Sober Living in Pennsylvania

Sober living is the “end goal” of everyone who is suffering from any sort of substance abuse. However, getting there requires overcoming numerous hardships and challenges. Many people finish their inpatient treatment at a Pennsylvania rehab center and find it extremely difficult to get back to what should be a normal life. In other words, they need a way to re-learn how to live without relying on a particular substance. And this is exactly what sober living Pennsylvania programs offer. The sober living homes provide the patients with a safe and comfortable environment where they can maintain sobriety, make new friends, and acquire all the necessary skills for independent living.

Sober living Pennsylvania – A necessary step to full recovery

To achieve full recovery from a substance use disorder or substance addiction, you will need to make quite a few steps on the way. The first step, of course, is to undergo medical detox in one of the drug rehab Pennsylvania centers. After that, you may require either inpatient or outpatient treatment, depending on your situation. During your stay in a sober living house, you will learn all the necessary skills that you may need to return to your normal life.

However, simply learning the skills is just not enough for many people. What they need is an additional step – getting to put those skills into practice. In other words, they require a safe environment where they can stumble and fail without any repercussions. The fact of the matter is that sober living is not easy and that most, if not all, people struggle to achieve it after a long period of substance abuse. Simply finishing a treatment program might not be enough.

Sober living in a sober living house is the last step before attaining full independence. During your stay, you will get to learn everything you might need to maintain sobriety for the long term. And you might make more than a few friends along the way.

The right time to enter sober living

Recovery from a substance abuse disorder/addiction involves four distinct phases: Reaching out for help, medical detox, short-term sobriety, and long-term sobriety. The best time to enter a sober living Pennsylvania program is right after you achieve short-term sobriety. In some cases, you may even start sober living immediately after you finish detox in one of the alcohol rehab centers Pennsylvania has to offer. But for the most part, you will want to achieve at least a few days of sobriety before you become a resident of a sober living house.

Even though sober living houses present an excellent way to achieve and maintain long-term sobriety, they might not be for everyone. The best thing to do is to talk with your therapist about the option and see their thoughts on the matter. But, for the most part, living in a sober living house is beneficial for pretty much everyone.

What is a sober living house?

A sober living house is a substance-free residence that is extremely beneficial for people in early recovery. These houses are designed to help you bridge the gap between your rehab in, for example, a cocaine addiction treatment center,  and the real world. You might have heard the terms “halfway house”, and “transitional home”, both of which sometimes refer to sober living homes. While there is some distinction between halfway houses and sober living houses, both provide the following benefits to their residents:

• A safe space
• A structured environment
• Accountability
• Community support
• Opportunities for new friendships

All sober living houses in PA have their own rules and regulations to help their patients achieve and maintain a sober lifestyle. Some facilities may have highly-structured rules while others are more flexible and social. Furthermore, each sober living home is unique, offering a specific set of activities and opportunities. Most sober living homes are an extension of already established treatment programs, such as benzo addiction treatment or alcohol rehab. What this means is that you are not going to go into the “unknown” as soon as you finish your initial treatment. You will still work with many of the medical staff that you already know, making the entire process much more seamless. And you get to benefit from all the advantages that a sober living house presents.

A safe space to work toward complete independence

Returning to a “normal life” straight out of treatment is all but impossible for many people. Living in a sober living home for a period of time (usually a few months) provides a chance to figure out all the intricacies that a normal life entails. Complete independence can be a difficult thing to achieve after undergoing treatment in one of the heroin rehab Pennsylvania centers, for example, due to numerous temptations that might be all around you. A sober living house, on the other hand, is void of those temptations altogether. You will be able to focus on your recovery and not worry about getting in contact with any harmful substance.

A structured environment to learn healthy routines

Throughout the course of substance abuse, normal, healthy, routines usually crumble over time. These routines are extremely important for sober living and you need a way to re-establish them. Living in one of the sober living houses in PA provides you with a way to do so in a structured environment. You will also have a chance to enroll in specialized treatment programs, such as the outdoor adventure program, where you will learn numerous other skills to help you on your road to full recovery.

A sober living house teaches accountability

One of the most important facets of a sober living Pennsylvania home is that you will be held accountable for your choices. This is what makes the experience of living in these houses “real”. During your stay, you will be required to show up for therapy appointments, attend daily meetings, and even submit to random drug testing, similar to what you may expect within prescription drug addiction rehab. In other words, your choices will have consequences, just as they would in the “real world”. However, the difference is that you will have all the support you may need throughout your stay.

