Christian Drug Rehab Offers Spiritual Healing

I joined a prominent clinic after spending several years in school training to be a nurse. Most of my classmates were hoping to land positions with hospitals, the traditional employers of nursing graduates, although a few were looking to nursing homes, which have been identified as a major opportunity in our field with the aging population. I was raised in a Christian household and I took a slightly different approach when it came to practicing my trade. If Jesus was willing to help lepers when no-one else wanted to be anywhere near them, how could I follow his example and practice nursing among society"??s outcasts? After some searching and considering options like following his lead literally and traveling to a third world medical clinic to volunteer my services, I opted for what I felt was a very close modern equivalent: helping recovering addicts to heal.



My family was a little shocked at my choice, but when I explained the parallels, they fully supported me. After all, who needs help more but is subject to public scorn the way that drug addicts are? They"??re blamed for their problem, accused of moral weakness, blamed for crimes and held up as the poster children for everything that"??s wrong with our modern world.



So I signed on and showed up for my first day at the clinic. By the end of that day I was second guessing my decision and after a week I was finished. I could not deal with the treatment programs and the methodology the clinic practiced. It seemed to me that the patients were dehumanized and treated as "??cases,"?? not as individual human beings. The counselors kept an emotional distance between themselves and the patients and when I asked why they did this, I was told that it was needed to prevent staff from becoming depressed and feeling responsible when the patients relapsed and showed up again in six months. It was all very clinical and very scientific, but there was something missing -a spiritual component.



I very nearly gave up on nursing altogether but for a tip from one of the physicians. He pointed me to an "??alternative"?? facility, the rehab clinic where I have worked for the past decade. Emphasizing traditional Christian values and incorporating key components of our faith (like hope, forgiveness, faith and perseverance); this center embraces patients and combines addiction treatment therapies with the support of Christian faith. It"??s a combination that works wonders for both patients and staff.

Emily Prentice is a supervising nurse who is familiar with traditional drug rehab treatment and its shortcomings. After a brief stint working in a popular treatment center, Emily discovered a facility offering Christian drug rehab, a formula she finds personally fulfilling as well as far more effective in helping addicted patients to recover.

substance abuse addictions: alcholisim

substance abuse addictions: substance abuse

Article Source: www.articlesnatch.com

Open Ended Addiction Treatment Program Offers Successful Balance

One of the primary reasons drug rehab programs fail is time. Some of the most effective treatment programs require an incredible time commitment from patients, the ability to remove themselves from their day to day lives for months at a time. On the other end of the spectrum are the "??miracle clinics"?? that promise patients a quick stay of a few weeks that will end in a full cure. Both of these options are unrealistic, at least for many people. There are few patients who can simply drop out of their life for three or more months; not only is doing so disruptive, but it can be incredibly expensive as well. And as for the two week option, while it may not leave a patient financially reeling, that"??s hardly sufficient time for detoxification, let alone treatment.



An option that"??s been receiving considerable attention in recent years finds the middle ground between these two extremes. Frequently referred to as "??open ended rehab,"?? this method combines the best of both traditional options, offering the comprehensive treatment and success rates of long term programs with the lower cost and faster reintegration of the short term clinics. The average stay of a patient in open ended rehab ranges from 30 to 90 days, making this a much more realistic alternative for many drug and alcohol addicts.



How did the practitioners of open ended rehab find the balance that works? Key to achieving success was retaining the tools that have made longer-term programs successful (and that were frequently missing from the rapid treatment clinics), essentials such as detoxification, counseling and education. At the same time, patients are not kept out of public circulation for an unreasonable amount of time, so the impact to their family and professional lives is significantly lessened. What makes this all work is a critical component: follow-up support.



Open ended drug treatment programs must compensate for the fact that patients will be exposed to the temptations that brought them down much sooner than if they were isolated from society for six months. In order to help them to deal with temptation and the struggles of adapting to everyday life, ongoing counseling and follow-up support is crucial to preventing relapse. For a patient who has gone through detox and treatment and is preparing to face the real world once again, knowing that they will have regular counseling sessions to help them as they adjust, as well as immediate help should they feel that they might be in danger of falling into bad habits, is a tremendous benefit.



Open ended drug rehab appears to offer the optimal balance between thorough and accelerated treatment.

Arthur Milton is a former counselor who writes about holistic drug rehab and other alternative drug rehab programs. His work has been featured in industry journals as well as several major newspapers. He recently profiled a successful addiction treatment program that was based on an open ended treatment model.

substance abuse addictions: addiction

substance abuse addictions: addiction

Article Source: www.articlesnatch.com