Recovery is about a lot more than merely abstinence from alcohol or other substances. The journey of recovery is about becoming the person that alcohol and substances wouldn’t let us become. It is about becoming better people, better parents, better daughters, better friends, and better members of the community. These identities are ones that we deserve to embody after working so hard to change our lives in recovery. The same is true about our students at Clearview Horizon Girls Academy. We believe our students should each should take on a recovery leadership role before leaving our treatment center.
Better Understanding Service and Recovery
Doing service is a crucial part of long-term recovery. This is because active addiction is a very selfish state of being. To counteract a life lived this way, we must do the opposite in recovery. We must be selfless and help others.
Service and helping others also have a long tradition in recovery. The tradition goes back over 88 years ago when the first 12-Step recovery program was started by Bill Willson and Dr. Bob Smith. That, of course, was Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). These two men discovered that the only way they were going to stay sober was by doing two things. One was to adopt a spiritual life (a faith in a Higher Power greater than themselves). The other was working with another person in recovery.
The primary text of AA and other 12-Step programs is commonly referred to as the “Big Book.” In this book, there is a chapter dedicated entirely to working with others, aptly titled Working With Others. In this chapter, the authors state, “Practical experience shows that nothing will so much insure immunity from drinking as intensive work with other [people with alcohol addiction]. It works when other activities fail.” That passage explains why service is so critical. Service helps us by getting us out of our own heads in order to help another. Ultimately, service work helps us as much as it helps the ones we serve.
Why Taking on a Recovery Leadership Role Is So Important Before Leaving Treatment
In treatment and early recovery, it is important to discover what it is that makes us who we are. We must find and define our values, and we must set our goals for the future.
When going through recovery at the treatment center, we begin to discover what it means to make mistakes, adjust, and move on. We also learn how to clean up “the wreckage of our past.” Then we live in the moment rather than dwell on the past or dread the future.
When we are concluding our journey at a treatment center and preparing ourselves for long-term recovery, we must become the leaders we want to see in the world. We must cease being followers, and we each must take on a recovery leadership role.
What Are the Levels of Care at Clearview?
At Clearview we have a five-tier system for recovery we call the “levels of care.” This is a system aimed at overcoming obstacles, finding our authentic selves, and identifying who we want to be in the world. Finally, yes, this system involves taking on a recovery leadership role.
The last and fifth level of care is all about leadership. It is about helping those other students who are in the class behind. What’s more, it is about showing other students that not only is recovery from addiction possible, but recovery from all that holds us back is possible too.
There is a saying in many recovery communities that goes “This is a We program, not a Me program.” What this means is that relying on the help of others is essential in attaining and maintaining a life of healthy long-term recovery. This is also the cycle of recovery. When we are “newcomers,” someone takes us under their wing and shows us what it takes to recover. They do this not for fanfare but because someone else did it for them. Thus, when it is our turn, it is our duty and mission to keep the cycle of healing going.
Taking On a Positive Recovery Leadership Role at Clearview
There is something in recovery that is commonly referred to as the “Responsibility Statement.” It goes, “I am responsible, when anyone, anywhere reaches out for help, I want the hand of [recovery] always to be there. And for that: I am responsible.”
This statement embodies our primary purpose here at Clearview, which is to be there for each of our students whenever they need help. We don’t take lightly that we are responsible for the well-being of the future leaders of America.
For anyone who is struggling, we have one aim. That aim is to be the hand that is there when they are ready to give up the fight and find the light of recovery. For that, we are responsible.
There are five levels of care here at Clearview Horizon Girls Academy. The final level of care (level five, “teach and transition”) is all about taking on a leadership role in recovery to help the young women at level four progress. Leadership brings both confidence and humility, which can be crucial characteristics that can aid in the goal of long-term recovery. If you feel like your daughter may be struggling with issues of addiction and/or mental health, we can help her and your entire family get on the positive path of recovery. For more information on the importance of leadership roles both in treatment and in long-term recovery, please reach out to Clearview Horizon today at 866-584-4788.
