True North Alumni
True North Alumni program
At Lakeview Health, we never stop guiding our alumni to find their true north.

Navigating recovery can be difficult, that’s why we’ve developed a robust aftercare and alumni network to support our Lakeview Health alumni at every stage of the recovery process. Our True North alumni program is over 2,000 members strong and acts as a positive force in the community, while also helping to support all newcomers or those in hard times.

While in our care, we teach you the skills required to achieve lasting sobriety and improved mental health. After that, the responsibility shifts to you, but we neither expect nor want you to do it alone. In the grand scheme of things, your time in treatment is short in comparison to the full arc of your recovery. To make the lessons you learn at Lakeview Health stick – and to navigate the ups and downs of the process – we offer ongoing aftercare support. By “ongoing,” we mean months and years, not just days and weeks.

Completing an addiction treatment program isn’t the end of the support you’ll receive. Early recovery can be daunting for many individuals. For many, there is an overwhelming fear of relapse. It’s important to understand that relapse, while not desired, is a part of the recovery process. What matters most is that when you relapse, you turn back to the path of recovery. The best way to do this is by being a part of a supportive community. Our alumni program and aftercare program gives patients the tools they need to stay sober. It allows individuals to practice their skills, refine and improve them, while also having the outlets necessary when stress and triggers confront them.

Also, our alumni program gives you something to contribute to and not just take from. Encouraging responsibility is a major part of group therapy and community support groups but another key part is accountability. This is not just for oneself but learning how to hold others accountable in a healthy manner and helping them take responsibility so they can grow in sobriety. After addiction treatment, it’s vital to be involved and have a purpose beyond oneself. Our alumni program provides you with this opportunity.

Social support: an essential component of recovery
Social support is more crucial than most people realize

Our biopsychosocial approach to treatment places as much emphasis on the social aspect of your sustained sobriety as on the biological and psychological aspects. You spend a great deal of your time in treatment learning about your addiction, unlearning old habits, and forming new ones. Our clinical staff monitors the biological and psychological aspects of your recovery, but that’s not the entire picture. You also get a solid and practical understanding of how social support groups work.

Recovery doesn’t occur in a vacuum. More simply put, it is always more of a challenge to heal and stay sober when alone. In treatment, whether the program you participated in was residential, partial hospitalization, or intensive outpatient, group work and learning how to return to everyday social settings only now sober always involves working with others. Through our aftercare programs and participating in our alumni program, patients stay in touch with others. They avoid unnecessary and unhealthy isolation. Patients determine their own level of involvement but support is always there, ready to help without judgment.

Research indicates social support is more crucial than most people realize. An important statistic many aren’t aware of: “People who add at least one non-drinking member to their social network show a 27 percent increase at 12 months post-treatment in the likelihood of treatment success, and sustaining abstinence.” Simply put, adding just one sober person to your life dramatically increases your chances of staying sober. Having someone in your life that understands your need and desire to live a sober lifestyle makes doing so just that much easier. There’s no reason to make things more difficult for yourself in recovery than it needs to be. Our alumni program is designed to help in exactly this manner.

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Lakeview Health addiction treatment alumni program
Here are just a few benefits our alumni services program include:
Our alumni network
At Lakeview Health, we make sure you don’t have to go looking for one person because we are that person – our True North alumni network is more than 20,000 strong. It’s a group of caring people also in recovery and completely committed to supporting you on your journey. Many Lakeview Health alumni live close to our center in Jacksonville, Florida, but our network spans the nation. From Juneau, Alaska to Prescott, Arizona to Providence, Rhode Island, our people are everywhere. No matter where you live, there is someone willing to be there for you. With the connectivity that technology now affords, it’s even easier to find someone. If you reach out, they are there for you.
Regularly scheduled emails, phone calls, and text messages
We schedule check-ins at 48hr (hours), 2 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, and 1-year post-treatment. We want to continue to support you as much as necessary. If you have trouble finding a sponsor, Lakeview alumni can fill in until you find the right person for you. We’ve designed our program to reduce stress and lower anxiety.
Private Facebook groups
We monitor our Facebook groups regularly and read between the lines to identify struggling alumni, then reach out if we feel we need to help. We don’t advocate helicopter sponsoring, but we do follow our instincts.
Regularly scheduled healthy lifestyle activities
Our sober alumni activities are a blast. Ever done an escape room? We do that. Think your days of going to weekend or week-long music festivals are over? They’re not. Our alumni often attend festivals together, hold one another accountable, and help one another share in a fellowship of fun. Believe it or not, many festivals – including Burning Man, Bonnaroo, Coachella, Lollapalooza, and many more – include daily support meetings. We help connect you with the resources you need to keep your sobriety intact through these and other potentially risky events. You’ll be surprised just how easy it is to live a life in sobriety when you have the support of others.
Professional and personal support
Our Lakeview Health alumni support can help explain gaps in your resume to potential employers, give you advice on how to re-enter the dating world after rehab, and navigate unexpectedly challenging events like office parties or simply walking down the beverage aisle at the grocery store. Sometimes it’s the small things that can trip you up. We’re here to help you see them before they occur, or offer a helping hand if you stumble. Having someone to bounce ideas off of, ask questions, and get practical help from is key in making recovery lasting.
Maintaining sobriety is a team-effort

Remember to check out our upcoming alumni events to see our list of upcoming activities, and read our patient testimonials to see how the True North Alumni Program has impacted the lives of our alumni.

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