What's the difference between Primary Treatment, Out-Patient, and a Sober Home?
Primary Treatment: This is where sobriety starts for most people. Primary Treatment is usually 28+ days at an in-patient treatment center. These programs are highly structured with very strict rules. A primary treatment facility has full in-house staff and typically an on-site medical center. Participants of primary treatment stay at the facility where housing, meals, counseling, and housekeeping services are provided. After finishing a primary treatment program your counselor will discuss aftercare options with you.
Out-Patient Treatment: Out-patient treatment is a structured recovery program where participants attend a half day of recovery activities including but not limited to one-on-one meetings with counselors, small group meetings, and other recovery skill-building exercises. Individuals participating in out-patient treatment usually live in a sober home or their own apartment or home.
Sober Home: Sober Homes, also called Recovery Residences, are one more step closer toward independence. There is no paid staff and no counselors, but rather a house manager/house leader who coordinates activities around the house and ensures that everyone in the house remains sober. Sober Homes are typically shared living spaces. There are rules and structure for living in the home. Participants in a sober home are usually required to work, go to school, and/or perform volunteer work (this is true at New Spirit Homes). After living in a sober home the next step is getting an apartment or home or moving back in with family. The recommended stay in sober housing is a minimum 90 days, but many individuals choose to stay longer, enjoying the peer support while remaining sober.
Handbook of the Streets: Minneapolis Published by St. Stephen's Human Services - 612-874-0311. Includes information about Public Assistance, affordable and free Health Care, Education and Employment, Special Help, and Advocacy
Local and National Support Organizations: (click on name to follow link to their website)
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- AA Grapevine – The AA Grapevine is the international journal of Alcoholics Anonymous. Written, edited, illustrated, and read by AA members and others interested in the AA program of recovery from alcoholism, the Grapevine is a lifeline linking one alcoholic to another.
- Adult Children of Alcoholics – Adult Children of Alcoholics is an anonymous Twelve Step, Twelve Tradition program of women and men who grew up in an alcoholic or otherwise dysfunctional homes. Members meet with each other in a mutually respectful, safe environment and acknowledge our common bond.
- Central Minnesota Area of Narcotics Anonymous – N.A. is a nonprofit Fellowship or society of men and women for whom drugs have become a major problem. They are recovering addicts who meet regularly to help each other stay clean.
- Gamblers Anonymous International Service Office – A fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength, and hope with each other so they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from a gambling problem.
- Gopher State Tape Library – A 501 3c non-profit corporation that creates and maintains an extensive compact disk and audio cassette library of speakers who are members of Alcoholics Anonymous, Al-Anon, Overeaters Anonymous, Emotions Anonymous, and Narcotics Anonymous.
- Greater Minneapolis Intergroup – We help new members find local meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous in Minneapolis and the suburban area. Their sole reason for being is to carry the message of Alcoholics Anonymous and to be of service to the A.A. Groups in Minneapolis and the suburban area.
- Hennepin County Human Services and Public Health – The Human Services and Public Health Department (HSPHD) consists of a number of focused but flexible service areas, common internal support systems, and cross-department integrated initiatives all working together to build better lives and stronger community. Use the search box to find specific programs as their site content changes.
- Minnesota Crystal Meth Anonymous – A fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength, and hope with each other so that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from addiction to crystal meth and all other mind-altering substances.
- Minnesota Recovery Connection – MRC connects people seeking recovery to resources that help foster and sustain long-term recovery. Whether you are seeking resources for treatment, transportation, housing, job training, education, health, or other pathways to recovery, MRC is a great place
- Narcotics Anonymous World Services – Our vision is that every addict in the world has the chance to experience our message in his or her own language and culture and find the opportunity for a new way of life.
- National Association of Recovery Residences (NARR) – The National Association of Recovery Residences promotes a recovery-oriented continuum of care for those with substance use disorders by credentialing recovery residences that implement empirically-based recovery principles and practice standards.
- Ramsey County Human Services – They provide a wide range of programs and services in the areas of public assistance, employment support, day care, social services, child and adult protection, and clinical counseling.
- Saint Paul & Suburban Area Intergroup – Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength, and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism.
- The Big Book Online – 4th Edition – Alcoholics Anonymous, commonly referred to as “The Big Book,” in electronic version on the web.
- Upper Midwest Region of Narcotics Anonymous – The Upper Midwest Region of NA includes the cities of Fargo, Grafton, Grand Forks, Jamestown, Bismarck, Mandan, Dickinson, Minot, Wahpeton, and Williston, North Dakota; Alexandria, Crookston, Detroit Lakes, Fergus Falls, Fertile, Moorhead, Morris, Park Rapids, Minnesota.
Let us know if your organization would like to be listed on our resources page