Sober Living Houses
Sober Living houses are residences that provide recovering addicts with a structured, drug and alcohol free environment where residents can regain a sense of confidence and stability. For teenagers and young adults, these houses provide a safe, healthy environment in which they can address individual problems and learn skills to help them make the transition to living a sober life in the outside community.
When people abuse alcohol and/or drugs over a sustained period of time, being drunk or high becomes a normal state of mind. Their daily lives revolve around the substance(s) they are addicted to - getting money to buy it, finding a place to obtain it, and the "rituals" involved in smoking, drinking, or consuming the substance. When teenagers get together to get high or to drink, it becomes a social experience. Because involvement with drugs or alcohol tends to isolate teenagers and young adults from the rest of their peer group, teenagers who drink or take drugs together become closely bonded. Getting high or drunk becomes an activity and a way of life, and as the addiction progresses, it takes up increasing amounts of time. The result is that drug and alcohol abuse becomes the normal and comfortable way of dealing with the world, and after a period of time, these teens forget what it was like to function while sober.
Sober Living facilities provide an environment where teenagers can learn how to live and have fun without the use of drugs or alcohol. Sober Houses for teenagers are appropriate after an addiction treatment is completed and the teenager is no longer using drugs or alcohol. These houses are often located in communities where teenagers can experience a physically healthy way of living as they begin the transition toward living again in the society outside the sober living environment. The groups that live in these houses tend to be small and carefully screened, and over time the group with become a close-knit, safe community where teenagers can begin to learn how to relate to their peers without the use of drugs or alcohol.
Treatment programs in Sober Houses can be tailored to each individual. Treatment may include group and individual therapy, family therapy, outdoor activities, experiential therapy, substance abuse education, 12-step programs, academic classes and tutoring, social activities, sports, and part-time employment. These programs are usually a two-step process, which includes the residential program in the sober living house and the transition to less structured living in a nearby community. Teenagers will receive continued guidance and support as they adjust to sober living within the greater freedom of their own living space.
Article written by Jillian Blume
