Afterwards

Years ago a graduate of a very successful treatment program in the Midwest relapsed. On his first day BACK, he told the counselor this: "Your program was actually TOO GOOD, not TOO BAD." He praised the staff, the peer group, the doctors, and went on to say that while everything there was great, that he felt validated and uplifted when he was discharged, he went home totally unequipped for a "real world" that had not changed at all. With this in mind, Caron Renaissance programs are structured to first take the patient into a place of healing and safety and then, almost as quickly, bring the "real world" into treatment via value clarification, peer confrontation, and the family program. As patients face ALL of their addictions and begin to learn healthy attachments, they are far more prepared to deal with a world that, at best, will only be indifferent to their struggles. Better yet, as patients and families recover, they quickly learn the value and rewards that come from helping others in the same struggles. Then, as both patients and family continue in recovery, aftercare follow-up ALSO continues either at Caron Renaissance or at other clinical and recovery settings.