You will have full community support

The truth of the matter is that you may (and most likely will) struggle while trying to achieve full recovery. Once you are free of the influence that a particular substance might have over you, you may find that there are numerous other issues that are preventing your recovery. Having to overcome all the challenges on your own may be all but impossible. But if you have a support system in place, you will find that all these challenges are significantly easier to overcome. Sober living houses in PA provide that support system, and more. Under the family program at Little Creek Recovery Center, for example, you will be able to integrate your family into the recovery process and make the whole experience much easier. And you will have ample opportunities to make new friends.

Making new friends will be easier

Living in a sober living house will put you into contact with others that have similar issues as your own. You might be surprised how easier it is to communicate when you have something profound in common with other people. Due to this fact, sober living Pennsylvania programs offer you a way to truly connect with your peers. You will be able to forge meaningful relationships more easily, cementing your road to recovery. This social aspect is one of the most important benefits of living in one of the sober living houses in PA. You will be among people that know what you are going through, or at the very least have a good idea about it.

This level of empathy is practically impossible to find anywhere else, in fact, not even within inpatient rehab Pennsylvania programs. By interacting with people that are, more or less, in the same situation as you are, you will be able to connect on a much deeper level. And those connections might serve you well in the years to come. Your new friends may become your greatest supporters down the proverbial road.

What does sober living in Pennsylvania look like?

A large part of sober living is becoming more aware of yourself. You get to understand your emotions, triggers, desires, and interests. Throughout your stay, you will learn what you require to be abstinent and happy at the same time. More importantly, you will learn what to do when you encounter “hard days”. Recovery is not a sprint, it’s a marathon, after all. There will be obstacles and you need to learn how to overcome them.

When attending a sober living Pennsylvania program, you will encounter many triggers that might plunge you back into substance abuse. If you were living on your own, you would need to deal with them on your own. But when you are staying at a sober living home, you will always have someone to help you out. Whether it is one of your peers or a medical professional, help is always around the corner. You will also have ample opportunities to try different treatment modalities, such as music therapy for addiction, recreational therapy programs, and the like. Over time, you will learn that there is so much fun to be had without any substances involved.

You may also succumb to temptations, experience mood swings, and many other difficulties. And that is alright, as you will have the means to overcome them. But, most importantly, you will get to experience what “normal” living looks like. Living in one of the sober living houses in PA is pretty much the same experience as you would have when living on your own but in a much more controlled environment.

Shane’s House – One of the best sober living homes in Pennsylvania

We mentioned how each sober living home is unique. Shane’s House, our very own sober living home, is a residence where you can learn what it means to truly grow and become empowered. Shane’s House is located right next to the Little Creek Lodge, offering a seamless transition to sober living from one of our treatment programs.

What makes Shane’s House unique is that we offer:

• Less than a 30-minute drive from Marywood University, Scranton University, Penn State Worthington and Lackawanna Junior College
• Access to all the resources from the Little Creek Lodge
• Autonomy over your own life
• 24-hour care
• Empathetic staff, many of whom have “walked a mile in your shoes”
• Stress-free environment

Furthermore, Shane’s House was specifically designed to help adult men on their road to recovery. This means that you will be able to take advantage of highly-specialized programs (budgeting, local employment, etc.) that will help you reintegrate into the society of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. We treat each one of our patients like the wonderful individual that they are. At Shane’s House, you will never be a treatment number but a valued member of our family and our community.

Treatment options at Little Creek Recovery Center

While sober living is usually one of the last steps to recovery, it may so happen that you require other treatment options. By being in close proximity to our main facilities, our sober living Pennsylvania program can easily be augmented with additional treatment programs, including:

• Opiate detox PA
• Medication assisted treatment Pennsylvania
• Outpatient detox rehab PA
• IOP Pennsylvania
• Partial hospitalization rehab Pennsylvania
• CBT treatment plan for substance abuse
• DBT treatment for addiction
• Clinical program at Little Creek Recovery
• Recreational therapy program

We are also constantly expanding our capabilities to include many other treatment modalities. Even if you don’t see a treatment program on the list above, that does not mean that we cannot offer it. The best thing to do, if you are unsure, is to get in touch with us directly!

Contact Little Creek Recovery Center today!

Whether you are just starting out on your road to recovery or you simply need to spend some time within one of the sober living Pennsylvania programs, Little Creek Recovery Center is there to help you out, light the path, and show the way! All you need to do is take the first step and contact us today! We will help you become empowered and take control of your future.