5 Ways to Strengthen Your Peer Support Network For Recovery

For people in recovery, support is needed on many levels. You need the support of the professionals who provide treatment and from your family. But one of the most important levels of support comes from peers—people who have shared your substance abuse experiences and challenges and have faced the road to recovery.

You may think that it may be difficult to build a strong peer support network that you can rely on for the long-term, but there are ways to strengthen your peer support network.

The Importance of Peer Support in Recovery

We all tend to gravitate toward people with whom we have things in common. We want to be with people who share our interests and experiences, and who understand us. This is no different in recovery. We can find comfort and support from peers who have also been through substance abuse and are in the process of recovery.

A strong peer support network has several benefits.

• Many studies have shown that peer support helps people to decrease substance use or maintain sobriety.
• Peer support in treatment can increase your chances of sticking with treatment.
• Peers can be mentors, sharing their strategies and successes with you.
• Peers can become lifelong friends.
• Peers can hold you accountable, in a sense, providing a healthy peer pressure to stay sober.
• Often, substance abusers feel like outcasts, but peers and peer groups can give you a sense of belonging.

In short, a peer support network can increase your chances of long-term recovery success.

Ways to Strengthen Your Peer Support Network

You can strengthen your peer support network in several ways. Every recovery is different, so you’ll need to decide which ways to find support are right for you.

1. Make Friends in Treatment and Keep in Touch

If you go to inpatient treatment, you’ll be in close quarters with your peers every day. You’ll spend time with them in group therapy, at meals, and during free time. This gives you the perfect opportunity to get to know people and form relationships. You’ll be able to talk about what you’re going through, your experiences, and your treatment progress.

If you open up and communicate with your peers like this, you’ll likely find at least a few people that you’ll want to keep in touch with and perhaps form lifelong relationships. These friendships can be invaluable because you’re going through your recovery experiences at the same time and therefore can offer each other unique support.

2. Group Therapy

If you don’t go to inpatient treatment and opt for some kind of outpatient program like a partial hospitalization program (PHP) or an intensive outpatient program (IOP), you’ll still have the opportunity to interact with peers in group therapy. You can reach out to people in these groups and form relationships which, again, can turn into long-term friendships.

3. 12-Step Groups or Other Support Groups

12-step meetings and other support groups for recovery are designed around the idea of peer support. People share experiences, emotions, and strategies, and also interact before and after meetings over coffee. You’ll likely find a few people that you can bond with and form mutually supportive relationships. In some groups, you’ll find a sponsor, who will also be a peer in recovery and will be on call for you when you’re struggling. In other groups, you may just connect with a few people and be on call for each other.

The key is to go to meetings consistently, stay open, share, and be willing to get close to people. You’ll find that you form incredible bonds with people of all ages and at all stages of recovery.

4. Peer Support Networks

In treatment, you may be referred to a peer support network. Often, the network will have a peer reach out to you to offer ongoing support. You can also find peer support networks to contact yourself. These groups allow you to connect with a peer on a one-on-one basis.

Peer support workers, as they are called, have successfully navigated recovery and are sometimes specifically trained to provide you with the support that you need as a mentor.

At some point when you’ve been successful in recovery, you may even choose to be a peer support worker. As a peer support worker, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), you could have the opportunity to help people in recovery in a variety of ways, including:

• Advocating for people in recovery
• Sharing resources and building skills
• Building community and relationships
• Leading recovery groups
• Mentoring and setting goals
• Providing services and/or training
• Supervising other peer workers
• Developing resources
• Administering programs or agencies
• Educating the public and policymakers

Acting as a peer support worker could be a very positive way to maintain your own successful path of recovery.

To find a peer support network and other recovery resources, visit the SAMHSA website.

5. Alumni Groups

Many treatment programs encourage the formation of alumni groups that connect people who have been through the treatment program, both at the same time and at different times. Often, these group members connect online or attend alumni meetings or events. This can be a great way to connect with more people with whom you share similar experiences.

Don’t Count Out Your Family

As you build a strong support network, you may find that you are most comfortable with peers rather than people who have not been through what you’ve been through. However, don’t count out your family as a support resource. The support of people who love you should not be underestimated. And remember, family does not have to be traditionally defined. It can also include friends that you’ve had since before your substance abuse who have stuck by you.

Don’t Avoid Peer Support

If you have not already developed peer relationships, you may have some trepidation about building a peer support network. You may be afraid that if your peers relapse, so will you. However, this is why you need a whole network of peer support so that you always have someone to go to.

Additionally, peer support is mutual. If you have someone in your peer network who is struggling, you can provide the help and support that they need. Helping others can be another important part of your own recovery.

You’ll find that a strong peer support network will help you in a variety of ways. Most importantly, it assures that you will never be alone on your recovery journey.