By Improving Interagency Communication We Improve the Chances of Our Clients’ Success
Client blog:
Interagency communication is a facet of substance abuse treatment that has waned over the years.
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There was a time in this industry when one facility would communicate with another and the main focus was on the client success in recovery. Today things look much different.
There are many clients utilizing, what I call, a side door which is where a client decides to leave treatment by exiting through the side door whenever they are forced to begin the real work that is required to truly recover from addiction.
When interagency communication is not being utilized it is very difficult for any facility to push these individuals to initiate real change in their lives.
Some of the best pieces of advice I was ever given came from the guy who helped me change my life and one of those bits of knowledge was “Change itself is not uncomfortable it is the resistance to change that causes discomfort.”
Many clients in substance abuse treatment are resistant to change and are experiencing discomfort due to this resistance. Clients that are in treatment need to change and change is exactly why they are in treatment. Many clients will naturally be resistant to this change in an attempt to maintain homeostasis which is a natural function of humanity and will therefore become uncomfortable.
When these clients side door to another facility because change is happening and they’re allowed to enter into another facility with little to no question or interagency communication, there is little chance that this client will achieve the change necessary to be successful in sobriety.
This is just one example of why interagency communication is so important, but transition from inpatient treatment to aftercare is quite possibly even more important than addressing the side door issue.
My name is Bryan Hullihen and I have worked in substance abuse treatment for several years now and I specialize in the aftercare portion of treatment.
This is when clients graduate from treatment and are looking for added services to bridge the gap from living in a controlled environment to living a life of sober independence.
When a client comes into one of my programs we already have a release of information from the referring agency so we can communicate with each other about the client’s progress and we are also armed with the discharge plan.
Clients in treatment work with the same treatment team in some cases for up to six months. This treatment team is typically comprised of a group of professionals who are extremely experienced in helping individuals recover from alcoholism and drug addiction. Furthermore, this team of professionals has an intimate working knowledge of the client’s needs and has first-hand experience in executing on their learned ways to reach the client.
Based on this experience in working with the client, a discharge plan is generated that is essentially a roadmap for success in achieving a lifetime of sober independence for the individual graduating the treatment center.
Without having established interagency communication my program, Paramount Recovery Services, would not have this invaluable piece of information on how to help this individual achieve success.
Now, this information is valuable across the board for any facility that is referring to an aftercare agency. Maintaining that interagency communication is a tool that directly translates to a higher chance of success for the individual seeking treatment.
These are just two reasons why interagency communication is so important and many other reasons exist that go far beyond the scope of this short blog post.
The point of this article is simply to raise awareness and get people thinking about communicating with other treatment programs who share a common goal of helping individuals recover from drug addiction and alcoholism.
Solidarity is aware that I would like to emphasize here to anyone who is engaged in working to help people recover from drug addiction and alcoholism through the utilization of Substance abuse treatment.
The more communication between agencies is utilized to achieve that common goal of helping people recover from a seemingly hopeless state of mind and body the higher the chances are for success for the individuals seeking this help.
I hope that you have found this writing helpful and remember that if we all do our part to raise awareness in improving interagency communication we will help more people get the level of care they deserve.
Please visit my web page to learn more about who I am and the things my program is doing to help people recover from drug addiction and alcoholism. Thank you all for your support and I look forward to reading your comments.
