Immediate Aftercare
Under our competent care here at Iboga Root Sanctuary (Ibogaine Treatment UK), you will be always monitored not only during your ibogaine treatment, as immediately after it.
Although the treatment is pain-free, it is our firm desire as care providers to have our team of clinicians available for you at all times in the unlikely event of any complications.
You will find that after your first test dosage and before what we call the “flood dose” (the full amount administered during treatment), any withdrawal symptoms that may have begun to make themselves felt, however sharp, will be controlled and stabilized by the medical staff.
Once your ibogaine “journey” has subsided, it is common to feel, on the first day after it, that it has not worked, and a certain skeptical cynicism may set in.
However, you should bear in mind that you have not yet processed everything you have experienced, so it is in your best interests to withhold your judgement at this time.After a few days, the benefits of your treatment will make themselves known, and things will sink in. It is worth noting that the timeline for this varies from person to person because everybody differs, so the treatment will affect each person in their own unique way.
Following your ibogaine treatment, one of the first few things we will be assisting you with is the feeling of exhaustion derived from insomnia, both a result of the ibogaine’s work on your newly re-set brain; this should be expected and is nothing to worry about: we will be always close by. After any kind of treatment for addiction, you enter what is called your period of recovery, which becomes a work-in-progress.
After leaving rehab, it is highly recommended that you plan for aftercare, which comprises any type of ongoing assistance you may receive during this time. Some of the most common forms of aftercare are Twelve-Step meetings, outpatient therapy, and counselling to help maintain your sobriety. Coming up with a workable, comprehensive aftercare plan will go a long way in anticipating future challenges to your sobriety and ironing out any kinks that may result in relapses.
Whatever the case, remember that you do not need to go it alone: both family members and friends can and, where possible or appropriate, should support their loved ones after rehab by educating themselves about this new phase of your life and engaging in existing support groups for friends and relatives of those suffering from addiction, thereby encouraging and supporting your newfound healthy habits.
What Is Aftercare ?
As was briefly summarized above, aftercare is any form of plan to support someone in the initial stages of recovery to prevent relapses and help them achieve their goals.
Such plans will usually consist of a combination of activities, interventions, and resources designed to assist one in recovery by imparting new techniques, strategies, and coping mechanisms to avoid and circumvent triggers and cravings you may face once you step back into your daily life.
Even though everyone is unique, and so is every plan, below are some goals and activities common to a sound aftercare plan.
- A regular schedule of twelve-step or other recovery meetings.
- Finding someone who has spent considerable time sober after recovery to mentor you.
- Attending your own recovery centre’s programme.
- Making the maintenance of your sobriety a top priority.
- Some form of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).
Designing and keeping to an aftercare plan is a sure step towards guaranteeing and reinforcing your sobriety after rehab, given that the risk of relapsing within the first few months is significantly higher; statistics show that anywhere between 40% to 60% of people recovering from addiction may suffer a momentary relapse and go back to using, so the aim is to create and maintain a support network to prevent this.
The sooner you have this personalized plan in place, the better your chances of staying sober, and one day, once you have acquired considerable time of sober living, you too will be able to give back to those you encounter at the beginning of their own recovery journey.
As was briefly summarized above, aftercare is any form of plan to support someone in the initial stages of recovery to prevent relapses and help them achieve their goals.
Such plans will usually consist of a combination of activities, interventions, and resources designed to assist one in recovery by imparting new techniques, strategies, and coping mechanisms to avoid and circumvent triggers and cravings you may face once you step back into your daily life.
Even though everyone is unique, and so is every plan, below are some goals and activities common to a sound aftercare plan.
- A regular schedule of twelve-step or other recovery meetings.
- Finding someone who has spent considerable time sober after recovery to mentor you.
- Attending your own recovery centre’s programme.
- Making the maintenance of your sobriety a top priority.
- Some form of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).
Designing and keeping to an aftercare plan is a sure step towards guaranteeing and reinforcing your sobriety after rehab, given that the risk of relapsing within the first few months is significantly higher; statistics show that anywhere between 40% to 60% of people recovering from addiction may suffer a momentary relapse and go back to using, so the aim is to create and maintain a support network to prevent this.
The sooner you have this personalized plan in place, the better your chances of staying sober, and one day, once you have acquired considerable time of sober living, you too will be able to give back to those you encounter at the beginning of their own recovery journey.
As was briefly summarized above, aftercare is any form of plan to support someone in the initial stages of recovery to prevent relapses and help them achieve their goals.
