No single substance use treatment plan is effective for everyone. Addiction is a highly complex disorder that affects brain function through compulsive behaviors. The complexity of addiction is why long-term recovery requires an individualized substance abuse treatment plan to assist each person.
Your substance abuse treatment plan should help you identify and address the underlying trauma at the root of your disorder. It should also help you understand the effects of the resulting symptoms on your daily life. It’s a personal roadmap tailored to each client’s own history and needs, not a one-size-fits-all solution.
What Does a Treatment Plan Look Like?
A treatment plan for substance abuse outlines what a person seeking treatment wants to achieve and the steps they will take to get there.
Creating a treatment plan is the most individualized part of the recovery process, and is a cornerstone of our holistic substance abuse treatment program. A treatment plan should be fully tailored to the subject’s situation and should evolve over time as needs change throughout the recovery process. A sound treatment plan should grow and adapt alongside the client’s progression throughout the recovery process.
Treatment plans enable people seeking recovery from addiction to set expectations, define goals, and observe progress with a therapist. Here are the components of a treatment plan for substance abuse:
- Diagnostic Outline: An overview of a person’s substance use history, medical history, and mental health history.
- Problem Statement: Establishes clearly the issue a person needs to solve, whether that be alcohol addiction, drug use, trauma bonds, or any number of mental health disorders, and validates that the person accepts that they have a problem.
- Goals: Establishes the things a person most wants to achieve through the treatment plan.
- Objectives: Establishes how exactly a person will accomplish their stated goals. These objectives should each be “SMART,” meaning they’re Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound.
- Interventions: Establishes what a clinician or therapist will do to help a person achieve their goals and objectives.
- Monitoring and Evaluation: Establishes metrics and other tracking tools so a person can see their progress and the changes they’ve actualized. Also lays out a schedule for evaluating progress through the treatment plan, to make adjustments as needed.
- Planning Long-Term Care: Lays out long-term care and relapse prevention plans after completion of the initial treatment plan. Overcoming substance use requires time and ongoing support, and it is wise to account for the challenges of long-term recovery at the beginning.
What are the Goals and Objectives of a Substance Abuse Treatment Plan?
The ultimate goal of a substance use treatment plan is to guide and support a person as they create a happier, healthier, substance-free life for themselves. Substance abuse treatment works to:
- Provide ongoing support to a recovering person
- Provide safe environment to discuss trauma
- Redirect a person from situations that may encourage substance use
- Continue treatment for co-occurring mental health issues that encourage substance use
Substance use impacts many aspects of a person’s everyday life, including their mental, physical, social, and financial health. A sound treatment plan takes into account all of these aspects of a client’s addictive behavior treatment.
Unfortunately, “goals” and “objectives” often get used interchangeably, but they have significantly different meanings in the context of a treatment plan. Goals are brief statements about what a person wants to achieve. Objectives are the things a person does to achieve these goals. Objectives can be seen and measured for effectiveness.
Example treatment goals include:
- Eliminating substance use
- Identifying and addressing the root cause of the addiction
- Developing healthy stress management techniques
- Creating a support system
- Learning how to communicate emotions effectively
- Maintaining a healthy lifestyle
- Repairing damaged relationships
Example treatment objectives include:
- To get rid of access to all harmful substances immediately
- To identify triggers of substance use and develop coping strategies
- To take prescription medications consistently
- To journal daily
- To attend weekly counseling sessions with a therapist
- To attend weekly support group meetings
- To complete a 12-Step Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous program
- To learn how to manage finances and interview for jobs
- To exercise at least twice per week
What Are Treatment Interventions for Substance Use?
Interventions are the things a clinician, therapist, and other professionals do to help a person achieve their goals and objectives. They are the substance use therapies and exercises recommended to help overcome a stated problem. Interventions also include anything your primary clinician can do to make your treatment plan more effective and comfortable.
Example treatment interventions include:
- Trauma-informed therapy
- Referral to local support groups
- Addiction education
- Health and nutrition education
- Medication prescriptions
- Ensuring a supportive environment for recovery
- Help resolving barriers to therapy attendance
Substance Abuse Treatment Plans at ILC in Nashville, TN
When we think about a treatment plan for substance abuse, it is useful to consider the sensation of “sonder” – the realization that each person we pass on a street has a life as vivid and complex as our own. We understand that each person who chooses to work with us comes to the table with an entire life leading up to the moment we begin our work.
Each person is truly unique and deserves individual care, which is why we create an individualized treatment plan tailored toward each of our clients’ specific needs. Through our comprehensive outpatient treatment programs, men’s residential treatment programs, and women’s treatment center, we use an integrated approach to address trauma at the root of the addiction.
Our expertly-trained team provides a comprehensive approach involving various medical, clinical, and therapeutic interventions.
Are you ready to begin your own journey to freedom from alcohol, drugs, or other destructive behaviors? We are ready to guide you along the way. You can begin today by calling us at (615) 891-2226 to learn about personalized treatment plan options.
