The first step to creating a fellowship is finding the people you relate to in life. Often, people who have a problem with substance use associate with others like them, and creating a community contrary to their isolation. They differentiate themselves from sober people and even have a name for such people called ‘normies’. That is a good thing when it comes to creating fellowships both during the treatment process and after as they try to stay away from drugs.
Individuals with substance use disorder tend to isolate themselves due to fear of judgment, making it hard to build camaraderie with them at the New Horizon Counseling Center. However, camaraderie is very important inside and out of rehab, and for many years to maintain abstinence.
Create a buddy system
As we have established, individuals with substance use disorder tend to isolate themselves. The behaviours should be brought to a stop immediately through buddy systems. That is a group of two or more individuals who co-relate and help each other through the treatment process.
Individuals with substance use disorder know how rough it is to be in the small cycle of users. They are like members of a small club, making them have a strong instinct to help one another improve.
Create group therapy
Individual therapy is necessary for self-reflection moments and mainly focuses on the treatment process. However, some clients find it hard to open up and listening to their fellows talk about their substance problems is helpful. They start to understand that their reasons for self-medicating are similar to others.
The group will create a sense of togetherness. Individuals with substance problems will understand that they are not alone in the journey, and the sense of isolation will diminish. However, please don’t force the resistant individuals as they will eventually come around.
The support group in New Horizon also helps them later on in future to keep them on track. And in case one fails to maintain abstinence, the group comes together to help them start over. The fellowship also builds bonds that last no matter where the individual goes after treatment. Wherever they are, they’ll know they are not alone and can always get help.
Allow recreation time
That is important in reducing stigmatization in the New Horizon Counseling center. After the treatment and group sessions, individuals with substance use problems need to be allowed time to interact on a personal level. That will help them understand they may have other interests aside from substance use. It is an opportunity to be normal and think of everything besides substance use.
They may find interests that will keep them occupied after treatment and help them maintain abstinence.
An after community
When in New Horizon, clients have everything to gain and nothing to lose, but once they return to the world, everything changes, and they now have something they can lose. Sobriety is very important, and they’ll need a community to help them through it. They can easily access drugs outside the rehab, and family support is needed. Together with the community, they help them renew kinships and ensure that they are adjusting well.
