Changing from your treatment therapist to a new therapist offers challenges. You likely built trust and connection with the therapist you’ve been working with in treatment. Leaving treatment can be scary and one of the changes to address is your therapist support for life after inpatient treatment.
Here are some tips to successfully transfer from a treatment therapist to a new therapist:
- Honor your feelings. You may feel excited about starting with a new therapist. You may feel anxiety, fear, or dread. You may even feel shame about your wide array of feelings. No matter what feelings you are having, explore them with your treatment therapist before you leave.
- Ask for a recommendation. You could hand your fate over to the list of therapists your insurance covers, or you could ask for recommendations. Ask your therapist, your sponsor, and others in recovery for a recommendation. This doesn’t guarantee the transition will be seamless, but it’s a great first step.
- Find a therapist who is experienced working with drug addicts and alcoholics. While all therapists have some knowledge about recovery, finding a therapist who has extensive experience and specialization in this area is beneficial.
- Be prepared to tell your whole story again. While a new therapist may have your files, they are still going to want to hear about your history, your addiction, and your recovery directly from you. Be prepared to spend time reviewing the past as a way to set your future up for success.
- Make a commitment. In treatment your time with likely scheduled for you. After treatment there will be the responsibilities of work, life, and family pulling at you. Make a commitment that your recovery, including therapy, comes before anything else. One easy way to maintain this is to have a reoccurring therapy time weekly that you have set in your calendar. Then, when you get invited to a ballgame or a friend invites you to a movie, you can see that time frame is dedicated to recovery.
Investing in treatment can be life changing. Gaining hope and consistency will be keys to your future success. As you leave treatment you’ll have more opportunities to create new habits and create further self-respect through your actions. Beginning the next phase of life with a new therapist is a solid foundation to support you in your transition out of treatment and into the rest of your life. Enjoy the journey!
One step at a time, one day at a time, you can recover. At Design For Change, we offer refuge to those seeking to win against addiction because there is freedom in recovery. There is hope. Call us today to learn more about our long-term treatment programs and recovery services creating change, one step at a time. (877) 267-3646