5 Stages of Addiction Recovery: A Guide for Physicians
Recognizing and coming to terms with addiction is a process unique to each individual. But the negative impacts of substance use may become apparent to providers and loved ones before someone is ready to address the problem. For those close to a person struggling with addiction, that could mean observing changes in behavior, decreased quality of life, or loss of ability to function, and complete daily tasks.
Medical providers may even note the tolls that substance use takes on a patient’s physical health over repeat visits. But even when intervention seems imminently necessary to their well-being, people experience addiction and potential recovery on their own timeline.
The five stages of recovery have been well established in the field of addiction treatment and among support communities for people pursuing long-term rehabilitation. The extent to which loved ones or providers can help someone on the road to recovery depends on the stage they’re experiencing.
Here are the five stages of recovery and how to recognize them in patients.
Precontemplation
The earliest phase of addiction can be characterized as denial. In this stage, someone is likely to deflect any indication that their substance use could be a problem. For that reason, it’s especially difficult for any messages of concern, over physical health or other consequences, to get through.
Patients in this stage may be particularly unwilling to engage in a substantive conversation about the impacts of substance use on their health, if they even admit to substance use at all. One potential route for providers to take is notifying a patient’s loved ones of medical concerns, if cases where that may be appropriate. Though in this early stage, it can be tough to know whether any expression of concern will reach them.
Contemplation
The consequences of substance use become clearer in this stage, more directly interfering with a patient’s health and lifestyle. But this is also a period of bargaining, a time when someone may not yet be willing to fully admit their use constitutes addiction or is a problem that needs to be faced head on.
Providers who recognize more obvious signs of substance abuse should, of course, address them directly with patients. At this stage, becoming aware of medical concerns and receiving any potential treatment or guidance, may help a patient’s progress toward fully recognizing and starting the process of managing addiction.
Preparation
At this stage, there’s obvious proof of a problem that needs to be addressed. Someone may attend 12-step meetings or attempt to control or moderate substance use on their own. So, they may grow discouraged, in this stage, if they don’t succeed in managing their addiction without significant outside help.
Supporting patients in this stage could mean directing them to in-patient treatment, counseling, or trusted support groups. Skyler Health can help providers connect patients to medication titration counseling centered on their individual needs including guidance from professionals. Medication Assisted Treatment can also be part of a long-term treatment plan with proven rates of long-term success.
Action
In this stage, patients take concrete steps toward recovery. That could mean committing to a 12-step group, seeking in-patient treatment, or consulting with an out-patient addiction management program. Learning about the nature of addiction and what recovery will look like moving forward are key to embarking on this stage.
The challenges of finally taking action can feel overwhelming to someone facing addiction. Providers can play an important role for patients starting recovery, by providing support for their immediate health needs and setting appropriate goals. Skyler Health’s individualized approach to mental health counseling and medication titration meets patients where they are in their recovery and optimizes support for successful long-term management.
Maintenance
In the maintenance phase, patients are implementing new patterns of behavior and building networks of support to carry forward for the foreseeable future. Maintenance also means focusing on preventing relapse, a natural part of the recovery process. Having reached this stage, patients are likely to develop a lasting recognition that addiction recovery is a perpetual process.
The maintenance phase is one way characterized by ongoing coexistence with addiction. Providers can support patients in recovery by staying attentive to their history and the challenges of the road ahead.
Visit us at Skyler Health to learn more about how we empower people to prevent and stop medication and substance dependence with professional, licensed, and vetted counselors that you can trust.
