ADDICTION AFTERCARE
Aftercare occurs after an intense treatment intervention (e.g., hospital or partial hospitalization program) and generally includes outpatient care, involvement in self-help approaches, or both.
The clinician should consider the possibility that cognitive impairment may be present in recently detoxified patients when determining their next level of care. Research on aftercare has examined different treatment models, including eclectic, medically oriented, motivational, 12- step, cognitive-behavioral, group, and marital strategies. Given the chronic, relapsing nature of many types of substance use disorders, especially those requiring hospitalization, it is expected that aftercare will be recommended with few exceptions. In fact, if addiction is reconceptualized along the lines of a chronic rather than an acute disease model, as recommended by McLellan et al., the distinction between a "treatment episode" and "aftercare" should be removed and the different modalities of care (e.g., inpatient, outpatient) be reconsidered as part of a continuous, long-term treatment plan.
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