Why Life Skills Are Important to Sober Living for Young Adult Men

Sober living skills, or their son's ability to thrive as an independent, young adult, ranks as one of primary treatment outcomes desired by the majority of parents for their older troubled teen.

It's been found that young men tend to resist initial intervention attempts often leading to relapse and participation in multiple, shorter- term, drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers prior to enrollment at San Cristobal Academy. Lack of treatment success can often be traced to poor or non-existent follow through with aftercare plans. Previous patterns of substance abuse and self-destructive emotional-behavioral habits frequently re-emerge without a well defined support system, and a carefully developed aftercare plan that speaks to the development of a balanced, healthy lifestyle, addressing the "whole person" and all of his physical, psychological, social, and spiritual needs.

As good as many short-term drug and alcohol treatment programs are, 30 to 90 days serves as just the beginning of an effective treatment plan for a dually diagnosed, chemically dependent, young adult male.

Addiction and Treatment Trends

Young adult males are often cited as the most difficult to effectively treat due to changing personal and societal values systems, new cultural norms, and other factors. Peer pressure to "use" drugs and alcohol starts as early as grade school and escalates dramatically as students enter high school. Parents often report serious declines in academic performance, motivation, problem solving skills, critical thinking skills, work ethic, family involvement and a host of other mental health and life skill deficiencies as early as young teens.

Habits, both good and bad, are nothing more than actions we have performed so often that they have become almost an involuntary response. Habits take time to develop and take even longer to break. True and lasting recovery takes time, patience, personal commitment, and a strong desire to change. A comprehensive, high-quality, life skills program, examines fully the physical, psychological, emotional, and spiritual needs of its clients. It's only through this broader view that lasting and sustainable recovery can occur.

Addiction is an extremely complex and hard to effectively treat disease. The growth of 30, 60, 90-day chemical dependency programs belies the growing body of evidence that calls for comprehensive, whole person, longer-term approaches incorporating 12-Steps, therapy, education, job training, and life skills.

A New Way of Living

Recovery means different things to different people. For some, addiction treatment speaks only to the process of getting off drugs and alcohol and staying clean and sober. At San Cristobal Academy, substance abuse recovery is the long-term process (up to a year or more) students go through starting with simple abstinence and growing gradually into a comfortable sobriety.

The skills necessary for long-term sobriety are ultimately all directed at finding true meaning and purpose in one's life. Sobriety becomes more than something you do, but evolves into a whole new philosophy or way of living. It requires the daily effort of working a comprehensive recovery program.

Before a student can master the broad spectrum of skills necessary to live successfully as a sober, independent adult, he must start with abstinence. The beginning steps are often hard and frustrating. For a young adult, accepting and acknowledging their addiction can be one of the hardest things they've ever had to do. The San Cristobal Academy Program was developed with the understanding that sustainable drug and alcohol recovery happens in stages and students "step-down" to more independence and freedom as they demonstrate safety and overall readiness.

Our recovery program's structure allows young men to regain control of their lives and futures one step at a time under the guidance of highly qualified substance abuse counselors, case managers, teachers, and residential staff.

SCA's life skills curriculum is experiential in nature with students getting both classroom and hands-on exposure and practical experience. Mistakes are embraced as one of the best methods of learning a new skill or behavior with feedback coming from both staff and peers. All activities, whether academic, therapeutic or recreational, are considered positive forums for growth and development of chemical dependency recovery and life skills. All our young men are encouraged to explore areas of personal interest as a means to uncover career options along with ways of having fun without the use of addictive substances. Life skills curriculum starts from your son's first day in the program. It's designed to teach:

The San Cristobal Academy curriculum integrates adult sober living skills into all facets of its recovery program. Core to its philosophy is the belief that successful and sustainable sober living comes through comprehensive programming that treats the whole person. Participation in the SCA program is a lot more than learning recovery principals, academics and life skills; it's a unique, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to find direction, meaning and purpose for your son's new, sober, adult life.

Life's promise is a phone call away.
Push the stop button on your son's self-destructive path.