The third phase [in recovery] is “aftercare”. 

To understand this phase we will have to understand the recovery process from the addiction point of view. Fred Zackon describes the view of an addict who has gained sobriety as one entering a new life, similar to an immigrant arriving in a new country. These people need to assimilate to a new culture, and not simply relocate their old one. This is where the church can welcome, guide, mentor, demonstrate faith, love and give hope.

The Addict-Immigrant

So, how does this immigrant think?  First, to help we must understand our world.  Second, we must understand the addict’s view of this new world in order to help them assimilate accordingly.
 
First, even though the addict has succeeded in stopping their use of drugs, the cravings remain.  Those cravings will be intense for months; for some drugs sometimes six months.  These cravings are triggered by drug conditioning, rituals, environments, and friends which the person must eventually learn to manage and avoid on their own. This is sometimes called self-care, which the scriptures call self-control.
 
Second, the immigrant is facing a new and unfamiliar social fabric. The old community of friends, and sometimes family, is too dangerous to associate with. The person is too susceptible to suggestion, peer pressure, and habits. Entering into this new social order requires enormous risk. Shame is alive and well. The addict’s greatest fear is to be known as an addict, weak, unable to control themselves, a failure, disgusting, unable to do anything right, and the one who has done great harm to family and friends.  However, to be known, through telling their story, is exactly what needs to happen for them to discover that the anticipated response of rejection and resentment from their new community is simply imagined.
 
This is where a church community of men and women, who have gone through their own journey of recovery, becomes a safe place for the addict.  12-step programs often serve this need, as I believe the church can and should fill.  In this environment, the addict-immigrant is embraced into community.  This is where the hermeneutics of addiction are so important to understand.  The supportive community must recognize the addict will have to learn the language and customs of this new culture. This will take time, patience and modeling.
 
Work and recreational experiences of pain are of particular significance to newly sober addicts. They have to be informed and reassured that the pains and stresses they feel are normal.  They must learn to adapt to a certain level of discomfort otherwise they will return to sedating pain and relieving stress with drugs or other behaviors.

The loneliness of immigration creates a longing for intimate relations.  Appropriate behavior and social skills come much slower. Years of harm and harming others have created relational styles which have to be confronted and changed. In some cases, the sexualizing of relationships is strong and must be repeatedly addressed with clarity and solid scriptural backing. They must come to a place where they view the opposite sex with empathy and value, while holding the same protective standard Jesus would.  This will take much longer than they like, so closely monitored relationships with faithful accountability partners is required.

The last vulnerability of the addict-immigrant is the scam. Drugs and alcohol are available everywhere.  Dealers have a profile and radar poised to identify and pull in the addict. The sober addict must learn to say “No”. They must choose self-control. If the addict relapses, it is critical to determine if full blown re-addiction will occur.
 
In the end, the addict-immigrant must learn to assimilate and find enjoyment as a citizen of this new community which becomes too valuable to loose.

Note: This article is an adaptation of Fred Sackon, William E. McAuliffe, James M. N. Ch’ien, Recovery Training and Self-help: Relapse Prevention and Aftercare for Drug Addicts, U.S. Department of Health and Human Service, National Institute on Drug Abuse, NIH Publication No. 93-3521, 1993,  p 10.