Special and Different Addiction Services Ltd
Combating Alcoholism Alcoholism is a monster that gobbles up the emotional and financial resources of the alcoholic, their family, colleagues and friends and the whole community. This manifests in different ways, criminal damage, violence, taking up hospital beds, absenteeism, prison occupancy, dysfunctional families ….. The list is endless. But the monster can be conquered. The aim of our treatment is life-long recovery. Many alcoholics do go on to lead normal productive and inspiring lives – bringing as much joy as they once brought pain into the world. But to achieve this, they need good quality treatment and ongoing support.
Our Structured Day Programme (SDP) has been developed by Rachel Young, Director of The Special and Different Addiction Services Charity. She is a specialist in the field of alcoholism. The Day Programme incorporates aspects of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Transactional Analysis, Gestalt Therapy and it uses the 12 Step Programme of Alcoholics Anonymous as its basis. As an organisation, Special and Different is committed to the abstinence model of recovery for alcoholics. It is our belief that alcoholism is a physical, mental and spiritual illness. It has been the experience of thousands of alcoholics that if they are subjected to even a small amount of alcohol they are once again in the grip of full scale alcoholic behavior. However, once alcohol is eliminated from their system, they are able to make a full recovery and to lead a life fulfilling their human potential.
Our programme is designed to address cognitive, emotional and spiritual issues in order to treat the client holistically. It is open to all who are assessed as being appropriate on condition that they remain free of alcohol and illegal drugs while on the programme.
The Aims of Special and Different Addiction Services are:
- To offer abstinence from mind altering substances as an achievable lifestyle goal to alcoholics in the form of a clinically robust treatment programme, and to offer professional support to achieve that goal.
- To develop social functioning within the context of community rehabilitation. To offer a holistic approach by the inclusion of life skills and vocational/educational goals, family therapy and complementary therapies such as mindfulness and meditation, aromatherapy, reflexology and therapeutic art sessions, as well as clinical psychotherapy.
- To address personal independence and responsibility, for example helping clients to maintain family/social support whilst in the treatment process. There will be regular family meetings and communication with the family in order to facilitate a mutual learning and recovery process.
- To assess care plan objective outcomes, for example, physical and psychological health, social functioning, life context and so on.
- To provide ongoing support in the form of aftercare meetings for 6 months following graduation from the programme. In addition clients will be encouraged to develop support systems in the community.
The Clinical Programme
The Special and Different SDP offers a 12 step model community based support and treatment programme for people recovering from alcohol addiction and dependency. The programme includes one to one counselling with qualified professionals, group work and complementary therapies. The treatment that clients receive at The Special and Different SDP is of a clinical standard comparable with residential treatment centres but at a fraction of the cost. In addition, the benefits that the clients experience by being with their families and communities as they go through the programme, informs their recovery and reduces their chances of relapse. The Special and Different SDP is based on a core programme called The Twelve Step Facilitation Outpatient Programme by Joseph Nowinski Ph.D. (TSF). The TSF programme is for use as a guide in the clinical treatment of individuals who manifest significant symptoms of alcohol or other drug abuse or dependence according to the DSM-IV. The material for this programme was originally developed for Project MATCH , a collaborative study of alcoholism treatment. The TSF manual was also used in a study of treatment of concurrent alcohol and cocaine abuse sponsored by the National Institute on Drug Abuse in the U.S.A. Both studies employed a patient-treatment matching design, intended to assess what kind of treatment works best with which kind of patient. The founder of the Special and Different Programme, Rachel Young, who is a qualified Gestalt trained psychotherapist, has developed additional assignments and workshops to reinforce and deepen the clinical treatment of the core structure. Her experience in being a part of the team that developed and delivered the first ever alcohol treatment programme in UK prisons has been critical in developing this programme.
Individual Treatment
Although Special and Different has a strong belief that intensive group work is the most effective treatment for alcoholism, we acknowledge that some people simply cannot take time out of their lives to devote to this option. For them we have devised a 12 week programme of weekly sessions with a qualified therapist to explore their addictive patterns and to help them to move onto a more healthy and rewarding lifestyle.
Alcoholism is a monster that gobbles up the emotional and financial resources of the alcoholic, their family, colleagues and friends and the whole community. This manifests in different ways, criminal damage, violence, taking up hospital beds, absenteeism, prison occupancy, dysfunctional families ….. The list is endless. But the monster can be conquered. The aim of our treatment is life-long recovery. Many alcoholics do go on to lead normal productive and inspiring lives – bringing as much joy as they once brought pain into the world. But to achieve this, they need good quality treatment and ongoing support.
Our Structured Day Programme (SDP) has been developed by Rachel Young, Director of The Special and Different Addiction Services Charity. She is a specialist in the field of alcoholism. The Day Programme incorporates aspects of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Transactional Analysis, Gestalt Therapy and it uses the 12 Step Programme of Alcoholics Anonymous as its basis. As an organisation, Special and Different is committed to the abstinence model of recovery for alcoholics. It is our belief that alcoholism is a physical, mental and spiritual illness. It has been the experience of thousands of alcoholics that if they are subjected to even a small amount of alcohol they are once again in the grip of full scale alcoholic behavior. However, once alcohol is eliminated from their system, they are able to make a full recovery and to lead a life fulfilling their human potential.
