, and this will typically be the same therapist every time so that the therapist can get to know the clients personally and tailor a more individualized and ongoing treatment plan for them. This also establishes trust and a safe relationship.
Therapy sessions may involve exploring a client’s personality through psychoanalysis. In this type of therapy, the inner conflicts, phobias, personal defenses, and feelings are addressed and explored to better understand these parts of ourselves and find their positive counterparts. As mentioned above, CBT therapy assists clients in recognizing the thoughts and situations that result in drug or alcohol use and teaches them how to change these negative thought patterns to lead to positive and healthy behaviors rather than destructive ones.
For our clients who have experienced a traumatic experience, it is important to address these experiences in therapy so that they can start healing without the assistance of substances. This can sometimes be a difficult part of the process, but at Illuminate Recovery, participants are never left alone to deal with their emotions. We are with them every step of the way to help them process their memories and emotions and learn ways to deal with negative feelings in a healthy way.
One-on-one therapy is not always easy because getting to the root of the problem is a difficult task for most people, but it is essential in healing the whole self.
Clients may attend individual therapy sessions before or after the scheduled group activities.
Group Therapy Session
No matter which program fits your needs, your official group participation in IOP or PHP will begin at 10 AM. When participants arrive, they check in and move toward group therapy. Clients love starting the day with group therapy because it is social time, but it is also a daily reminder that we are not alone. Group therapy serves an important role in recovery, and our clients get to experience this firsthand at Illuminate Recovery.
We provide a safe place for our clients to share their experiences with one another and forge a support system and relationships based on trust and hope. Clients learn new communication skills, healthy ways to interact, and how to give and receive love and support. They also enjoy being a part of a sober peer group that gives them something to look forward to every morning.
Because we only accept 20 clients at a time, these group therapy sessions are relatively small compared to the size of groups at other facilities. Participants are more comfortable in these close, intimate groups. They get to know each other and become familiar with therapy since they see familiar faces every day and share personal stories and experiences and genuinely begin to care for each other. These types of relationships are imperative to learning the keys to successful long-term recovery.
Break and Reflection Time
After group therapy, we take a break to allow clients time to reflect. After being together, we practice being alone with our thoughts and learn to center ourselves in the moment. While some clients choose to socialize during this time, it is essential to build in time to become comfortable with the emotions individual and group therapy have brought forth.
Lunch and Social Interaction
Whether clients have participated in both individual therapy and group therapy or just group therapy to this point, it is essential to take time for a nutritious break to refuel the mind and body. We enjoy lunch together and often explore the nutritional elements of recovery. We may take a trip to the store for healthy ingredients, learn to make a healthy recipe, or just enjoy our own lunches together and refuel for afternoon activities. Our clients enjoy the social aspect of this time when they can reap the benefits of their hard work in morning therapy sessions.
Afternoon Therapeutic Activities
During this time, activities vary from day to day or week to week, but they’re always an enlightening experience that offers a physical or learning opportunity for therapy. In these sessions, we will gather together to learn about a technique such as stress management or mindfulness training and then break into smaller groups to put what we’ve learned into practice or further explore the concept. This may involve role-playing, discussions, or implementation of the therapeutic elements we are focusing on.
Clients truly enjoy this time because it’s a time of learning and exploring. They love seeing it all come together and their intentional effort pays off. Learning actual life skills that they can use in the outside world to cope and enjoy life without turning to drugs or alcohol is their hope for lifelong sober living.
Below is a sampling of some potential activities and therapy education sessions our clients often participate in during afternoon therapeutic activities.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
DBT uses a combination of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and mindfulness to help individuals deal with intense emotions. As a result, it can improve relationships and help regulate emotions, which improves a person’s overall quality of life, moving them further away from the negative reactions that led to their substance or alcohol use disorder. DBT teaches that there is a balance between opposing forces and perspectives, between acceptance and change, and validates both good and bad experiences DBT teaches clients to understand why it’s important to make positive changes in their behaviors, thought patterns, and emotions and how to make those changes.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness is about being aware of the present moment rather than dwelling on the past or worrying about the future. Illuminate Recovery teaches patience as well as how to be present in the moment and fully experience one’s own feelings, thoughts, sensations, and environment. In doing so, we learn to preempt when negative thoughts and feelings begin to arise so that we can catch them before they affect our behavior. We then react in a healthy way. This helps clients to gain a sense of self-awareness and emotional regulation. Mastering this skill is essential in learning to respond to situations with clarity and practicality.
Mindfulness involves various techniques that are often practiced in afternoon therapeutic sessions. We explore mindfulness through breathing awareness, meditation, informal mindfulness in daily activities, and other methods.
