How to Keep Your Recovery On Track During the Holidays: Virtual Outpatient Therapy During the Holidays
Entering and staying in recovery during the holidays may seem challenging or impossible. Still, it is better to keep on track now than wait until you are in dire need, and with virtual therapy, you can begin and stay in treatment from the comfort of your own home. You can still enjoy your holiday season celebrating with family and friends while staying in treatment. AKUA Mind and Body offers outpatient virtual therapy for mental health and substance abuse disorders through a secure online platform.
Tools for Success
You need a smartphone, laptop, or any electronic device that has Wi-Fi capabilities to participate in an array of virtual therapy sessions that include intensive 1-1 therapy or group sessions, all with a team of trained and licensed professional staff members. Allowing you and your loved ones access to therapy from the convenience of your home results in higher engagement rates. It also allows you to stay connected to your treatment plan and team despite barriers such as inclement weather, lack of transportation, or scheduling conflicts.
The holidays can be a busy time of year and often include traveling away from home to visit family and friends or experiencing stressful holiday triggers that can pop up at any time. Having access to virtual therapy can allow you to take holiday vacations and attend family gatherings while still engaging in therapy sessions to navigate your triggers, urges, and cravings.
What is virtual outpatient therapy?
Outpatient therapy is a lower level of care, meaning that you are not staying in a residential treatment program facility or hospital to receive care and instead attend therapy in an office setting or your home (in the case of virtual treatment). To qualify for outpatient treatment, you must have an assessment to determine the severity of your addiction or mental health disorder. Other factors, such as having a reliable support system, currently not withdrawing from a substance, and being medically stable, are also crucial to being approved for an outpatient treatment program.
You can enter outpatient treatment after you complete a higher level of care, such as residential treatment or partial hospitalization, or you can enter directly into outpatient care without having to transition from a higher level of care. Virtual outpatient care is the same, with the exception of seeking care from the comfort of your home via an electronic device with a WIFI connection. The hours and days of the week are flexible, and depending on your needs, insurance coverage, and flexibility with out-of-pocket spending, you can attend virtual outpatient care once every two weeks, once a week, or even three times a week.
Virtual outpatient therapy consists of behavioral therapies such as cognitive behavioral therapy, contingency management, motivational enhancement therapy, and others that are tailored to your needs. Most of the medically assisted treatments that are recommended for substance abuse recovery can be provided on an outpatient basis as well.
Get in touch with a treatment team staff member to determine if virtual outpatient treatment is best for you.
The benefits of virtual outpatient therapy include the following:
- You have more flexibility in scheduling your treatment sessions so they do not interfere with your responsibilities at home, work, school, or holiday gatherings.
- Outpatient treatment usually costs less compared to inpatient treatment, which means you have the potential to remain in treatment longer without high out-of-pocket costs, which can help improve your success rate.
- You can apply the skills you have learned in treatment immediately in your home setting while still having the support and feedback of your treatment staff team and recovering peers. In other words, virtual outpatient treatment is “real world” applicable at the time of treatment.
Reasons to continue virtual outpatient treatment sessions during the holidays
- You can still attend holiday vacations and family gatherings while staying connected to your treatment team through virtual outpatient therapy.
- If you are struggling with finances during the holidays, virtual outpatient therapy is more affordable than residential treatment, so you can still attend therapy while budgeting for holiday gifts.
- You do not have to divulge your virtual outpatient therapy program at the holiday dinner table since you won’t be missing out on your holiday gatherings with family.
- You can work through uncomfortable feelings, triggers, and past traumas that come up during the holiday season with your therapist and use coping mechanisms you have learned if a triggering conversation arises at the holiday dinner table.
- You may have decreased out-of-pocket expenses at the end of the year if you have already met your deductible, making your virtual treatment sessions even more affordable.
- If you need to seek a higher level of care, you already have a solid foundation from your virtual outpatient treatment.
- Waiting until after the holidays to seek treatment for your addiction or mental health disorder can be detrimental to your overall wellness.
Your recovery journey does not have to be linear
AKUA offers the traditional approach regarding the continuum of care, starting at the highest levels of care and gradually graduating to lower levels of care as you navigate your successful recovery journey. However, your recovery does not have to take place in this linear fashion. Your recovery can and should be tailored to your needs. At AKUA Mind and Body, you can enter into intensive outpatient treatment without starting in residential treatment. You can also jump into a higher level of care if you or your treatment team feels that you need a more intensive treatment approach than your current virtual outpatient treatment.
You can do this without transferring to a different treatment center with a new admission and treatment staff, as we don’t want our clients to feel like they are starting all over. We want you to keep your same treatment team and not miss a beat when you change your level of care. Call us: (888) 629-6707 anytime to speak with an admissions counselor, we are available 24/7.