Such plans will usually consist of a combination of activities, interventions, and resources designed to assist one in recovery by imparting new techniques, strategies, and coping mechanisms to avoid and circumvent triggers and cravings you may face once you step back into your daily life.
Even though everyone is unique, and so is every plan, below are some goals and activities common to a sound aftercare plan.
- A regular schedule of twelve-step or other recovery meetings.
- Finding someone who has spent considerable time sober after recovery to mentor you.
- Attending your own recovery centre’s programme.
- Making the maintenance of your sobriety a top priority.
- Some form of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).
Designing and keeping to an aftercare plan is a sure step towards guaranteeing and reinforcing your sobriety after rehab, given that the risk of relapsing within the first few months is significantly higher; statistics show that anywhere between 40% to 60% of people recovering from addiction may suffer a momentary relapse and go back to using, so the aim is to create and maintain a support network to prevent this.
The sooner you have this personalized plan in place, the better your chances of staying sober, and one day, once you have acquired considerable time of sober living, you too will be able to give back to those you encounter at the beginning of their own recovery journey.
Once your period at Ibogaine Treatment UK (a subsidiary of Tabula Rasa Retreat TM), we will work with you to suggest an aftercare programme. We will also teach you several practices to include breathwork, cold exposure therapy, EFT and so much more to help you ‘brrak state’ and cope with life’s challenges..
Depending on where you live, you will be encouraged to contact counsellors in your area who can help maintain the suggestions we give you, and you can also work with a therapist or an addiction counsellor of your own choosing.
Your therapist of choice will create a plan specific to your life-situation, considering all its variables and possibilities for self-realisation as well as existing preconditions in it which may occasion relapses.
Such areas may include those of employment, the eventual need to find safe, guaranteed housing, if applicable, and the duration of the treatment (which will always depend on where you are in your recovery journey).
Your therapist must also task himself with perceiving your needs and make them known to you if they seem unclear to you at that point, as they often may; for instance, if you do not have a “sober” house in which to live, they may work with local communities and will know that this is essential to your recovery and should therefore be prioritised more than anything else.
How long you remain in outpatient treatment will depend on the progress you manage to make in your healing process. Some will need only weeks of support, while others, months; others yet may need a year or more. Most programmes will suggest that you give treatment a rough time frame of up to a year.
For adolescents, on the other hand, this period may go beyond that. You should be aware that you can also modify your aftercare plan over time as your life falls back into place and you find your own stride.
As we do here at Ibogaine Treatment UK (a subsidiary of Tabula Rasa Retreat TM), many residential or inpatient addiction treatment centres offer what is called an “alumni programme” where you have already successfully completed treatment at that facility, yet still require guidance as you transition back into daily life.
Such programmes will often provide you with knowledge and resources to help you cope with your addiction on a day-to-day basis.
Their primary objective is to provide you with continued support in a journey that would otherwise feel more harrowing and lonelier than it needs to be.
When you regularly attend such recovery events, such as meetings, you will get to know other sober people in safe and non-judgemental places where you can freely discuss your experiences and struggles, and it is a goal of these support networks to get you to learn how to appreciate, navigate and embrace a life without drugs or alcohol.
The difference between such treatment programmes and alumni programmes is that the former are often shorter in duration, whereas alumni programmes are offered by your facility—in this case, us—for as long as needed.
Accepting this guidance will be of great benefit to your healing journey and will enhance the possibility of no future relapses into using.
Commonly, these alumni programmes will have a coordinator or a director/mentor who can answer questions and offer up a wealth of information, and it is usually the facilities themselves that will establish contact with you once you have left their grounds after treatment.
Since living in an environment surrounded by people who are using drugs or alcohol can lead to cravings and the temptation to start using again, making sure you have a fixed, stable, and sober household is a priority in risk reduction. Should this be your case, you may want to consider the option of a sober living space.
These types of homes, often shared with other people in recovery, will provide a safe and supportive space for you, their goal being to allow you to build upon your own resources to eventually transition into living independently.
In such houses, you will be expected to abstain from drugs and alcohol, work at your recovery and follow the rules specific to that house. These may include the sharing of household chores, respecting the curfew, and limiting the presence of guests to certain hours of the day. There are many people who choose to do volunteer work on or offsite, and some programmes may even help its residents find employment.
