Alumni Support Groups
Support Groups
Recovery is often multi-faceted. Throughout the process, you will experience both sudden and gradual changes that impact your emotional, spiritual and mental well-being in positive ways. While these changes are necessary and will help you discover and retain your motivation for a sober lifestyle, they can also pose challenges that continue to affect you after your time in treatment is complete.
At Avalon Malibu, we know that sobriety and renewed health is a lifelong commitment, and during that time, you are bound to face obstacles. Although it is possible to overcome triggers, temptations and setbacks on your own, your odds of success are better when you have a community behind you offering support for anything life might throw at you.
You don’t have to face your road to recovery alone. The alumni support group at Avalon Malibu is here to provide love, understanding, and compassion when you need it most.
Why Unconditional Support is Important
Addiction and mental health disorders have a tendency to create solitude and isolation. During your worst moments, you may feel as if you can trust no one, not even yourself, due to the heavy burden of your addiction. This can cause you to seek solace in drugs or alcohol and isolate yourself even further from your family and friends.
Even after rehab, substance abuse or mental health symptoms like depression can take center stage and begin to dominate your thoughts when you’re alone. And when you’re feeling isolated, the idea of seeking help can become too overwhelming, but lapses in your recovery or mental health are more likely to occur without the support and companionship of loved ones. With the right support system in place, you have a better chance of seeing the value in rehabilitation and finding the motivation to stay well while working through any obstacles.
Although your friends and family can provide support throughout your recovery, they might not fully understand the extent of your addiction or mental health challenges despite being committed to your well-being. With an alumni support group, you are connected directly to individuals who share many of your same experiences and understand the day-to-day roadblocks that can surface in recovery. Because they are on a similar path of renewed health and sobriety, they understand your frustrations and can empathize with your adversities more than anyone else. In this way, an alumni support group can be a strong complement to the encouragement you receive from friends and family.
This additional level of unconditional support can provide some much-needed guidance and advice that’s relevant to your current situation. If you’re struggling due to difficult emotions or dealing with cravings, for example, an alumni group can help keep you grounded, accountable and sober through it all. We know that the real work of recovery begins after rehab, so the unconditional support provided by our alumni network is an important component of the aftercare planning and relapse prevention at Avalon Malibu.
What Will You Take Away?
When you join the alumni support group at Avalon Malibu, you are in a safe space free from judgment. During these weekly Zoom meetings, you’re met with listening ears that can give you advice applicable to your personal challenges, such as recovery after discharge, mindfulness, current events, involvement in therapy, and more. You can also utilize resources for educational, professional, or volunteer opportunities if you are looking to help others who are struggling with addiction or mental health problems.
Alumni support begins during your recovery in residential treatment, where you will be contacted by our alumni coordinator, Ronnie Powers, to arrange to meet with members who identify with your struggles. Ronnie is a certified addictions treatment counselor (CATC) with more than 14 years in the recovery industry. During his time at Avalon Malibu, he has helped numerous clients maintain their sobriety by connecting them with like-minded peers through our alumni support network. As you continue to forge bonds with our alumni group leaders, you will learn more about joining the program once you have finished your time in treatment.
Our alumni program provides several benefits to participants, and the ongoing support from a large recovery network is just one of many. Other advantages include fun sober activities, maintaining connections and reconnecting with peers, additional resources, a sense of community, receiving meaningful advice when you need it, and more. You’ll also have the opportunity to discuss your recovery with a variety of individuals and get access to educational groups about how to prevent relapse. While the alumni that stay engaged get the most out of this program, you can take away as much or as little as you need to maintain your recovery through life’s ups and downs.
The Avalon Malibu Alumni Network
When you participate in our alumni support groups, you’re never alone in your recovery. Studies show that those who stay engaged with the treatment process after rehab have the most success staying sober and avoiding relapse. That’s why alumni support is included in our aftercare services for clients who have completed treatment — this connects each individual with the resources they need to maintain a healthy lifestyle and has helped us build a strong network of recovery-oriented peers. As alumni groups move to the digital realm, Zoom meetings provide even more opportunities for clients to connect with their support network on a weekly basis, regardless of whether they’re local or have moved out of state since being discharged from our facility. Our alumni network includes both newcomers and individuals who have been sober for a long time, giving participants the chance to learn from others who have been in their shoes, or to pass along the insights and knowledge they’ve gained throughout the years. No matter where you’re at in the recovery process, the Avalon Malibu alumni network can help you thrive and achieve new levels of growth.
Contact Avalon Malibu
The support from an entire group will build your sense of community and, most importantly, increase your chances of lifelong sobriety. If you have additional questions about alumni support groups at Avalon Malibu, contact us at 888-958-7511 for more information.
