Regarding how we approach others, Saint Augustine once wrote, “What does love look like? It has the hands to help others. Also, it has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want, and it has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men. That is what love looks like.” This is not just a beautiful musing on love, but it is also a guide that we can use to help those in need of long-term addiction recovery. Essentially, it is what good mentorship should look like.
What Does Mentorship Mean in Long-Term Addiction Recovery?
Perhaps the most recognizable philosophy that involves mentorship and long-term addiction recovery is that of the Twelve Steps. This is understandable, as 12-Step recovery was founded on the basis of mentoring others. The co-founders of the first official 12-Step program, Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Holbrook Smith determined that the only way they were going to achieve long-term recovery was through continued work with others with the same shared disease of addiction.
Nevertheless, mentorship in recovery does not have to solely equate to 12-Step programs. Mentorship can be practiced in many different ways, involve many different types of people, and take place in many different settings. For example, here at Clearview, we offer a mentorship program that utilizes what our students in long-term addiction recovery have learned to help those new to the recovery center. We also have professionals on staff that help mentor and teach our students the life skills that can be beneficial after they leave our facility.
Why Is Mentorship So Beneficial in Long-Term Recovery?
One of the most important aspects of long-term addiction recovery is knowing that you are not alone in your journey. The sooner this realization the better, and there is no better conduit for this realization than someone else that has the “shared experience” of addiction.
Now, the term “shared experience” is often used in recovery settings, but can sometimes be confused. Shared experience does not mean that indivdiuals have the exact same stories. Rather, what it means is that individuals who have struggled with addiction have experienced the same emotions. They have felt the same depths of despair, the same isolated loneliness, and the same struggles with hopelessness.
Many people in active addiction also struggle with a feeling known as “terminal uniqueness.” What this means is that they sense like they were the only ones to have ever experienced the dire feelings of addiction. However, with good mentorship, the offering of shared experience can eliminate the feelings of terminal uniqueness. When this happens, an individual comes one step closer to long-term addiction recovery.
The Benefits of Mentorship
While “shared experience” and “terminal uniqueness” may feel like slightly intangible aspects of mentorship, there are certainly more visible benefits of mentorship. The following are just a few of the benefits that mentorship can bring in recovery:
- Helps to set goals and ensures that goals are met
- Offers advice and relapse prevention when “triggering” events present themself
- Helps connect newcomers to the broader recovery community
- Ensures accountability
- Helps with communication
- Offers life skills that may have been missed while in active addiction
- Can help strengthen a spiritual program
Mentorship From Staff
As previously mentioned, mentorship in recovery does not have to solely come from others in direct recovery. Addiction and mental health care professionals are well-trained and have dedicated their careers to helping struggling individuals grow and heal.
For example, the professionals that run the Clearview Mentoring Program offer our students a myriad of life lessons and life skills. Some of these include:
- Cooking basic meals
- Teaching basic house cleaning techniques
- Handling money
- Future planning
- Strengthening time management skills
- Creating a fitness routine
Mentorship From Peers
Here at Clearview Horizon Girls Academy, we also have a program by which our older students teach our younger students how our recovery system works. This tiered system not only helps our students to grow but also helps our students engage with other people their age. It also helps our students create bonds that many still hold onto long after their time staying with us.
The Long-Term Addiction Recovery Mission at Clearview
Here at Clearview Horizon Girls Academy, our mission is not just to help our students recover from the symptoms of addiction. Rather, our mission is to help our students grow into the future leaders of their generation.
We don’t want our students to simply recover at the moment and then revert back to their previous lives. Instead, we want them to attain a new outlook on life that is going to carry them to places they once didn’t even imagine possible. Our mission is to mentor our students to become the best versions of themselves, and when that happens, we know our mission has been accomplished.
Mentorship is an often essential and highly beneficial part of addiction recovery. At Clearview Horizon Girls Academy, this mentorship comes both from our professional staff, as well as students who are further along in their recovery. Not only is mentorship beneficial while in residential recovery, but the advice and support that students receive can help carry them as they continue their journey down the path of long-term recovery. If you feel that your daughter may be struggling with addiction or other issues of mental health, please know that you are not alone. We can help. For more information on the benefits of mentorship in recovery, please reach out to Clearview Horizon today at 866-584-4788.