It is usual for many of your new flatmates to be actively involved in 12-step meetings such as Alcoholics Anonymous and/or Narcotics Anonymous. Every home is different, and some are stricter than others in the sense that they may demand of certain residents that they attend such meetings as a precondition for staying there.
Should this be the case, you should not see this as coercion, but as a stern and helpful push towards one of the main components which have been lacking in your life on account of using: discipline, self-care, and accountability.
House expenses can either be paid weekly or monthly, depending on what works best for each resident, but there must be a commitment to stay for a stipulated minimum period.
While this timeframe may vary, it is best to bear in mind that these are not meant to be long-term residences. After residents have established a certain period of successful sobriety, they will either move back into their own communities, or towards a different level of support.
Your alumni treatment team will gladly assist you in finding a sober-living home should you need one. In this sense, it is good to operate on a basis of full disclosure with them and be honest about how much you can afford, or where you would like to live.
If you so prefer, you may also contact sober-living facilities of your own accord. If you prefer this path, you may have to attend an interview to ensure you are a good match for the household. This is also a chance for you to take a tour of the home, decide if it is for you, and ask any questions you may have.
When we are locked into the cycles of addiction, it is often the case that we live primarily to serve our own desires and needs, becoming disconnected from the needs of others around us, too often resulting in broken relationships, life-long friendships carelessly thrown to the wind.
As a result, it is quite common that, by the time we make the commitment to heal ourselves and reclaim our lives, there may be very few—if none—of our former social support network left to help us when we most need it: at our most vulnerable.
This is precisely the gap that recovery meetings aim to fill, and the level of care they will provide you with is that of a non-judgemental space filled with people who you won’t have to say “but you don’t understand!” to, when attempting to justify your irrational behaviours of the past.
The fact is, you would be right to say so: most people who have never had an addiction do not understand. The people in attendance to these meetings will all have one thing in common with you: they will be fighting for sobriety; unlike the drug and drink friends you have just left behind. They, above anyone else, will understand.
The most common and widespread types of support groups are what are called “Twelve-Step” groups, a method predicated on 12 interconnected practical, existential, and spiritual tenets (which do not strictly have to be about the Christian sense of God), or “commandments,” if you will: guidelines towards connection, relationship building and self-compassion.
They are founded on complete abstinence from drink or drugs, and for their hour-long duration, members in attendance are encouraged to tell their stories openly and without shame or fear of judgement, helping each other and restoring faith and meaning with recourse to a higher power (which, again, does not have to be God—the universe, or nature, for example—and can be whatever form of spiritual faith that works for you.)
They are often led by a sponsor, who has had a long time free of her or his addictions, and there are many types of meetings, such as those specifically for men or women, to those tailored for the LGBTQIA+ communities.
There are others, still, that will tend to focus solely on a single theme, such as one of the twelve steps, or a single chapter from the standard texts. It is always a clever idea to read a description of any meeting before attending it to find one that fits your needs in the moment.
Because the directors of such meetings the world over know that there are many addicts who will staunchly reject notions of spirituality, and feel uncomfortable with some of the groups’ philosophies, there are alternatives, such as SMART Recovery (Self-Management and Recovery Training), that take a more scientific approach grounded in the knowledge of cognitive-behavioural psychology.
Avoiding notions of spirituality altogether, such groups will provide members with practical written and mental exercises to change patterns of negative thinking, and help unpack the “mystery” of impulsive addiction mechanisms so you can identify and halt them before they unfold. These can be readily found in your area by doing a quick online search.
The bottom line is, if you feel uncertain about which kind of meeting might serve you better, that you should try out a few in practice until you find the one that speaks to you directly.
At some early point of your attendance of such meetings, you will often be encouraged to seek out what is called a “sponsor,” who is a member of the meetings you feel comfortable with, and who has a considerably longer amount of sober time (usually over a year) than you.
A sponsor will provide you with one-on-one guidance and friendship in your moments of despair, and will usually make themself available outside the meetings, whether by phone or in person.
Developing a connection with such a person is beneficial in many ways because it brings the teachings of the Twelve Step programmes outside the walls of the meetings and into the real world; essentially, this person will act as a “mentor” and teach you, with compassion and no judgement, to navigate life fully sober.
Some of the sponsor’s responsibilities will include:
- Introducing you to other members.
- Encouraging you to attend the meetings regularly.
- Being a good ambassador for sobriety.
- Introducing you to the Twelve Step literature (such as The Big Book).
- Acting as mediator between you and your family and friends, helping to interpret and apply the Twelve Steps.
- Providing support as needed.