Our programme is designed to address cognitive, emotional and spiritual issues in order to treat the client holistically. It is open to all who are assessed as being appropriate on condition that they remain free of alcohol and illegal drugs while on the programme.
- To offer abstinence from mind altering substances as an achievable lifestyle goal to alcoholics in the form of a clinically robust treatment programme, and to offer professional support to achieve that goal.
- To develop social functioning within the context of community rehabilitation. To offer a holistic approach by the inclusion of life skills and vocational/educational goals, family therapy and complementary therapies such as mindfulness and meditation, aromatherapy, reflexology and therapeutic art sessions, as well as clinical psychotherapy.
- To address personal independence and responsibility, for example helping clients to maintain family/social support whilst in the treatment process. There will be regular family meetings and communication with the family in order to facilitate a mutual learning and recovery process.
- To assess care plan objective outcomes, for example, physical and psychological health, social functioning, life context and so on.
- To provide ongoing support in the form of aftercare meetings for 6 months following graduation from the programme. In addition clients will be encouraged to develop support systems in the community.
The Clinical Programme
The Special and Different SDP offers a 12 step model community based support and treatment programme for people recovering from alcohol addiction and dependency. The programme includes one to one counselling with qualified professionals, group work and complementary therapies. The treatment that clients receive at The Special and Different SDP is of a clinical standard comparable with residential treatment centres but at a fraction of the cost. In addition, the benefits that the clients experience by being with their families and communities as they go through the programme, informs their recovery and reduces their chances of relapse. The Special and Different SDP is based on a core programme called The Twelve Step Facilitation Outpatient Programme by Joseph Nowinski Ph.D. (TSF). The TSF programme is for use as a guide in the clinical treatment of individuals who manifest significant symptoms of alcohol or other drug abuse or dependence according to the DSM-IV. The material for this programme was originally developed for Project MATCH , a collaborative study of alcoholism treatment. The TSF manual was also used in a study of treatment of concurrent alcohol and cocaine abuse sponsored by the National Institute on Drug Abuse in the U.S.A. Both studies employed a patient-treatment matching design, intended to assess what kind of treatment works best with which kind of patient. The founder of the Special and Different Programme, Rachel Young, who is a qualified Gestalt trained psychotherapist, has developed additional assignments and workshops to reinforce and deepen the clinical treatment of the core structure. Her experience in being a part of the team that developed and delivered the first ever alcohol treatment programme in UK prisons has been critical in developing this programme.
Individual Treatment
Although Special and Different has a strong belief that intensive group work is the most effective treatment for alcoholism, we acknowledge that some people simply cannot take time out of their lives to devote to this option. For them we have devised a 12 week programme of weekly sessions with a qualified therapist to explore their addictive patterns and to help them to move onto a more healthy and rewarding lifestyle.
The Family
The emphasis of our treatment is to look at the individual in context. This is important as many alcoholics live their lives trapped in the role of scapegoat condemned to repeat old patterns in all areas of their lives. We recognise that the family suffers from the alcoholic's behaviour but also that they unwittingly contribute to it. We intend to help family members to address their own pain and suffering and recognise the part they may have played. An independent study found clients whose families were involved in treatment were 30% more likely to complete treatment and continue ongoing recovery. We intend to maximise the effectiveness of treatment, to minimise relapse, reoffending and harm to the individual and the community. We will include the families in the recovery process by a system of family meetings, as well as lectures and workshops that family members can attend. We are convinced that change for the whole family including the addict is essential for sustained relief from the nightmare of alcoholism.
After Care
Our programme incorporates a relapse prevention module so that towards the end of their treatment, the alcoholic will be preparing for their normal life to commence. Because of the nature of the Structured Day Programme this will be a smoother process than if they had been in Residential Rehabilitation as they will not have the shock of re-entry that people experience when they come out of the protective bubble of the Rehab experience. We will also provide after care for our clients so that they can maintain the relationships they have developed and continue to learn how to live without substances. Our clients will already be attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings as an obligatory component of their treatment. We will encourage them to continue these meetings and to make use of the encouragement and support they receive there.
Staffing
The Special and Different Alcohol Treatment Programme is staffed by 2 counsellors qualified to Diploma level, who have a minimum of 3 years experience of working with this client group and by 1 counsellors in training who is given robust management support and supervision. There is also a peer supporter who has himself successfully completed a similar programme. We regularly review and assess the training needs of all our staff and volunteers. We conform with good practice guidelines (Dept of Health 2002) in that we are in collaboration with a Clinical Psychologist who provides a consultative service for our programme. In this way we meet the needs of clients with dual diagnosis.
Cost and Funding
Special and Different is a Charitable Organisation. Funding for treatement comes from the individuals themselves, but if they are unable to pay the full cost we provide burseries for those in need. The cost of the intesive group treatment is £375 per week which compares very favourably with residential treatment which is often as much as £750 - £2000 per week. Individual one to one sessions are £75 each.
Contact Us
Visit our website on http://www.specialanddifferent.org.uk.uk or email, info@specialanddifferent.org or ring us, 01295 321323 and ask for Val, Juliet or Rachel
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