Elements of Successful Holistic Addiction Treatment

Our objective of our treatment center is to treat the whole person, according to the findings revealed in our holistic assessment process. Our professional team meets to discuss the needs of each resident and design a rehabilitation treatment plan that addresses the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual aspects that require attention. We address the current status of the individual and their internal psychological development, as well as important elements of their personal history, including their ability to engage in healthy relationships and actively pursue a fulfilling purpose in life.

Each aspect of the person is addressed in a variety of settings, including individual counseling, family/marital counseling, group dynamics, recovery education, bodywork, lifestyle coaching, spiritual direction, as well as in the healing environment that we create and encourage at St. Joseph Institute.

Elements of a Holistic Approach to Addiction Recovery

Examining the Physical Aspect includes an evaluation of the physical body to reveal important medical or structural concerns. We want to address current medical conditions, as well as structural misalignments and imbalances that may be contributing to the addictive process or to any co-occurring disorders. Since the human body is both structure and energy, we examine the energetic systems of the body as well. While the medical and structural assessments and methods of treatment are based on principles of traditional Western medicine; the energetic aspects are founded in Chinese and Ayurvedic medical practices. This approach allows our highly trained therapeutic team to locate and treat issues that might otherwise go undetected and contribute to patterns of relapse.

Examination of the physical aspect also includes an assessment of physiological components through means such as blood and urine testing, hair analysis, allergy testing, and nutritional evaluation. The holistic approach allows us to use natural methods, as well as traditional medical interventions, to restore and re-balance the body.

Examining the Mental Aspect includes the vast array of counseling assessment techniques and interventions from the major theoretical approaches, including:

• Psychodynamic – the interrelationship between the various parts of an individual’s personality with respect to the process of human development, focusing on the needs that were and were not met, as well as the way developmental crises were resolved or remain unresolved
• Cognitive/Behavioral – the study of the interrelationship between thoughts and behaviors, learning how beliefs, attitudes, and rules influence a person’s behavior and how these core beliefs can be identified and modified to improve a person’s well-being and ability to function
• Spiritual/Humanistic – the belief in the basic goodness of human beings as creatures made in God’s image. Each person has an inherent desire to achieve higher levels of functioning through development of their relationship with God
• Transpersonal – an approach that transcends the ego-centered, humanistic view and considers the deeply spiritual aspects of the human condition. This approach acknowledges what is seen and what is unseen, what is known consciously and what is unknown, what is temporal and what is eternal
• Systemic – the idea that all things exist within a system. An individual is part of a family that is part of a community and so on. Relationships are part of living in a system. What occurs in one set of relationships can influence what occurs in other parts of the system. Rather than seeing a person as an isolated entity, systems theory looks at the role each person plays in contributing to the whole, and how changes in individuals impact the whole system

Examining the Emotional Aspect includes gaining an understanding of each person’s emotional maturity and capacity to function in various relationships and environments. Particular attention is paid to emotional suppression, disregulation of emotion, and emotional wounds sustained throughout the person’s history. Treatment interventions focus on healing old wounds, as well as the poor behavior patterns that have evolved as a result of those wounds. Residents are introduced to methods of emotion regulation and healthy emotional expression.

Examining the Spiritual Aspect includes acknowledging the presence of God. Our program is faith-based and we encourage our residents to find and heal the spiritual aspects of themselves by developing a strong, fundamental relationship with God. All staff members are committed to living their faith personally and as a community, providing a healthy faith-based environment that allows our residents to know God by knowing each other. Our recovery education component is the core around which our program revolves, and it was designed from a psycho spiritual perspective to teach residents how to connect with God through prayer and meditation, as well as through their daily lives. We are well aware of the spiritual wounds that have been sustained by many people, and we have a great desire to help them heal from those wounds by finding and developing a relationship with God.