benefits of Outpatient Drug and Alcohol Treatment

Outpatient Drug and Alcohol Treatment | Rehab at Hom

My name is Jason Bowman and I am the CEO at Addiction Solutions Victoria. In response to direct feedback from a broad cross-section of people and families challenged by addiction, we have developed an affordable, evidence-based drug and alcohol rehab option delivered in the person's home where they feel safe and their privacy is protected.

Components of the ASV Rehab at Home program include:

Addiction Medicine Assessment and Management
Addiction Psychology Assessment and Management
Ice Breaker Program - Rehab at Home - Drug and Alcohol Addiction Treatment Programs
Psychotherapy and Counselling - Peer Support and Mentoring
Ongoing Recovery Support – Aftercare - Return to Life Program
Family Therapy
Family Support Program - for families of Addicts
Family Solutions Online Course
Telephone / Skype Support
Referral / Advocacy / Linkage to relevant and appropriate supports and services.

To celebrate the possibility of recovery from drugs and alcohol, we have compiled a series of testimonials in the form of blogs written by people who have accessed ASV programs, our aim is to share the hope of positive change with anyone still impacted in a negative manner by addiction.

For more information, please call Jason on 03 8374 7648

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one addicts experience

First, I got clean, then I got sober. I stopped using and got treatment in an addiction treatment program. I received many obvious, immediate and practical benefits of participating in and completing my outpatient Drug and Alcohol treatment program. Firstly, I learned that continuing to drink and drugs despite negative, harmful, ongoing consequences was an indicator of addiction. They also pointed out that the Drugs and Alcohol weren’t the real problems in my life, they were a symptom. The purpose of effective evidence-based addiction treatment is to motivate internal psychological and emotional change. As the fog lifted, I began to realise the reality of my situation. The penny dropped. The real problem in my life was me. My thinking, how I felt about things and how I saw the world. I had been doing the same things over and over while expecting different results. A quote from Albert Einstein tells me this is a definition of insanity. I knew I was a slow learner, always had been. It now appeared I was an even faster forgetter. The treatment service knew their stuff, I was provided a solution and a commitment. If I was to put into sustainable action the plan of recovery we developed together, I could find relief. I was desperate, so I decided to commit to the process. Then I was introduced to a new way of life, let’s call it recovery.

After treatment, I started getting to know some active recovery-focused people in a recovery community. They reached out to me, showed me the ropes, helped me find myself, get to know who I was, what was important, what wasn’t. Slowly I learned how to talk to people, act more respectfully, I learned to smile, laugh, love and live.

Background

I was a good kid who came from a good home. Working-class parents provided my sister and I with all we needed. I never got everything I wanted but always had a warm bed, clean clothes, I went to decent schools and had good opportunities. Despite all this, growing up I always felt uncomfortable in my skin. Even in my family unit, who loved me to death, I felt like a square peg in a round hole. Somehow, I didn’t fit in and I struggled for connection. The first time I used this sense evaporated. I felt invigorated, like I had arrived, woke up, I hit the ground running and couldn’t wait to do it again. I felt like I had been shot out of a gun and was 10 feet tall and bulletproof. No wonder I couldn’t wait to do it again. What came next was a disaster.

Active Addiction

Over 22 years of active addiction, I used it every day. There were also many times I swore off with a genuine commitment. I ran around town like a lunatic, stepping on the toes of anyone who crossed my path, causing massive amounts of harm and worst of all, hurting the ones I loved the most. Very quickly I betrayed my values, morals and principles. I did all the things I thought that I would never do. At times I stopped but I couldn’t stay stopped. My behaviours in active addiction were dishonest, selfish, foolish and inconsiderate. The impact on my life was a whole lot of guilt, shame, anger, fear and resentment. My self-esteem was non-existent and I also experienced anxiety, depression and PTSD. My addiction was about taking the edge of my internal conflict and discomfort. I self-medicated my pain. I used both chemicals and behaviours to do this. Both were extremely debilitating to my life, and the lives of the people I cared most about.

It was critical to me to realise with my own eyes that recovery from addiction was possible. Sadly, my mind was so closed to reality.

Early Recovery

After completing the Outpatient Drug and Alcohol program, the next 90 days of my recovery journey was a roller coaster ride. In many ways, the easy bit was stopping using. The much harder part was staying stopped. Someone told me the best thing about recovery is that you get your feelings back. The worst thing about it was I got my feelings back. See I had been trying to avoid my feelings for about 20 odd years. Turns out stopping using, sitting still and looking at my stuff allowed me to grow some overall awareness. I remember the day my feelings blipped into life, I was about 90 days clean and sober. I felt like a jack in the box, my feelings just popped out and freaked me out. It was overwhelming and terrifying. If I wasn’t surrounded by a group of peers who had experienced similar distress, I would have buckled. They supported me, held my hand, told me it would pass, encouraged me to hang in there, empowered me to sit with it. Slowly things evened out. By 100 days clean and sober I couldn’t remember when I had last thought about using. I was amazed. And excited. I dared to hope that maybe, just maybe, if I continued to repeat my daily routine somewhat repetitively, that I might make it, that I might find a way to live, that I could recover my life.

Self Care

Slowly I started looking after myself better. First, I removed the obvious unhelpful things. This was much easier than introducing healthy and helpful things into my life. I realised that despite my best intentions, I was undisciplined, wilful and somehow hard-wired to bring myself undone. A daily routine worked wonders. I made plans and lots of lists. Then I focused on completing every single item in a timely manner. I needed to keep my daily routine simple as I had a tendency to overcomplicate everything.

Breakfast, exercise, recovery, lunch, coffee with friends, recovery.

I was fortunate enough that I could devote 100% of my time to this pursuit. Early recovery to me was like a full-time job. Chop wood carry water. Rinse and repeat, it was super repetitive. I felt like I was being brainwashed, which was exactly what my brain needed, a very good wash.

Today

I've been in recovery for over 15 years. Recovery communities and the approach behind them literally saved my life. More than that, I have learned how to participate in my life as an active participant, allowing me to achieve many of my dreams and empowering me to live a hope filled and rich life, one day at a time!

Signed

Anon

Compiled by Jason Bowman - ASV Inc. - 29.12.19

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Call ASV for a free phone consultation.

or for more information email

jason@addictionsolutionsvictoria.org.au

1227-1229 Malvern Road

Malvern, VIC 3144