What are the Best Online Education Systems for Drug and Alcohol Addiction Recovery Programs?
Annabel Lundy, Chief Learning Officer at Pobal
What are the Best Online Education Systems for Drug and Alcohol Addiction Recovery Programs? When it comes to developing effective drug and alcohol education programs that help people create long-lasting recovery from drug and alcohol addiction, using a purpose built system can be the difference between long term engagement and falling short of your goals. With the amount of content growing exponentially by the day, determining the best system to provide that content is an important decision to get right. This is especially important for those in educational design roles like mine. Here are the three major components that I consider the success factors of any online or on demand drug and alcohol education program.
1. Modern, User-Friendly Online Access to Courses
If learners or practitioners can’t easily access their courses and programs from a modern online application that is optimized for both mobile and desktop devices, then you are creating an unnecessary barrier to entry that might impact the success of your course or program, including any additional progress assessments along the way, such as RCI (Recovery Capital Index). According to a study by Asurion, 80% of Americans experience some type of tech frustration every day, so limiting that frustration around your tech is of utmost importance. It’s not only going to be tough for the learner and the families involved, but also for their addiction coaches or therapists to help manage growth and progress throughout the recovery journey. Instead of spending countless hours troubleshooting login and access, that time could be more effectively spent engaging with the content or learners. Online access to recovery through mobile devices or desktops seems like a no-brainer, but many recovery programs lack modern recovery education technologies that make this all possible. Online access to recovery courses is made even stronger and more effective with modern community tools and apps like our Ascent and Arc apps. Ascent allows administrators, program managers, coaches and therapists the ability to scale their practice with a one-to-many model and real-time progress reporting and analytics that benefit the students. Ease of access gives learners and practitioners the ability to adjust and customize their programs along the way. Ascent offers a deep catalog of treatment education modules for use with in-patient, out-patient, family, and prevention programs. Self-guided learning is augmented with programmatic assessment tools to help clinicians be more efficient and effective. Let’s dive into this more next!
2. Real-time Learner Progress Assessments and Reporting
The best addiction recovery education systems allow for real-time program engagement and progress tracking. If learners and practitioners can get a variety of analytics to track and manage daily program activities and goals, the more successful their recovery will be. These analytics are crucial to providing an evidence-based program and customized client support. The ability to track learner progress and engagement with a variety of indicators gives course creators the tools to quickly assess the efficacy of their program and adjust when necessary. Counselors, coaches, and therapists can have more meaningful and effective conversations about their client’s progress with automated reports so they are spending more quality time with clients and less time on admin activities. It can be very motivating for those in recovery to see real-time results and progress as they advance through their courses. Modern recovery education platforms like Ascent and Arc provide an innovative recovery ecosystem with real-time reports and goal tracking to easily and effectively assess learner and course success with on demand courses, LMS tools, and community support to promote lasting remission from addiction.
3. Community-Supported, Self-Driven Accountability Tools
Recovery can be achieved more quickly with higher, longer-lasting success rates with the consistent and caring support of those in a recovery community with similar goals. Centering community in recovery not only improves odds of lifelong success but also naturally improves accountability in all aspects of your life. Systems that promote self-stewarded accountability give power to the individual and build confidence. Arc, or the Accountability Recovery Community, makes connecting with a recovery community easier for drug and alcohol addiction recovery programs with a mobile app that brings together peers in recovery with similar goals and interests and practitioners delivering aftercare. Here are some of the key features and benefits of the new Arc social platform. Specifically, features like location-based calendaring and check-ins, the ability for practitioners and learners to schedule appointments, events, and tasks and check-in right from the recovery app is ideal. The best online recovery education systems combine community and accountability with a robust and comprehensive content library that works in conjunction with the growth in the recovery treatment community.
When selecting the best online education system for drug and alcohol addiction recovery programs consider each of these three questions: (1) what are the barriers to access to the technology, (2) what kinds of engagement and progress indicators are available, and (3) is there a community that will support me and my clients? When a system addresses these three major areas they are leading the industry in innovation and commitment to success.
