CHESS Health Launches Virtual Recovery Support Meetings

ByCHESS Health

Leading Addiction Management Platform Enhanced with New Component for Recovery

CHESS Health, the leading provider of comprehensive addiction technology and support services, announced the addition of virtual recovery support meetings to its leading evidence-based Connections smartphone app.

CHESS Health’s virtual support meetings, or “Alongsides,” offer individuals in recovery from Substance Use Disorder (SUD) a moderated forum to meet and share with peers without leaving their homes. These meetings are moderated by CHESS Health’s peer engagement specialists using the integrated video communication functionality within the Connections app. Each meeting has a theme (for example, mindfulness and meditation, or promoting recovery and healing through the arts), which allows patients to choose from and engage in meaningful topics to support their recovery.

This innovation is especially vital now, as the COVID pandemic has brought about an alarming increase in substance use. As of June 2020, 13% of Americans reported starting or increasing substance use as a way of coping with stress or emotions related to COVID-19 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Recent data compiled by the American Medical Association indicate that the COVID pandemic has also “made the nation’s drug overdose epidemic worse” (June 2021). At the same time, fewer in-person treatment services have been available to patients, leaving significant needs unaddressed (Czeisler 2020).

“Support meetings are a vital component for many in recovery, and we’re excited to add meetings as another feature of the Connections app,” said Hans Morefield, the chief executive officer of CHESS Health. “Through the Alongside meetings, our peer recovery specialists have enhanced the supportive community spirit that is the foundation of the recovery experience in Connections.”

Patients agree. One recent participant said: “It takes out the uncomfortable part of going somewhere unfamiliar. It’s really beneficial to people like me, who are new to recovery.” Another patient said of the peer community in the app, “Because of this app and the support I get from everyone in it, I’m celebrating one year of sobriety with many more to come.”

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About CHESS Health

CHESS Health is the leading provider of service-enabled technology supporting the entire addiction management and recovery lifecycle. The CHESS platform virtually manages recovery across the continuum, getting more patients into treatment (eIntervention), improving outcomes through digital CBT (eTherapy), and reducing relapse and enabling long-term recovery (eRecovery). CHESS Health’s Evidence-based platform help providers, health plans, and government organizations achieve higher abstinence rates, reduce relapses, and lower the cost of care. Nationally recognized by SAMSHA and NREPP, CHESS Health’s flexible telehealth platform and peer engagement services offer the analytics and insights that treatment providers and payers need to get more patients into treatment and improve outcomes. For more information, visit www.chess.health.