More and more parents and loved ones are contacting ADA-SA to complain about the fact that they have sent someone to rehab, and within days after leaving rehab, the person was using again.
Right there I usually ask the question, “So why did you send them to rehab in the first place?” which is usually followed by a blank stare or snotty remark like, “Well, that’s where addicts MUST go!”
No. No. And for a little bit of emphasis – NOOOOOOOO!
Most, I’m not saying all, but most addicts do not need to go to a rehabilitation centre. Agreeably there are certain cases in which a rehab is more suited to the situation, however, that is perhaps10% of the time, and is usually in extreme cases.
Why don’t rehabs work?
- Rehab is the perfect place for the addict to once again escape the responsibility of the damage they have caused. “If I go away for a few weeks or months, they will forget how bad I was” or “The drugs aren’t working anymore, let me clean up a bit in rehab, and they’ll work better once I am out” are excellent excuses for addicts.
- Rehabs force a “one size fits all” program onto the patient. We are all different. We have different backgrounds and lifestyles. A 17 year old teen with from a wealthy background, and that has a marijuana problem is shoved into the same program as a hardcore heroin addict of 30 and a 43 year old alcoholic who has just lost his business and is getting a divorce if he does not go to rehab. What do they have in common? NOTHING! Surely a program that is tailored for each specific person would be more successful?
- Parents love the idea. It’s a great way of getting rid of the problem for a while. Why actually deal with the problem when we can send the problem away to be fixed?
- Rehabs become part of the addictive cycle. It’s an easy “out” for the addict. If things are getting to harsh in life – let’s go to rehab.
- Not much “treatment” happens in rehab. Group therapy – which boils down to a bunch of addicts moaning and bitching how much they miss drugs – twice a week, hot stone massage in high price rehabs, psychiatrists who are more than willing to substitute the addict’s drug of choice with prescription meds, or extreme religious indoctrination are so called “forms of therapy”. Actually dealing with the root causes of the addiction is never really dealt with. It’s easier to give the addict a 12 step workbook and let them read about how terrible they are than to actually deal with the problem.
- Three square meals a day, a nice warm bed, and a safe environment away from the addict’s life. Addicts in rehab struggle to reintegrate because of this. Nothing in their home environment has changed. Wouldn’t a program that teaches them to cope with their own problems in their own environment work better? Teach them to cope with the dealers, the friends and the circumstance, as it happens, AND THEY WON’T NEED THE DRUGS!
- If the addict is a breadwinner, or a student, they simply cannot afford to be away from work or studies for even a short while.
- Most rehabs offer the same approach.
- Affordability. Rehabs can cost anything between R20 000 for 3 weeks to R120 000 for a few months.
- Many rehabs simply substitute the addict’s addiction to illegal drugs for legal prescription medication!
- Research into addiction has shown it to be something completely different to what rehabs tell you.
- Rehab treats the symptoms – not the root cause!
- Addiction is a family problem, not only an addict problem. The entire family needs to be treated!
The Clear Option out patient treatment program has been designed specifically to fill in all the blanks that rehab has not dealt with.
Treating the addict for the root cause of their addiction, as well as the family for the trauma they have experienced.
Certain brain chemicals are depleted with addiction, so supplementing the addict with completely natural, non-habit forming supplements that kick start the natural production of these chemicals is vitally important.
The Clear Option offers sessions via Skype for those who are not close enough to travel, and is very reasonably priced. We can deal with patients worldwide, from the comfort of their own home, thanks to the wonders of technology!
Should you wish to find out more about The Clear Option, call our offices at 011 402 2678 or alternatively call Quintin van Kerken at +27769687978.
. ADA-SA fully endorses The Clear Option.
