Professionals seeking to balance their career and addiction recovery can employ several key strategies. These include prioritizing recovery, establishing clear boundaries between work and recovery, utilizing flexible treatment options, seeking workplace support, practicing effective time management, knowing your legal rights, and seeking professional support.
Prioritizing recovery while maintaining a career involves making recovery the top priority for long-term success. This includes attending therapy sessions and support group meetings regularly, practicing self-care, and allocating time for stress-reducing activities. A strong recovery foundation will ultimately benefit the professional’s career.
Establishing clear boundaries between work and recovery is crucial in managing professional responsibilities while prioritizing recovery. These boundaries help define specific work hours and personal time, communicate these limits to colleagues and supervisors, and learn to say “”no”” to extra work commitments that may jeopardize recovery.
Many rehab programs offer flexible treatment options designed for working professionals. These include outpatient programs that allow individuals to live at home and attend treatment during non-work hours, executive rehab that provides enhanced privacy and the ability to work remotely while in treatment, intensive outpatient programs (IOP) that offer more intensive treatment outside of work hours, and telehealth services that enable virtual counseling and group sessions.
Workplace support can be a valuable resource for professionals in recovery. Many employers offer resources to support employees in recovery, such as consulting the HR department about available accommodations, considering disclosing recovery status to supervisors if appropriate, and taking advantage of Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) if offered.
The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides job protection for eligible employees seeking treatment for serious health conditions, including addiction treatment. It allows up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave and protects the employee’s job and health insurance coverage during this time.
Britney Elyse has over 15 years experience in mental health and addiction treatment. Britney completed her undergraduate work at San Francisco State University and her M.A. in Clinical Psychology at Antioch University. Britney worked in the music industry for several years prior to discovering her calling as a therapist. Britney’s background in music management, gave her first hand experience working with musicians impacted by addiction. Britney specializes in treating trauma using Somatic Experiencing and evidence based practices. Britney’s work begins with forming a strong therapeutic alliance to gain trust and promote change. Britney has given many presentations on somatic therapy in the treatment setting to increase awareness and decrease the stigma of mental health issues. A few years ago, Britney moved into the role of Clinical Director and found her passion in supervising the clinical team. Britney’s unique approach to client care, allows us to access and heal, our most severe cases with compassion and love. Prior to join the Carrara team, Britney was the Clinical Director of a premier luxury treatment facility with 6 residential houses and an outpatient program