Alumni After Care

Aftercare Plan - The Next Step In Your Journey

Going home after treatment can be one of the most difficult points in a person’s recovery. When in residential treatment, overcoming problems can be easier with the support system available, however, returning home to the people or situations that may have triggered the addictive / disordered behaviour can be a painful and scary time.

Aftercare is an essential element of any care plan and Life Works is committed to ensuring that our clients complete their treatment programme with adequate support in place to continue their recovery.

Before completing treatment, each client’s needs are evaluated and an individually-tailored Continuing Care Plan and Relapse Prevention Plan are formulated.

Upon leaving treatment, all clients are strongly encouraged to follow these detailed plans which may include elements such as further treatment, attending fellowship meetings, therapy, nutritional support, avoiding certain people, etc. Each plan is specifically designed to promote continuous recovery and as far as possible provide a seamless transition between Life Works and whatever the next move happens to be.

If you are struggling with an element of your aftercare plan and would like to talk to someone at Life Works, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Aftercare Group

Life Works provides a free aftercare service to its alumni, including the provision of a weekly Aftercare Programme.

As returning home from treatment can be a confusing and testing time, it is important to establish a strong support network. Without the necessary support, a great number of people relapse soon after completing treatment. Consequently the main purpose of our Aftercare Programme is to help clients re-integrate into their home environments with the support of other Life Works alumni, many of whom have already formed bonds during their time spent in the therapeutic community of primary or secondary treatment.

The Aftercare Programme is a valuable element of a Continuing Care Plan and is designed to allow clients to challenge and identify with each other within the safety of a therapeutic setting. Statistics show that, those who regularly attend Aftercare, therapy and anonymous fellowship meetings are significantly less likely to relapse than those who just do one of those elements.

The Life Works Community Aftercare Programme:
Day: Every Wednesday
Time: 7pm
Location: Charter Day Care, 15 Harley Street, London, W1G 9QQ

This programme is available to all patients who have completed Primary and / or Secondary treatment with Life Works.

Relapse Prevention

The risk of relapse is present in all addictive and behavioral health disorders. An essential part of effective treatment is relapse prevention which commences almost immediately.

All unhealthy behaviours have several things in common: they increase in frequency and severity under stress, they may initially distract from pain or extreme discomfort but then exacerbate the very things they are meant to alleviate, and they tend to become more entrenched and extreme over time.

In order to recognise the warning signs of potential relapse, it is necessary to identify internal and external risk factors in your life and develop a healthy and sustainable plan for managing these effectively and consistently.

We know that addiction is an illness that affects us physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. Relapse prevention encompasses all of these aspects.

If you have relapsed, please call us on 0800 081 0700.

If you are worried about relapsing or would like to discuss your relapse prevention plan, please call us on 0800 081 0700.

Recovery Events

Life Works provides a range of events and activities to help you enrich and continue your recovery, including workshops, lectures and social events. These are aimed at tackling certain issues regarding recovery and providing support and inspiration for you on your continuing journey of recovery.

For a full list of events please see our Events Calendar.

Fellowship Meetings

During treatment clients are actively encouraged to attend fellowship meetings. We also strongly recommend that upon leaving treatment, individuals continue to attend these meetings in their local area.

To find your nearest fellowship meeting, please visit these websites:

Alcoholics Anonymous: http://www.alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk/?PageID=2

Narcotics Anonymous: http://ukna.org/

Overeaters Anonymous: http://www.oagb.org.uk/?page_id=251

Sex & Love Addicts Anonymous: http://www.slaauk.org/

Continued Support

If you have completed treatment at Life Works and are concerned about your recovery, or would like more information about our Aftercare Programme please call us on 0800 081 0700 or email us for more information.