Most insurance plans will cover either all or a portion of the treatment.
Content Reviewed By:
SUD treatment executive, national news contributor & keynote speaker.
- Overview
- What Kind of Life Skills Can Alcohol and Drug Rehab Teach?
- The Importance of Life Skills for Relapse Prevention
- How Are Life Skills Developed and Strengthened In Rehab?
- Self-Care: Perhaps The Most Important Life Skill of All
- Finding A Rehab Center That Offers Life Skills Programs
Overview
Alcohol and drug addiction will eventually take everything from you if they go on long enough without treatment. Prolonged and untreated substance abuse creates lasting changes in the brain’s chemistry that can make people forget how to perform basic everyday life skills. At the same time, personal fallout and compounding obligations related to treatment and long-term recovery can make it difficult for people to move forward without the proper support.
The work of regaining these life skills, as well as cultivating new talents that can lead to progression, often begins in rehab. There are life skill-centered alcohol and drug rehab centers all over the country that can help you or your loved one get back on their feet as you do the important work of long-term recovery.
What Kind of Life Skills Can Alcohol and Drug Rehab Teach?
In addition to basic self-management and regulation, alcohol and drug rehab centers can provide value-added skills development, depending upon what type of program you enter. At a core level, alcohol and drug rehab centers provide basic accountability, time management, professionalism, self-respect, and other values.
On a more granular level, some of the specific skills that can be relearned in rehab include, but are not limited to:
- Cooking, Housekeeping, and Domestic Maintenance
- Job Search and Interview Training
- Personal Hygiene and Fitness
- Nutrition and Fitness
- Relationship Management
- Financial Management (Credit, Income, Investment, Etc.)
These skills are often lost to addiction but are integral to helping people in recovery live independently, fulfill the work of their post-treatment care plan, relate to their families, and live fulfilling and rewarding lives.
The Importance of Life Skills for Relapse Prevention
Recovery is very much a game of inches made up of small wins and incremental progress every day. Basic life skills are essential to building self-worth, maintaining independence, and existing within a professional, romantic, and familial unit. When these life skills are compromised, they can not only erode personal confidence but also create tension at work, at home, and everywhere else. Over time, small obstacles can lead to larger issues, which can disrupt routine and progress, which are critical to sustained sobriety.
One recent study from the University of Cairo draws a direct correlation to the cultivation of life skills training and positive self-efficacy among patients in substance use treatment. It makes a direct recommendation for the integration of life-skills training into rehabilitation and relapse prevention programs for patients with substance use disorders to enhance their capabilities.
How Are Life Skills Developed and Strengthened In Rehab?
There are multiple ways to integrate life skills training and development in addiction rehab, including but not limited to:
- Specific Life Skills-Based Programming – Offering specific activity-based program components that focus on distinct life skills is one of the most immediate ways to integrate life skills. Whether these programs focus on professional development, financial literacy, nutrition and lifestyle, or any other basic life skill, they can be folded into patients’ clinical programming for a comprehensive continuum of treatment.
- Supplemental Community Support – Some rehabs partner with private and community organizations to offer patients life skills training in multiple areas beyond basic clinical programming. These programs may offer classes in various vocations or basic life skills to help patients transition to life after treatment.
- Everyday Immersion Life Skills Training – The actual inpatient rehab experience lends itself to gradual, real-time life skills development in treatment. Patients are required to maintain their own spaces, share resources and space with others, and, in many cases, provide for their own basic needs while in recovery. This immersion helps strengthen independence and gives them the confidence they need in post-treatment life.
Self-Care: Perhaps The Most Important Life Skill of All
One of the non-negotiable life skills that rehab teaches you is the practical, everyday prioritization of work and self-care. This may include, but is not limited to, proper fitness, hydration, nutrition, breathing exercises, mental health coping strategies, time management for optimal peace of mind, and more. This may also include setting small, measurable goals to ensure forward progress in treatment and recovery.
While you may not be able to put these skills on a resume or brag about them at parties, it’s hard to develop any of the more pointed or practical skills if you haven’t worked on time management and self-care.
Finding A Rehab Center That Offers Life Skills Programs
You can begin your search for a rehab center that offers self-care using our nationwide directory and then contact the admissions department of the facilities you’re considering. They will be able to tell you what direct life skills programming they offer and any supplemental resources or partnerships they provide. It’s important to realize, however, that the first step toward rebuilding your life and the skills it takes to reach your full potential is overcoming addiction by seeking treatment.
