What Makes Holistic Addiction Treatment Different?

It’s the same old story, yet another celebrity has entered rehab, again, or been arrested, again. Lindsey Lohan, the Olsen twins, Amy Winehouse, Brittney Spears, the list is endless. It seems a day doesn’t go by without at least one celebrity getting arrested for drug or alcohol abuse, or entering treatment for the umpteenth time. It seems addiction and entertainment have become intertwined. But you know better. You know addiction is no laughing matter and it’s more than just another headline to you. When addiction hits home, when the ugliness of drug or alcohol abuse become personal, you need real answers and real solutions, not just another empty promise.

A popular and common method of Addiction Treatment is to use drugs to combat drugs. Basically, in a medically supervised setting, clinical staff use a variety of drug therapies to combat the effects of withdrawal. But there is another approach, a more natural, highly effective approach that cleanses the system of drug residues while offering a step-by-step system for learning positive behaviors, replacing negative, addictive patterns with positive, life-changing techniques, which arm the recovering addict with the knowledge and certainty to lead a happy, addiction-free life.

The key is a holistic Drug Addiction program that addresses the whole person, including the reasons, thought processes and methods of addiction, not just the chemical dependency. The Narconon program does exactly that. Through the program, the substance abuser undergoes a holistic detoxification process and learns to communicate effectively with others, defining a set of personal ethical standards to become a responsible and contributing member of the community. If that sounds like a tall order, it is. And it’s not an easy road. But the Narconon program has met with success time and again.

The program starts out with detoxification in a social setting where participants, called “students,” take part in a non-medical, drug-free program of prescribed exercise, sauna and vitamin and mineral supplements. This first step serves to remove the student from the negative environments that encourage substance abuse, discontinue use of alcohol and other drugs, and begin the process of ridding their bodies of all toxic drug and alcohol residues. Students are closely monitored throughout the process and staff members keep track of withdrawal symptoms, vital signs and even hours of sleep and food and fluid intake. The staff offers techniques to improve comfort, reduce symptoms and increase awareness. Students don’t move on to the rest of the program until they are free of physical symptoms of acute withdrawal.

Once the detox process is complete, students move into a series of classes designed to examine the old behaviors, thought processes and lifestyle choices that led to addiction. In the process, students learn new ways of thinking and living, with a focus on personal responsibility as each student takes an active part in drafting their own recovery plan. This is not a one-size-fits-all Drug Addiction Treatment. Instead, the Narconon program is highly personal, with staff members working with students through group and individual activities. Students work through a series of “courses” which teach important life skills, and encourage the students to create their own set of values and ethics based on social “norms.”

The Drug Rehab program doesn’t stop there, since the focus is on effective and addiction-free reentry to society. The reentry plan is a therapeutic contract that specifies strategies that will be applied by the student once he returns to society. The first step of the reentry program is an assessment of the student’s participation in the detox and life course processes. Next, the focus is on involving family and loved ones, establishing healthy relationships. Third in this Dynamic Assessment is helping the student evaluate and understand the availability of drug-free individuals in their community, as well as resources for drug-free groups, further establishing healthy, addiction-free social behaviors. This is also the stage where work experience, skills and assessments of vocational abilities are done and an action plan created for seeking further training if needed, and ultimately, employment. Next, students make plans to engage in volunteer work and finally the plan addresses housing, transportation and financial needs.

When the graduate leaves the Narconon center, they are fully prepared to enter their new life, addiction free. But the care doesn’t stop there. Staff members from the Department of Success follow up on a regular basis, ensuring the graduate has continued support. Should the graduate not move successfully into their new life, the staff is there to help, addressing each situation on an individual basis. In serious cases, the graduate is encouraged to return to the center to work through the difficulties.

With the Narconon program, you aren’t going to find a cookie-cutter answer to addiction treatment. Instead you will find the most effective drug rehab program in the world, with a program that saves lives, doesn’t kick their participants out if they aren’t “cured” in 28 days, doesn’t replace one addiction with another, but instead treats the whole person, body mind and soul in a non-sectarian, non-judgmental environment. The end result? Graduates who have successfully achieved the stated goal of the Narconon program: A drug free individual contributing to society and leading a happy, drug-free life.