Blandine House Inc

Addiction and Residential Treatment…..It Works…….How it Works……..

This is an exciting time to be involved in the treatment of addiction.  The “excitement” is derived from the accumulating science of addiction and recovery that is verifying that addiction is a brain disorder; “it” is located deep within the primitive structures of the brain and: the brain is capable of change; change is possible within a structured setting because the structure of the setting functions when the brain cannot yet “make decisions” that will promote health and well-being.  (1)

Residential treatment has been acknowledged as a workable form of treatment given that most people remain clean and sober during the course of their stay in the structured setting.  What the field of recovery and the science of addiction has yet to verify is that the length of stay in residential treatment is related to the long term successful outcome wherein the individual can sustain sobriety.  (2)

Many counselors believe that increasing the length of stay will produce better outcomes (I understand this is anecdotal data) and yet are consumed with being able to justify to insurers or government and tribal funding agencies that even a 10 to 90 day stay in residence is preferable to attempting to maintain sobriety while in outpatient services.  Albeit, outpatient services are appropriate for those in the very early stages of addiction.   It is an age old axiom within the recovering community that the “longer one stays clean and sober the better the chances are of your remaining clean and sober longer.”  Thus, a 3 to 9 month residential treatment experience for many chronic addicts and alcoholics would produce better “outcomes.”  “Tincture of time” in which the chronic addict or alcoholic can practice and skill build the recovery skills that will support long term recovery would produce better “outcomes.” 

(1)          “The process of working the steps is intended to replace self-centeredness with selflessness, a spiritual attribute conducive to improving interpersonal relationships, encouraging altruism and empathy, and, most importantly reducing stress.  Working the steps involves taking personal inventory of fears, resentments and character defects, all of which contribute to stress in the addict or alcoholic.  Hijacking the Brain:  How Drug and Alcohol Addiction Hijacks Our Brains  The Science Behind Twelve-Step Recovery.  Louis Teresi, MD, Harry Haroutunian, MD Author House 2011, p, 186

(2)          “A significant body of research has documented an association between Twelve-Step self-help group participation and positive outcomes and has suggested mechanisms by which these positive outcomes are generated.  In addition, millions of Americans have “voted with their feet” by participating in addiction related self-help groups, sometimes in the face of ambivalence by clinicians.  Many improvements remain to be made in self-help group research, but at present the following represent reasonable conclusions based on the existing research:  Longitudinal studies associate Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous participation with greater likelihood of abstinence, improved social functioning, and greater self-efficacy.  Participation seems more helpful when members engage in other group activities in addiction to attending meetings; Twelve-Step groups significantly reduce health care utilization and costs, removing a significant burden from the health care system; Self-help groups are best viewed as a form of continuing care rather than as a substitute for acute treatment services; and, Randomized trials with coerced populations suggest that AA combined with professional treatment is superior to AA alone.” 

P 188, Hijacking the Brain, How Drug and Alcohol Addiction Hijacks Our Brains;  The Science Behind Twelve-Step Recovery.  Louis Teresi, MD, Harry Haroutunian, MD AuthorHouse 2011

Residential treatment provides the safe, secure, reassuring, behavior correcting and guided/supportive decision making experiences that will allow the addict/alcoholic to deprogram from the addictive behavior and to acquire recovery oriented thoughts and behavior.  The cost of residential treatment is, in essence, infinitesimal when compared to the costs of continued using.

-Here each of our residents is - first and foremost - a human being. He will be treated with the dignity and respect he deserves.

-Here, Each of our residents is an alcoholic, or addict, an both. After that, he is unique unto himself.

-Here, we are inconsistent because each resident is unique and so too will be our approach.

-Here, we make mistakes. The day indifference arrives, our mistakes will go away.

-Here,  we believe in helping each other. No one of us has all the answers.

-Here, we cure no one. We are not that capable. However, we will do everything we can to provide the tools, support and the encouragement to the man who desires to learn and accept how to live a life being clean and sober.

Primary Focus of the Provider

• Substance Abuse Treatment Services

---

Type of Care

• Substance abuse treatment
• Do not use medication for opioid addiction

---

Facility Type

---

Treatment Approaches

• Cognitive/behavioral therapy
• Dialectical behavioral therapy
• Substance abuse counseling approach
• Trauma-related counseling
• Rational emotive behavioral therapy

---

Facility Smoking Policy

• Smoking permitted in designated area

---

Service Setting (e.g., Outpatient, Residential, etc.)

• Residential
• Outpatient
• Long-term residential
• Regular outpatient treatment
• Computerized treatment

---

Facility Operation (e.g. Private, Public)

• Private organization
• State substance abuse agency
• State department of health
• Commission on Accreditation and Rehabilitation

---

Payment/Insurance Accepted

• Cash or self-payment
• Private health insurance
• IHS/Tribal/Urban (ITU) funds
• Federal, or any government funding for substance abuse programs

---

Emergency Mental Health Services

---

Payment Assistance Available

---

Language Services

• Services for the deaf and hard of hearing

---

Special Programs/Groups Offered

• Persons with co-occurring mental and substance abuse disorders
• Lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) clients
• Veterans
• Active duty military
• Military families
• Clients referred from the court/judicial system
• Seniors or older adults
• Adult men
• Persons with HIV or AIDS
• Persons who have experienced trauma
• Persons who have experienced sexual abuse
• Persons who have experienced intimate partner violence, domestic violence
• Transitional age young adults

---

Ancillary Services

• Individual counseling offered
• Group counseling offered
• Family counseling offered
• Marital/couples counseling offered
• 12-step faciltitation approach
• Brief intervention approach
• Contingency management/motivational incentive
• Motivational interviewing
• Anger management
• Martix Model
• Community reinforcement plus vouchers
• Relapse prevention

---

Age Groups Accepted

• Young adults
• Adults

---

Gender Accepted

• Male

---

Exclusive Services

---