Title : Insights and resilience in addiction treatment
Abstract:
It is a well-known fact, that in addictions counselling, success rates are dubious at best and recidivism is high. In any other industry, would you pay for a service that only worked 50% of the time? Many treatment centers lack follow-up with clients and boast high success rates because they only count those who completed the program. Long term recovery is often not measured at all. It is imperative that we work to find more successful methods for clients to attain healthy long-term sobriety. There are new and hopeful treatment options that go beyond utilizing evidence-based practice, fusing holistic health with the understanding of Health Realization. Health Realization is based on the understanding of the Three Principles introduced by Sydney Banks. These principles are known as mind, thought, and consciousness. Mind is the universal energy that is the source of life and is the foundation of innate health. Consciousness is the ability to be aware of one’s thoughts and incoming sensory data. Thought is the power to think, and combined with mind and consciousness is the source of our experience of reality. Clients with addictions are encouraged to realize their inner health by learning that all people can access their own healthy resiliency. Although similar to cognitive therapy, Health Realization accentuates the role of thought, instead of the content of thought. So, instead of “positive thinking”, one would rather be aware of the thoughts themselves. This shift in paradigm promotes a consciousness that can result in inside-out rationale, meaning that the client can become aware that stress and negativity are self-generated and thus, recovery and health come from within as well.
