In a recovery housing model, residents offer and receive support from their peers and leaders in their community. Research has discovered that communal living can help decrease substance abuse and incarceration rates, and increase employment rates. It can also help individuals hone their coping skills, learn how to communicate effectively, and trust themselves.

That’s why we’re here to give you some important information about one of your options. So, if you’ve ever wondered what a substance abuse halfway house was, or asked yourself, “How do sober living homes work? SLHs have their origins in the state of California and most continue to be located there (Polcin & Henderson, 2008). It is difficult to ascertain the exact number because they are not formal treatment programs and are therefore outside the purview of state licensing agencies.

What It Is Like Living in a Sober House: A Complete Guide

It’s a transitionary phase to prepare you to fully re-enter your life. Sober living homes, on the other hand, are not filled with residents who have been incarcerated. Residents in a sober living house should understand and agree to all house rules when they move in.

If you’re having a hard time adjusting to a sober life, reach out to a mental health professional who specializes in addiction and substance use. Trying to determine the appropriate next step, such as a sober living program, after inpatient treatment can be a challenge, as there are a variety of different options. The steps you take to treat substance abuse and psychological health after inpatient treatment is known as “aftercare”. Creating an effective aftercare plan is critical for the continued successful early recovery of the client, and choosing a sober living that is the right fit is a fundamental part of many of these plans.

What Are the Requirements to Get Into a Sober-Living Home?

There are several limitations to the study that are important to consider. First, we could not directly compare which type of SLH was most effective because there were demographic and other individual characteristics that differed between the two types of houses. Second, individuals self selected themselves into the houses and a priori characteristics of these individuals may have at least in part accounted for the longitudinal improvements. Although self selection can be viewed as a weakness of the research designs, it can also be conceived as a strength, especially for studying residential recovery programs. Our study design had characteristics that DeLeon, Inciardi and Martin (1995) suggested were critical to studies of residential recovery programs.

• Our purpose here is to summarize the most salient and relevant findings for SLHs as a community based recovery option.
• This also applies when someone is learning to re-integrate into life, and looking to build a strong community.
• Conversely, having a change of scenery and being safely away from temptation can facilitate faster healing.

Most of them view their homes as a necessary component of a successful recovery. Specific nuances of each rule depend on the sober living home or manager. As you’re searching for the environment that’s right for you, ask each https://www.excel-medical.com/5-tips-to-consider-when-choosing-a-sober-living-house/ potential recovery home what their rules are. Today, sober houses are “free-standing,” independently owned and operated. They’re not licensed by an official body, nor do they provide licensed professional services onsite.

Online Therapy

In addition to studying a larger number of offenders, we hope to explore an innovative intervention designed to improve outcomes for these residents in terms of employment, arrests, and other areas. Our intervention modifies motivational interviewing to address the specific needs of the offender population (Polcin, 2006b). Specifically, it helps residents resolve their mixed feelings (i.e., ambivalence) about living in the SLH and engaging in other community based services.

Some sober houses charge an initial deposit or fee, and these fees range from $25 to $300 or more. Prices for recovery homes tend to follow the overall real estate market. Sober living homes may accept residents who are new to the rehab process, but most applicants have gone through a program before applying.