Nutritional Therapy
At Illuminate Recovery, we believe that diet has a lot to do with how we feel and how our body acts. Teaching clients what to eat and how to eat is an important component of our program. Clients enjoy exploring the use of food in nutritional ways, as well as learning how a healthy diet can help in the recovery process. Many times, the nutritional elements explored at lunchtime are extended in an afternoon educational session.
Stress Management
Stress management teaches clients how to break free from the hold that stress has on so many people. By learning what stress is, how it affects the mind and body, and understanding that it is part of life, participants can learn to manage their stress and avoid allowing it to consume their mind, body, and soul. By understanding stress management and implementing coping tactics to thwart it, clients learn how they can ultimately be happier, healthier, and more productive without the use of drugs or alcohol to manage stress.
Interpersonal Skills Workshops
Training our clients to improve communication skills is essential in learning to talk about their experiences, feelings, and behavior in both therapy and the outside world. Clients learn through team-building exercises, role-playing, and other interactive workshops in which they learn how to improve such skills as time management, conflict resolution, deliberate communication, relationship management, dealing with difficult people, and enhancing interpersonal relationships in general by using verbal and nonverbal communication. Additionally, clients learn how not to communicate.
End-of-Day Wrap-up and Preparation for the Next Day
After the afternoon activities come to a close, we join together for an end-of-the-day wrap-up, reflecting on what we learned and how we can implement what we have learned in everyday life. We also discuss what we were successful at and what we were not successful at in our therapy and training sessions. We also make goals for the following day, mindfully acknowledging what we hope to achieve and what our short-term and long-term goals are, as well as if they’ve changed at all.
After-Hours
When our scheduled daily activities are finished – either 1 PM or 4 PM, depending on the program – clients may either go home or go to their sober living accommodations. As mentioned, some clients may have an individual therapy session scheduled.
After-hours time may consist of the following activities:
- 12-Step Meetings – We require participants to go to three outside 12-step meetings each week if they are staying with us. For that reason, both sober housing residents and other outpatient clients may attend 12-step meetings together. Alternatively, sober housing residents may work the steps in-house with their sponsors. Sponsors are always encouraged and allowed to visit for step work.
- Work – Many of our clients work afternoons and evenings once group time is finished.
- Weekly House Meetings and Duties – In-house residents must attend weekly house meetings to ensure the house is operating efficiently and living conditions are pleasant for all involved. Residents must complete mandatory weekly house cleaning duties as decided during these meetings.
- Social and Family Time – At Illuminate Recovery, we believe that social time and family time are an important part of learning to live sober. Therefore, we encourage family visits in the common areas of our sober living housing, as well as our outdoor pool and grill areas. Thus, clients spend some afternoons and evenings enjoying family visits.
Why Our Program Is So Successfull
So many of our clients have said our program is different, and one reason for this is the flexibility our program offers to participants. When they are given the freedom to go to work, back home each night, or back to their sober living accommodations, it gives them an instant chance to practice what they learn each day. Being able to implement the skills that are so important to maintaining sobriety every day and witnessing the positive results they are achieving through their hard work in real-time is a unique element of the intimate, small rehab-style outpatient program we offer — and it does work.
Reach Out to Us
If you are seeking help for a substance use disorder, whether for yourself or someone you know, reach out to Illuminate Recovery. Our program can be beneficial to your recovery even if other programs have not been successful – clients respond well to our transparent and supportive outpatient programs, both because they are flexible and because they are so comprehensive. For more information about the programs we offer and what to expect from the various outpatient programs, visit our addiction treatment services overview here.
Contacting our support line will get you in touch with our professional addiction recovery staff, where we can answer any questions you may have regarding substance use disorder, our approach to treating this condition, our program selection, our facility, costs and payment, and our sober living houses. Treatment advisors are available to speak with you 24/7.
Having been on both sides of active addition, both the person using, and the person affected by a loved one using drugs and alcohol, Lucas has been involved in recovery since 2009. He has been working in the treatment industry since 2013. Using his personal experience and wealth of knowledge learned from professional development and immersion in the recovery field, he has spoken with thousands of families and helped hundreds of people attain long-term sobriety. In 2020, the opportunity presented to join in and start Illuminate Recovery. Understanding the importance of personalized treatment plans and the complex nature between substance abuse and co-occurring disorders, has helped Illuminate Recovery build a strong curriculum and a phenomenal staff. Illuminate Recovery now has a medical doctor who is board certified in addiction medicine and a psychiatric medical doctor who works side by side with independently licensed therapists to provide compassionate and effective treatment.
