Case Management During Addiction Treatment

Any person that has overcome addiction will tell you that you will need people helping you along your recovery journey to reach full sobriety. This is true whether you are just starting your addiction recovery journey or you have already completed addiction treatment.

One tool that you can use to help you overcome your addiction is case management. Studies show that people that utilize case management in their addiction treatment showed greater treatment retention and success. Studies also showed that these people had improved access to healthcare, fewer legal and family problems, and better housing stability.

If you want to have someone advocate for your physical, financial, and emotional needs while recovering from addiction, you need to get case management services ASAP.

While in addiction treatment, case managers advocate for the needs of patients. They do this by first coming up with custom treatment plans. There are specific actions that all case managers will do to come up with these treatment plans.

These treatment plan actions include:

1. Screening and Assessing You

Prior to coming up with your custom case management plan, your case manager first needs to get to know you. To do this your case manager will perform an initial assessment on you.

This initial assessment will decipher what your condition is and what your treatment needs are. This initial assessment will also decipher what your individual goals are.

2. Arranging and Negotiating Your Resources

After your case manager learns everything there is to know about your condition, treatment needs, and goals, he or she will contact different health, financial, and community organizations to help get you the resources that you need to function in society. Some of the organizations that your case manager will contact are the Social Security Administration and the Department of Health.

Other organizations that your case manager may contact at this time include insurance companies, vocational rehabs, and community partners. Your case manager may even contact child welfare if necessary.

Your case manager will then arrange and negotiate the level of resources that you will receive from each of these organizations. For example, your case manager could arrange for you to receive health insurance, a valid ID, and child welfare checks. It is also during this time that your case manager will likely arrange for you to become a member of different support groups.

3. Developing Your Case Plans

To ensure that the resources that your case manager provides you do not go in vain, he or she will develop a case plan with you. A case plan is a blueprint of what goals you plan to achieve with each of your provided resources.

To come up with a comprehensive case plan, your case manager will further discuss with you what your goals are. Your case manager will also take this time to come up with other resources that you will need to help you achieve all of your goals. The ultimate goal of the case plan is for you to use your resources to overcome your addiction, find a job, and find housing.

4. Determining Your Eligibility for Benefits

Once you and your case manager come up with a comprehensive plan, you will apply for benefits. These benefits may include that of Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare.

They also may include food stamps, insurance coverage, assistance from charities, and disability benefits. Depending on you and your needs, you may even receive benefits from religious support groups and non-medical treatment services.

5. Evaluating Your Progress

Once you are receiving all the resources and benefits that you need, your case manager will contact you periodically. Your case manager will continue to contact you to hold you accountable and track your individual growth.

Your case manager will also take time out to contact the organizations that you are working with to gather outside reports on your progress. Through these reports, your case manager will evaluate whether or not your case plan has been working.

6. Recording Your Long-Term Case Progress

You and your case manager will both track your long-term case progress on paper. Doing so will leave a paper trail that you and your case manager can return to years later if need be. Tracking your long-term case plan progress will also help you and your case manager determine if you need a new case plan or not.

After your stint in rehab treatment is complete, you will still need support to help you transition from rehab into the real world. Below is a list of ways that case managers can help make that transition smooth.

• Find mental health professionals
• Find physicians
• Refer clients to outpatient support groups and 12 step meetings
• Provide connections to sober living homes and halfway houses
• Refer clients to family therapists and marriage counseling
• Provide job placement services, or vocational counseling