Recovery can be a grueling process; having the right support system to help you through it is vital. Your support system is there to be someone to lean on but also to help you stay motivated to continue your recovery journey.
Spero Recovery uses alumni to participate in our peer-led treatment program, which is beneficial for both you and the alumni.
What Are Alumni Programs in Recovery?
Alumni programs use peers that have completed the treatment program and are progressing in their recovery journey to help with counseling or therapy sessions. At Spero Recovery, we utilize the alumni to help run our experiential treatment programs. They will lead their groups in a variety of activities, such as:
- Hiking
- Cooking classes
- Meditation
- Biking
- Woodwork
These peer-led programs are used to hopefully maintain long-term recovery for both you and the alumni.
How Do Alumni Programs Help?
A big part of recovery, especially when using a 12-Step based program, is giving back to your community. Being able to participate in peer-led programs helps alumni give back, which in turn can help them.
Some ways alumni programs can help them are:
- Increased their self-confidence
- Empowerment in their recovery
- Strengthened connection to the community
- Discovers greater meaning in life
- Communicates with those in recovery
- Gains new skills and talents
- Improves their perception of what life is like during recovery
- Discovers what their true values are and their importance
- Instills a sense of purpose
They are also able to share their stories, perspectives, advice, and learning moments with others in recovery. Being able to do this could help save you from having to learn a hard and painful lesson.
It gives them a chance to give encouragement and support to those that are where they once were. They understand the difficulty behind starting recovery and that more help and motivation to continue can help prevent relapse.
How Do Alumni Help With Recovery?
Participating in alumni-led programs helps connect you with people that have been where you are. It shows you that you are not alone in this journey and that what you are going through has a community waiting to help support you in your recovery.
These programs help you see that recovery is possible. You can see what you can be once you work through treatment and continue with your aftercare plan.
It gives you the opportunity to learn new things from someone that found them helpful during their recovery. This can provide you with new skills and help you find healthy outlets.
You can ask questions to someone that has struggled with substance use disorder (SUD) and have personal experience with recovery. This can help you understand why you became addicted and how recovery works better than if you were learning it from someone that learned it in a classroom or from a book.
Having alumni participate in your program can help you open up more and be confident in talking to someone. You know they are an unbiased source that has experienced similar things to you, which can make it easier for you to confide in them.
How to Find Alumni Programs Near You
Spero Recovery is a residential recovery program that utilizes the use of peer-led or alumni treatment. They understand the value that comes from using those that have been through the program and choose to take advantage of these benefits through as many aspects of their program as possible.
They promote having a sponsor and interacting with them regularly to work through the Twelve Steps. A sponsor provides you with a person who can provide more one-on-one help and be a friendly face to lean on. They can help you from the first steps of recovery to transitioning out of treatment and back into the world.
A sponsor can help find meetings and programs outside of treatment that you can attend if you feel yourself slipping and be someone you can call night or day if you think you are going to relapse.
Sponsors have information and experience with all aspects of the program, so they can give you advice and recommendations to help you through it. They can be someone for you to confide in and share your darkest secrets with. They are a confidential party to talk to that can help you take the heavy weight off your shoulders and decrease your risk of relapse.
Spero Recovery is dedicated to helping people with recovery, so even if you can’t commit to their residential treatment, they are still willing to help you. They care about you and know that reaching out is a difficult first step to recovery. Spero will offer recommendations for other programs that will best fit your needs.
Recovery is one of if not the most important journeys you will take in your life. It changes your situation, relationships, and you. Doing it alone is scary, isolating, and difficult, and it makes relapse more likely. Finding people that are going through similar things as you and can provide support will help you tremendously. Alumni programs are there to help connect you with these people. They are also there to give you motivation and the opportunity to grow. If you feel like you are struggling to find alumni programs, please reach out to Spero Recovery at (303) 351-7888 today for more information. You are not alone. We want to help connect you with the support system you need.
