Dr. Stephen Stein: Rehab Failure May Just Mean There’s a Need for a Different Type of Program
So many people go to rehab and then fail afterwards that there’s a catchphrase to explain the phenomenon: “Relapse is part of recovery.” But is this just the way it has to be? Dr. Stephen Stein doesn’t think so.
“When someone fails at one particular type of rehab, sending them back to that type of rehab again doesn’t make sense,” he said. “I have had patients who failed at Twelve Step programs multiple times. Some of them could not work with the concept of a higher power but they needed to gain more personal responsibility. They have found the solution they needed at Narconon Vista Bay.”
Dr. Stein is the medical director at Narconon Vista Bay in Northern California, and a specialist in working with addicts.
In the US, estimates of the success of conventional rehab services varies from 10% to 30%. Some rehabs count their successes by those who complete the rehab program and are discharged, or those who remain sober a limited amount of time after they go home. The Narconon standard is two-year sobriety to count as a success. Narconon centers phone graduates and family members to determine this number. Internationally and spanning decades, the success rate of Narconon centers stays around 70%.
“One of the great benefits of this program is that a person has a chance to thoroughly heal from the damage addiction wreaks on a person,” he continued. “When a person is discharged after a twenty-eight day program, he has barely had enough time for his head to stop spinning from drugs or alcohol. He goes home to all his usual stressors, family problems, legal problems. He has not had the time to build up his responsibility. He has not yet learned how to control his actions. He may quickly relapse in this situation.”
One unique feature of the Narconon program that helps each recovering person escape this disastrous outcome is the Narconon New Life Detoxification. This phase of recovery uses a sauna, moderate daily exercise and a strict regimen of nutritional supplements to flush out old drug toxins. Because drugs and alcohol are fat-bonding, residues tend to stick in fat deposits, where they can remain for years after drug abuse stops. Under the right conditions, these residues can help trigger cravings. So each person in recovery at a Narconon center spends time in the sauna, exercises daily and takes the supplements under a careful supervisory eye.
When the residues have been flushed out, it is common for people to talk about their skin being smoother, their outlook being brighter, their energy being higher and their cravings being lower or even gone.
Now a person is better equipped to start looking at the damage done to family, friends and community and how they can make up this damage. As each person progresses through this part of the Narconon program, they study the fundamentals of sober-living and problem-solving skills and put them to work.
This comprehensive, long-term recovery program is the reason seven out of ten Narconon graduates stay sober for years or longer after they graduate.
To find out how the Narconon program can help someone you love, contact Narconon today.