Guide to Our Proven Recovery Process

We maintain a constant presence during the critical first year of recovery and guide clients through difficult times with real-time help.

East Coast Recovery Services

East Coast Recovery Services’ (ECRS) approach has proven extremely effective in helping clients move beyond the denial that often stands in the way of their progress in recovery. Our methods help clients face the painful truths of their addiction while keeping their dignity intact. Addicted individuals and family members reach the highest level of honesty and self-realization without being shamed into more self-deprecating and self-destructive behaviors.

Our availability helps ensure our clients, families and friends with the professional help they need when they need it.

We Continue When Others Concede

Our services, focused on the ever-changing needs of our clients, are designed to succeed where traditional thinking has failed, with personal attention and individualized recovery programs. ECRS was founded by Brian Halstead, CADC, CIP, in an effort to bring innovative services to people affected by the disease of addiction.

The ECRS team includes Certified Addictions Counselors, Certified Alcohol Drug Counselors, Interventionists, Recovery Care Specialists and Recovery Coaches. Our network of professional Allies in Recovery includes Family Therapists, Couples Counselors, Psychiatrists, Psychologists, Medical Doctors and many other health and wellness practitioners. We make referrals as needed to give our clients the best chances for continued recovery.

Confidential

Our offices have a private entrance at the side of the building. We do not bill insurance companies, so your assessment is made independent of their desires. No one may see your file without your expressed written consent.

Intervention

The primary goal of an intervention is to get the addicted individual to seek the help they need.

This phase begins for the addicted individual or family members when problems start happening as a result of the identified person’s use of alcohol, drugs, or other mood-altering behaviors. Despite these natural interventions, the addicted individual usually needs more help to see the nature of their disease and the impact it is having on their lives. When family and friends become concerned enough to seek professional help, East Coast Recovery Services is there.

ECRS consults with the family and friends of the addicted individual to determine a strategy for a more formalized intervention process. A skilled, trained interventionist helps them prepare for and practice intervention techniques that can help the addicted individual seek the appropriate level of care. If acute treatment is needed, ECRS will advocate for all, helping them get the most out of any treatment prescribed.

Acute Care

When the addicted individual consents to treatment, East Coast Recovery Services (ECRS) works to place that person in a facility that best meets their needs. Once there, the addict/alcoholic can examine their using/drinking patterns with a clear mind and in a safe environment. Family members also gain a better understanding of the disease and learn how to be supportive in their interactions with the addicted loved one.

ECRS founder Brian Halstead has been assessing and treating addicted individuals and their families for over 35 years. This experience, combined with his familiarity with different treatment facilities, enables him to make the most appropriate recommendations for care.

Types of Acute Care

Some individuals will require medical detoxification and/or stabilization. This requires a hospital setting or a treatment facility that has a specialized detox unit.

Most often, the addicted individual needs to be removed from their living environment to remain safe. In some cases intensive outpatient care is chosen. However, outcomes are more promising when a 28-31 day inpatient treatment program is completed.

During Acute Care

ECRS advocates for the patient and family and works with the facility’s clinical team to ensure that treatment is effective. Progress and Treatment Reports are obtained from primary and/or family counselors. We communicate with the patient and designated family member on a regular basis throughout their stay.

ECRS collaborates with clinical teams on recommendations for the Recovery Plan in the Transitional Care phase. These recommendations can include an extended stay at an inpatient facility, halfway house, sober living environment — or returning home to structured outpatient care.

Leaving Acute Care

Before a patient leaves treatment, ECRS works with them and their family on a Transition Plan that identifies expectations, communication issues and boundary needs. We also make sure the patient has a Plan of Safety for the first week out of treatment.

Transitional Care

The primary goal in this phase is to help the person in recovery, as well as the family, transition from a lifestyle that supports the disease process to one that supports the recovery process. Key elements to success in this phase include a structured plan focused on the fundamentals of recovery, including identifying and intervening on relapse behaviors, building a strong support system, and personal accountability.

A Strong Support Group

It is imperative to develop a strong support group that helps a person see how addiction has distorted their thinking process, feelings and perceptions. All these elements impact the belief system of someone in recovery. Distorted thinking, feelings and perceptions may have been in place since childhood. In such cases professional support and strong peer support can determine how much a person will struggle in their recovery process.

Although it is always the individual’s choice whether or not they utilize others for help, ECRS can improve the prognosis by utilizing trained staff who know when to help and when not to.

Throughout this and the following phases, ECRS clients have regularly scheduled contact with staff via phone sessions and office visits for individual and group counseling, peer support groups and workshops. We maintain collateral contacts (family, friends, employers, coworkers, sponsors and others) to maintain accountability and help the recovering person recognize things that may otherwise be missed.

Integration

At the start of this phase, East Coast Recovery Services (ECRS) reviews individual and family progress with the Recovery Plan developed in the Acute Care phase. Our Recovery Care Specialists continue to help everyone involved integrate recovery behaviors into their everyday lives.

Although this issue can be an element of controversy for some, looking at Spiritual Principles and learning how to utilize them can make the recovery process easier and more fulfilling. The Spiritual Principles of the Twelve Steps are honesty, hope, faith, courage, integrity, willingness, humility, compassion, justice, perseverance, spiritual awareness and service. Spirituality can be obtained without any affiliation to organized religion.

The Role of the Recovery Coach

A Recovery Coach should not be confused with a 12-step sponsor, therapist, or counselor. A Recovery Coach complements the efforts of these people. He or she does not replace them, but rather encourages the person in recovery to follow the suggestions they offer.

Maintaining Recovery

East Coast Recovery Services (ECRS) begins this phase with a review of client and family abilities to stay focused on developing appropriate recovery behaviors. We assess and prioritize the changes everyone must make to support continued recovery.

The ECRS Recovery Coach, along with the recovering person’s support group, helps create a Personal Development Plan that identifies goals and defines action steps required to achieve them. Our coaches help you remove obstacles without creating new ones. With the obstacles out of your way, you can begin achieving goals that have been elusive to you and creating a life you love.

The Personal Development Plan focuses on the following areas:

  • 12-Step Work
  • Interventions
  • Codependency
  • Conflict Resolution
  • Spirituality
  • Intimacy
  • Communication
  • Personal Organization
  • Relationships
  • Motivation

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