The Way Out Recovery SCV, an outpatient rehab in Santa Clarita, is discussing their unique approach to recovery regarding total abstinence from drugs or alcohol during the process.

Program Director Bob Sharits noted that the ultimate goal of a successful recovery is usually to get and stay clean and sober, and not to use any substance. However, this can stop some people from making the decision to even start the recovery process. 

“It’s hard to hear that if you’re standing outside the recovery process,” Sharits said, noting that many people struggling with substance use view things like alcohol or marijuana as the “fun” aspect of social activities like barbecues, concerts and weddings. 

Related: Expert From Outpatient Rehab In Santa Clarita Gives Parents, Teens Tools To Combat Addiction

Sharits asked Melissa Flowers, a counselor at The Way Out Recovery SCV, about the reaction she typically gets from people when she tells them total abstinence is the ultimate goal. 

“Some people understand that and some people are working towards that,” she said. “But (the) majority of people I get, ‘Oh,’ especially the younger people, ‘Oh, really? Nothing? I can’t do a little bit of this, or eventually control my drinking?’ … They can’t imagine that anything can be fun or that quality of life is improved by not picking up a drink or drug.” 

Unlike some other recovery programs or outpatient facilities, Sharits noted that The Way Out Recovery SCV does not make it a requirement that those in their program remain completely abstinent, though they are required to be clean and sober at meetings and events. 

“Our treatment center is different, I think, than most,” he said. “We don’t demand when you come to our treatment, we don’t say, ‘You have to stop doing anything or you can’t come here.’”

Flowers noted that this approach makes it more “welcoming” to people who otherwise might choose to walk away from the recovery process altogether, and those who are still struggling with abstaining completely don’t tend to feel ashamed to return to meetings to talk about it. 

“Obviously the ultimate goal is abstinence,” Flowers said. “They have to attend the program not under the influence that day, come to our community support activities not under the influence, but if someone is struggling, we try to meet them where they are.” 

Sharits continued, “The message is this, is that your best chance of long-term successful recovery and a new life is for you to not do anything, and our experience is, is that if you do something, more than likely, now it’s not 100 percent, but more than likely that if you’re still over here smoking pot, that the pot is going to become the new problem, or it’s going to lead you back to the old problem, and we’ve seen that happen over and over… But if we just came in and said, ‘No, that’s the rule. You can’t do it,’ then a lot of people would walk away. What we say is, ‘That’s the goal and we want you there because we want you to have a successful recovery, but what do you think about that?’” 

Ed. Note: This article is a KHTS Community Spotlight based on a recent radio interview with The Way Out Recovery Outpatient Rehab in Santa Clarita.

In Santa Clarita, drug issues are a major concern for many. The mission of The Way Out Recovery Outpatient Rehab in Santa Clarita is to provide high quality, effective alcohol and drug rehab outpatient services to the Santa Clarita Valley. The Santa Clarita rehab’s goal is to assist adolescents, adults and their loved ones in becoming happily and usefully whole, free from drug addiction. Those seeking alcohol and drug treatment in Santa Clarita, a drug rehab in Santa Clarita, a teen drug rehab or simply a “rehab near me” can rest assured that The Way Out Recovery SCV’s philosophy is to teach life-long coping skills and strategies to assist in improving quality of life and living happily and meaningfully without the need of destructive behaviors.

The Way Out Recovery SCV – Santa Clarita

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