Rehabilitation is often thought of – and treated – as a solitary journey. It’s made out to be a lonely process that can only be completed by one person. If a person wants it badly enough, they can, and should, do it themselves – or, so the belief goes.
However, there is little evidence that this mindset improves successful outcomes. While it’s true that there must be a personal desire to succeed, research shows that treating the rehabilitation journey as a collaborative effort results in better outcomes and more success.
Below, we outline a few reasons why collaboration is so beneficial to the rehabilitation process.
Creating community
If the last two years have taught us anything, it’s that community is essential to mental well-being and motivation. Isolation is a serious cause of depression, anxiety and other mental distresses. Without a community of supportive relationships, it’s easy to lose accountability and feel lost.
While this is true in any circumstance, it’s especially relevant to people in the process of addiction rehabilitation. Having the support of people who are meaningfully invested in your success can help ensure lasting outcomes.
Moreover, support systems (friends, family, or professional counselors) often have a personal stake in a person’s well-being. That means they can provide more thoughtful advice and insight that fosters motivation.
They’re also more likely to notice small signs of regression and can help quickly get a person back on track before escalation. Reimagining rehabilitation to account for the necessary community support helps reframe it as a collaborative process.
Clearing the way
Another benefit of reframing rehabilitation as a collaborative process is that it emphasizes the importance of having guidance. A successful rehabilitation has a pathway; a plan that participants can use to ground themselves and stay focused.
Developing this plan is not always easy, however. There’s a misconception that people can trace their issues back to a singular event and that resolving it is the end-all answer to rehabilitation. The reality is that every journey is complex, and there’s not always a clear pathway – many participants need help understanding what theirs should look like.
Having a partner can help. They provide outside perspectives or professional advice that can help participants understand their steps to success. They can also act as an accountability partner, ensuring that participants stay on the right track and put appropriate effort into their journey.
This is especially beneficial for people with a history of substance abuse disorder.
Making change
Rehabilitation indeed requires personal investment. No amount of intervention can create lasting success if the person is not invested in the journey. But lasting rehabilitation takes more than just desire – it’s a combination of personal stake, lifestyle change, and reflection.
While they appear simple, actually sustaining these factors is incredibly difficult, especially when you account for the other challenges of post-incarceration life. Rehabilitation cannot be thought of as a two-dimensional goal, but rather a complex set of smaller goals. It takes more than one person to build something complex, and that’s the mindset we must apply to rehabilitation.
Corrisoft is proud to design technology solutions that account for the complexities of successful rehabilitation. Indeed, lasting success is not achieved alone, which is why we’ve created features that support communication and connection. Learn more about the overall Corrisoft approach here.