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. First, if you’re recently leaving a rehab stay or have just wrapped up an outpatient program, a sober living facility may provide you with the structure you need. Those living in a sober living house are serious about their recovery. The goal is to transition to an independent lifestyle – free of substance abuse and addiction. In some cases, sober living homes will contract with licensed drug rehabilitation centers and therapists as a means for providing an even greater level of care. These types of sober livings do tend to charge higher fees, however, they are often able to provide a very affordable alternative to what would otherwise constitute high-priced inpatient treatment.

Sober living homes are facilities often used as part of an aftercare program. Relapse triggers and reminders of using or drinking feel like they are everywhere. The sober community at a sober living home can help you successfully transition from a heavily structured treatment setting to living at home. Sober living homes may be connected to or affiliated with a specific treatment center, rehab, or standalone organization. Sobriety can be many things – challenging, frustrating, liberating and life-changing. But it’s the goal of a sober living house to keep sobriety from ever becoming boring. From horseback riding to snowboarding, hiking to creative writing to local sporting events, sober living houses are meant to serve as a light to guide your journey to permanent freedom. The best sober living houses make it a priority to keep you satisfied, happy and healthy during the recovery process. It serves to help anyone who has recently completed addiction treatments remain sober for their foreseeable future.

What Role Does Sober Living Play in Recovery?

Specifically, it helps residents resolve their mixed feelings (i.e., ambivalence) about living in the SLH and engaging in other community based services. Thus, the intervention is a way to help them prepare for the challenges and recognize the potential benefits of new activities and experiences. Detailed descriptions of analytic methods and statistical results have been reported in Polcin, Korcha, Bond, & Galloway , Polcin Korcha, Bond, & Galloway , and Polcin Korcha, Bond, Galloway & Lapp . Our purpose here what is a sober living house is to summarize the most salient and relevant findings for SLHs as a community based recovery option. We then expand on the findings by considering potential implications of SLHs for treatment and criminal justice systems. We also include a discussion of our plans to study the community context of SLHs, which will depict how stakeholder influences support and hinder their operations and potential for expansion. These measures were taken from Gerstein et al. and labeled Peak Density and 6-month abstinence.

Some sober houses also require residents to pay a security deposit. In addition to providing structure and support, sober living houses also allow residents to build lasting relationships with other individuals what is a sober living house in recovery. These relationships can be a powerful motivation and encouragement during difficult times. CSLT is located in Sacramento County California and consists of 16 houses with a 136 bed capacity.

Recovery Philosophy in Sober Living Houses

Although self selection can be viewed as a weakness of the research designs, it can also be conceived as a strength, especially for studying residential recovery programs. Our study design had characteristics that DeLeon, Inciardi and Martin suggested were critical to studies of residential recovery programs. They argued that self selection of participants to the interventions being studies was an advantage because it mirrored the way individuals typically choose to enter treatment. Thus, self selection was integral to the intervention being studied and without self selection it was difficult to argue that a valid examination of the invention had been conducted. To describe outcomes of SLH residents they interviewed 245 individuals within one week of entering SLHs and at 6, 12 and 18-month follow-up. Outcomes included the Addiction Severity Index , Brief Symptom Inventory , and measures of alcohol and drug use.

Items are rated on a 5-point scale and ask about symptoms over the past 7 days. We used the Global Severity Index as an overall measure of psychiatric severity. A high accountability environment is often the best option for someone who has had numerous treatment episodes that were followed by relapse. We host nightly “family” dinners, weekly meetings, and regular outings to create an environment that promotes cohesive unity. The brotherhood between house members empowers everyone to walk through tribulations with much-needed support, and to meet our high standards.

What Is The Purpose Of A Sober Living House

Sober living home residents usually have to attend a peer support group. The structure of sober living tends to run in phases of increasing independence. With the correct program set up, you learn not only the skills to beat addiction but also skills that lead to a more fulfilling and successful life. Contracted rehab centers & therapists bring inpatient services to a more affordable cost level. In lenient SLHs, a violating resident is liable to be restricted from select privileges. If rules continue to be broken, they may be booted from the sober living home. Attendance is required for all house meetings and support group meetings. Bond J, Kaskutas LA, Weisner C. The persistent influence of social networks and Alcoholics Anonymous on abstinence.

Residences providing a highly structured schedule of activities tend to dramatically improve the likelihood of long-term sobriety. In addition to these rules, people who live in these types of houses usually have to work or go to school during the day and must contribute to the home by doing chores. New residents are often encouraged or required to attend daily A.A. Staying in a sober living house can be a highly effective method for people who have suffered from serious addiction problems to remain abstinent long term. Out-of-state sober living homes can lower risks of relapse in recovering residents. In summary, sober living support addiction recovery in transition to independence.

Changing Lives Foundation is an organization that offers grants to those facing unexpected financial hardship, medical bills, catastrophic events, or even need help with rent payments. If they leave too early, their chances of relapsing increase significantly. Sober Home Typically, as long as you follow the rules, you may live in the home for as long as you want. Residents agree to participate in randomized drug and alcohol screenings. Some exceptions may be made for specific prescriptions, like antidepressants.