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Alternative Treatment Options
At Eastside Center for Healing we provide an alternative, therapeutically based intensive outpatient treatment program commonly referred to as “rehab”. If you are reading this, chances are good that you or a loved one is needing help now.
Have you reached the point where you can no longer hide the effects of alcohol or drugs in your life? Do you have a partner or child whose substance abuse is making your life feel out of control? In our clinic, we view substance abuse as a misguided attempt to solve problems that for some has reached a point of addiction. These problems need real world solutions. This involves changing one’s thinking and relating, thereby helping people be more effective in their day-to-day lives. We do this by examining patterns of behavior and long-held, overarching themes.
Understanding the role that unmet needs, adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), personality, learning styles, and emotions such as guilt, shame, and remorse play in relating to others, is essential to living more effectively. We believe that a sound and thoughtful assessment of each individual is where good treatment starts. This takes time and goes beyond a simple one-session process. We start with a conversation about what you want, what has helped you in the past, difficulties you are currently experiencing, and what change you would like to see in your life. We go on to schedule a mutual assessment of your substance abuse history that can take one or two sessions, so you can begin to uncover a pattern. Assessment is also occurring throughout the course of treatment. By the end of our 60-day intensive outpatient treatment program (IOP), you will have a plan in place to continue learning and implement support for ongoing improvement in your life.
We recognize that many people start treatment unsure if they really have a problem, and that is okay. Treatment is a fact-finding mission, not a life sentence. Treatment is a process to help you learn about yourself and the reasons behind your drinking or drug abuse, and to help you make decisions that deal with life more effectively. We are individualized and holistic in our approach. We teach mindfulness and meditation and use best-practice therapy applications that do not incorporate the 12 Steps in treatment. Where you go for self-help support is also a fact-finding process. We encourage exploration of Buddhist Recovery, Alcoholics Anonymous, Smart Recovery, Women for Sobriety, Marijuana Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous and so on. Our Intensive Outpatient Program is located next to downtown Bellevue, Washington in the Hidden Valley Playfield neighborhood.
We invite you to schedule a first appointment by yourself or with a supportive person; either way, you are invited here to change your life.
Getting Help
Getting the right help can be a challenge with so many programs available. There is a myth that before you can overcome addiction to drugs or alcohol, you need to hit ‘rock bottom’. The evidence shows the opposite: the sooner you seek treatment, the more likely it is to be effective and the easier it is to start putting your life back together. There is another good reason not to wait: abusing alcohol or drugs carries significant risks including DUI, relationship crisis, poor mental health, loss of job, health problems, poor performance, STD’s, overdose and death.
We strongly encourage a holistic, balanced lifestyle during the recovery process, and work closely with our clients and their partners to develop a multi-pronged approach that is client-specific, and includes mental, emotional, spiritual and physical recovery.
If you want to stop using alcohol or drugs and reduce problems in your life, consider our Intensive Outpatient Program as an option.
The Family Program
A family program adds tremendous value to a family in the pursuit of recovery from substance abuse. A drinking or drug problem in the home can often be more easily recognized by the behavior of the spouse or parent of the person drinking or using drugs.
Trying to outwit the drinker or drug user in an attempt to get them to stop is a path to insanity for the spouse or family member whose only apparent desire is to maintain equilibrium. What develops or increases are boundary problems for the affected family member. Problems with boundaries involve feeling stressed about another’s obligations, worrying about where they need to be, calling in sick for them, making their appointments for them, offering drinks or other drugs to them to keep them calm, checking on their whereabouts, chronically offering to drive them to places to avoid DUI or worse.
Letting go of all the out of control behaviors is hard. You have done this for so long that it no longer feels normal not too. When you reach a point of realizing that you have become accustomed to the erratic, chaotic, dishonest behavior of a substance-abusing loved one and have turned into a person you barely recognize you may feel so exhausted that you have little left to seek help for yourself. Don’t give up. When you begin to change everyone around you does too. Like the gears on a watch, when one gear stops or changes direction, all the gears are forced to follow. Your change is likely more subtle to begin with but it starts with putting yourself first; the old oxygen mask analogy applies here.
Active addiction requires all sorts of enabling to continue. When you begin to change your behaviors and reactions, it will likely feel foreign and uncomfortable. Your changes have to be about improving yourself and stopping the insanity, disappointment and fruitlessness that comes when your loved one does not respond the way you would like.
Being involved in family treatment is a signal that you are finished with living in the despair of another person’s out-of-control behavior. Treatment with us is a sustained and weekly process with a learning curriculum and time to process your thoughts and feelings. Sharing with other family members is a powerful resource to begin healing.
Our Family Program at Eastside Center for Healing incorporates group therapy and education as well as counseling for you and your family or partner. We also recommend self help involvement such as Alanon, Changes Family Support Network, NAMI, Celebrate Recovery and so on. A key part of our approach to helping you prevent a lapse into old behavior is to help you identify personal boundaries and learn to regulate emotions so you do not feel the need to control others. We combine expertise in addiction treatment with couples and family therapy and individual counseling to give you the help you need to grow into a person you love again despite having a loved one who is abusing drugs and alcohol.
Relapse Prevention
Relapse prevention is really a lifelong element for anyone seeking to stay stopped from a compulsive behavioral problem. Our approach to preparing clients against the call of drugs and alcohol continues through learning to be effective in relationships, setting personal boundaries, managing emotions, and understanding feelings. Relapses erode excitement for recovery over time. Building up tolerance to handle difficult emotions and situations makes someone more capable of riding out the storm. A strong mind, a strengthened will and surrounding oneself with culture of awareness and personal growth begins in treatment and are first steps towards lasting and positive change.
Reach Out
Gain freedom from chemical dependency and contact us today. To find out more about our Intensive Outpatient Program for alcohol and drug addiction in Bellevue, Washington fill out our contact form here.