Continuing care

The continuing care plan, developed prior to discharge from treatment into aftercare, is constructed with the different spheres and zones of recovery in mind. The ultimate goal of the continuing care plan is to help the client move into this new phase of recovery as seamlessly as possible. So, like the treatment plan (remember Chapter 4), the continuing care plan should be comprehensive but not overly intrusive, should be simple enough to follow, and should be developed collaboratively with the client prior to discharge. 

If referrals are made in conjunction with the continuing care plan, then the procedures suggested for referrals in Chapters 2 and 3 should be followed. Professional networks can be used to make appropriate referrals. Continuity of care should be provided whenever possible during the referral process, and you should check with your client to make sure that contact with the referral was made within an appropriate amount of time and that the client finds the referral helpful. 

Many new challenges can arise after treatment for partners. A family therapist can prepare the partner for these challenges as part of a family orientation to aftercare. Such a meeting will occur around the same time as the client develops his or her continuing care plan just prior to discharge from treatment. The family therapist may address adjustment concerns that many partners experience when a client is discharged from treatment. The family therapist can prepare the partner for what to reasonably expect from the loved one after treatment ends. 

Moral and Ethical Issues Related to Treatment, Therapy, and Continuing Care... 

Aftercare. A type of continuing care after treatment has ended that focuses on relapse prevention and longer term goals. Aftercare is generally less intensive than treatment. 

Continuing care plan. The equivalent to a treatment plan for aftercare. Discharge A medical term for ending treatment. 

Counselors and therapists need to develop continuing-care and posttreatment plans with lifestyle balance in mind. Make sure you suggest to clients how to provide for a more balanced lifestyle in these plans. First, make an assessment in the... 

Aftercare counselors will want to develop posttreatment recovery plans for clients as they near the end of aftercare. A posttreatment plan can be developed by using the continuing care plan, and any unfinished items may become part of a long-term... 

Stage Three Continuing Care. After the rehabilitation phase, the patient enters a period of continuing care. At this point, treatment often transitions to community resources such as self-help groups. In many cases, continuing care patients move beyond the need for intensive psychiatric treatment but continue to require the support of others as they move through the long-term recovery process. 

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