As people, our temperaments, and the kind of people we gel with or not will determine whether we are able to connect, and because self-help groups recognize this, it is perfectly acceptable for you to discuss this with your sponsor and, if needed, consider the possibility of changing sponsor.
Many of those who successfully complete inpatient addiction programmes will find that they continue to face challenges and triggers in the outside world which can be difficult to navigate sober. Should this be your case, you will find that transitioning to outpatient services or private ongoing therapy can prove beneficial in addressing this.
This kind of therapy or counselling will also help mend ties with family members, create a plan for preventing relapses, and may even assist you in finding a job again. You should discuss your need for ongoing therapy with your rehab centre’s Team, which will be able to recommend outpatient programmes or therapists tailored to your needs.
The advantage of this kind of aftercare programme is the flexibility in scheduling sessions. Many will accept insurance, and some will offer sliding scale fees for those of you facing economic challenges.
As with anything in life, it may take a few sessions to find a therapist you feel comfortable with, therefore it is a good idea to give yourself the time to find the right fit for you, and not feel disheartened if it does not happen right off the bat.
The kind of patients that will be a good fit for outpatient programmes are those who can attend sessions regularly, have transportation, whether public or otherwise, to and from the treatment centre, have the support of family and friends and live in stable housing conditions.
The conditions for attendance may vary, and while some programmes will schedule daily meetings, others will meet only once or twice a week.
Among the most common types of programmes are:
- Partial Hospitalisation Programme: Patients will visit the hospital or treatment centre for a maximum of twenty hours per week (or less), mostly during working hours. Services included will generally be in the form of individual as well as group therapy, medical service as applicable, and medically assisted withdrawal. These can be attended after leaving rehab, or in the event of a relapse.
- Intensive/Standard Outpatient Programme (IOP/SOP): The main difference between this and the above type is the amount of time you spend in each. IOPs usually require less time and can go down to 9 or more hours a week. In this type, most of the treatment will be through group sessions, but individual sessions can also be arranged. The sessions will often run from several weeks up to several months. As with the above treatment, you may transition to it after rehab.
In a time of such intense change, family and friends will serve as a vital component towards recovery and re-integration.
Should you have a loved one battling their addiction, you can provide support in many forms:
- Although you may not consciously mean to, sometimes, because you care for someone, you may find that you enable and excuse their addictive behaviours in the sense that you may shelter them from the negative consequences of their drug or drink use, like bailing someone out of jail or cover up their use to others. Therefore, it is essential that you educate yourself about addiction and recovery. This will help you set healthy boundaries and provide proper support upon their return home. Many treatment centres offer group sessions to educate family members and friends about addiction; similarly, many self-help groups are open to families and friends, such as Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous and Alateen.
- Remember to celebrate your loved one’s achievements and successes. For example, in the early stages of recovery, a simple few days of sobriety are a huge accomplishment, though to you it may seem little effort. Remembering to approach your loved one’s recovery with empathy and compassion, celebrating such milestones can go a long way towards rebuilding trust and love.
- Learn to encourage healthy behaviours and habits. You will find it common that your loved one may no longer experience enjoyment in any former activities she or he once used to. This is because their brain has still not adjusted to life without drugs or alcohol. Encouraging or participating with them in activities such as exercise, healthy eating, relaxation and rest, and the common discovery and sharing of new hobbies can be hugely beneficial.
- Keep alcohol and drugs out of it. To someone in recovery, the mere mention or presence of drugs or alcohol can be immensely triggering. While in their company, we recommend you do not drink or use in front of them, while encouraging them to avoid places where drink or drugs are a strong presence, like restaurants, bars, or clubs.
- Attend family / couples’ therapy. Such forms of counselling will provide a platform on which to rebuild communication and relations hampered by years of lies and let-downs.
- Engage in self-care. Doing this will leave you better prepared to navigate the challenges of your loved one’s recovery. You may find that, even after rehab, their renewed contact with you may trigger feelings of resentment, anger, and anxiety. Addressing your own feelings, or even attending therapy yourself about this will pave the road for a smoother experience on both sides.
- Learn to identify signs of relapse. Being informed about this can help you prevent a relapse. Such signs include excessive isolation, unhealthy eating, erratic sleep patterns, skipping meetings, romanticising past drug experiences, and vocalising cravings. To this end, it is recommended you read up on the available literature and resources online, as well as talking to some of the members in your loved one’s recovery by attending AA, NA or Alateen meetings.