South Country Treatment Centre offers a 4 week (28 days) intensive inpatient program for alcohol, drugs and problem gambling for those 18 years of age or older. Clients learn to develop awareness, skills, strategies, and supports to help gain further control over their lives and addictions. Our services are continually updated based on client feedback, emerging client needs and new concepts and best practices within the addictions field.
Key elements of our program consist of assessment, group counselling, individual counselling, presentations, exercises, videos and homework based on psycho-educational and experiential materials and building support systems.
Listed below you will find the Phases of our Treatment Program:
| √ | Orientation to Treatment and to our Centre: |
| √ | Introduction to Addictions and Recovery: |
| √ | Skill Development: |
| √ | Relapse Prevention: |
| √ | Graduation Ceremonies: |
MODELS OF TREATMENT
South Country Treatment Centre adopts the belief that the nature of addictions and addictions treatment is based upon the following theoretical models.
Final Common Pathway Theory of Addictions: (FCP)
Recognizing that addictions are not a starting point; but a common end point of a unique pattern of growth. Therefore the addiction is not necessarily the result of a single “cause”, but rather occurs from a combination of factors including biological, psychological, social, environment and spiritual. These factors combined, may lead to the development of both pleasure seeking and distress/pain avoidance patterns that become habitual and addictive in nature. (Doweiko, 2002)
Jacobs Model of Addiction:
This model contends that addiction is a dependent process acquired over time in efforts to relieve stress and distress; and results from a combination of both physiological factors and past traumatic experiences. Therefore the treatment of addictions involves a process of learning to manage emotional stress and distress in healthier ways, while also treating unresolved traumatic experiences that continue to impact one’s present life. (Jacobs, 1986)
All of the following models are used by Counsellors at South Country Treatment Centre, based upon the needs of the client. Although group counselling is a major part of our program, individual counselling gives the Counsellor the opportunity to meet the client on a more personal level. These models are incorporated in both group counselling and individual counselling.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT):
This is a form of therapy that targets replacing dysfunctional emotional, behavioural, and cognitive (thinking) patterns with more healthy and effective ones, through the use of simple, structured, goal-oriented techniques. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy has been found to be effective in the treatment of a variety of problems including; depression, anxiety, substance abuse, eating disorders and other various forms of mental illness. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is also identified by Health Canada: Best Practices as a recommended form of treatment for substance abuse. (Corey, 2001; Roberts & Ogborne, 1999; Seligman, 2004)
12 Step/Disease Model of Addiction:
Operates upon the belief that addiction is a lifelong disease resulting from biological, environmental, and/or spiritual factors; that can be arrested and kept in remission through developing, and continued practice of a structured recovery program and healthy lifestyle. The 12 Step/Disease model of addiction continues to remain internationally one of the most popular and widely used approaches to treating addictions (Doweiko, 2002)
Person Centred Therapy (PCT):
This is another widely used model within the fields of mental health and addictions that operates upon perceiving that individuals can understand the factors in their lives that are causing them to be happy; and are capable of developing their own resources, solutions and directions. Within a non-judgemental, empathetic and supportive counselling environment, the individual is able to develop their own strengths, personal power and life choices (Corey, 2001; Seligman, 2004)
Solution Focused Brief Therapy:
A form of brief counselling operating on the belief that change is both possible and constant. It focuses on helping people both identify what they wish to see changed in their life, as well as those things they wish to see continue happening in their lives. Counsellors work with the client to develop a client’s strengths, resources, successes and problem solving skills. (Corey, 2001, Seligman, 2004)
Narrative Therapy:
This is based upon the notion that our sense of reality and our personal identities and experiences, are directly shaped by the stories we tell about ourselves and our lives, and how we interpret those stories. Clients are assisted to re-examine their life stories and encouraged to re-interpret oppressive and dysfunctional perspectives in favour of more functional and empowering perspectives regarding their identities, as well as their past, present, and future experiences (Goldenberg & Goldenberg, 2005)
References:
Corey, G. (2001). Theory and practice of counselling and psychotherapy (6th Ed.) Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning.
Doweiko, H.E. (2002) Concepts of chemical dependency (5th Ed. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.
Goldenberg, I. & Goldenberg, H. (2005) Family Therapy. In R.J. Corsini, & D,. Wedding (Eds.) Current psychotherapies (7th Ed.) (pp. 372-404). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole.
Jacobs, D.F. (1986) A general theory of addictions. Journal of gambling studies, 2(1), 15-31.
Roberts, G. & Ogborne, A. (1999) Best practices: Substance abuse treatment and rehabilitation: Ottawa, ON: Health Canada.
Seligman, L. (2004). Diagnosis and treatment planning in counselling (3rd Ed.). New York: Kluwer Academic Publishers.