For those in recovery, traveling is a huge part of the journey. Those with reliable transportation tend to do better in drug rehab programs than those without reliable transportation.
Due to the coronavirus, many places may have ended in-person meetings and resorted to Zoom conferences or telephone calls.
However, the most effective treatment is still in-person, interacting with groups or with a mental health professional.
Read on to find out more about the impact of travel and recovery, and how you can still get the best treatment in Florida during the coronavirus pandemic.
How Important is Travel During Recovery?
A successful contributing factor to a person’s recovery is travel. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH):
“Environmental characteristics can also play an important role in substance use disorder treatment completion and abstinence from substance use. Travel to treatment is one of the most fundamental environmental influences on treatment, as the majority of substance use disorder treatments occur via outpatient versus residential treatment programs, such that clients must travel from their homes to the treatment location. For the poor, who are less likely to own a car, access to public transportation from both the home and the outpatient treatment program may be an important contributor to attending treatment. Research indicates that distance and travel time from the home to the treatment program can affect treatment attendance and completion, which is itself a key indicator of post-treatment success regarding future abstinence from substance use, employment, less involvement in the criminal justice system, and other positive outcomes.”
Isolation, Travel, and Recovery
Besides transportation, access to high-quality care is also a huge factor during these challenging times. Also, the effectiveness of the treatment pertaining to one’s environment. The NIH weighs in:
“In addition to the physical distance and time required to attend outpatient treatment, another environmental characteristic concerns the degree to which attending treatment requires traveling from one’s own neighborhood to a neighborhood with a different cultural or socioeconomic orientation. Research indicates that culturally sensitive treatment settings engender treatment success, and that clients feel more comfortable and are more responsive to treatment settings in which they are not socially, culturally, or linguistically isolated. These same issues extend to geographic differences between home and outpatient treatment locations, where clients traveling to neighborhoods socially and culturally different than their own may be less likely to attend or complete treatment. In addition, for those who receive brief inpatient treatment for their substance use disorders and then are discharged to outpatient treatment in their community, such environmental factors as living in greater proximity to alcohol outlets and in areas with high vacant housing rates represent particular environmental risk factors that can act to reduce the likelihood of treatment continuity.”
During the coronavirus pandemic, isolation has hindered people’s progress. Whether it is mental health or recovery, this pandemic has shown the importance of in-person settings and its success. Traveling to a better environment is also more beneficial in one’s recovery.
How to Get Help for Substance Abuse in South Florida
Florida is ranked lowly when compared to other states regarding travel. The state is very car-dependent, and expect traffic during peak times in the morning and evening. The best ways to overcome this is to carpool, get an Uber (or Lyft), use the bus transit system, or the Tri-Rail. For more information, please visit Broward Transit. To see a more comprehensive list, see Transit System FL.
On Call Treatment FL is willing will work with you to ensure you get the treatment you deserve at your convenience.
Contact On Call Treatment FL, a South Florida drug rehab—available 24 Hours, 7 days a week, call us NOW 1-(855)-492-1515.