Sober College Young Adult Treatment

In relation to addiction,  the DSM-V will no longer be using term or labels such as “substance dependence” and “substance abuse” but will instead classify addiction problems under the heading “Substance Use and Addictive Disorders.”Substance abuse—which was used to characterize drug problems that fall short of outright addiction, like college binge drinking—is a highly stigmatizing and misleading term. If “child abuse” means harming a child, does “drug abuse” mean harming a drug? It never made any sense linguistically and only served to associate drug users with abusive people in the public mind. Indeed, one randomized controlled trial showed that healthcare professionals who read vignettes about patients described as “substance abusers” supported more punishment and less therapy than those who read about the same patients identified as having “substance use disorders.”

Even worse is “substance dependence.” The term was placed into a revision of the third edition of the DSM, DSM III-R, in the ’80s as a euphemism for addiction with the intention of using a “medical sounding,” or nonstigmatizing, phrase.Dr. Charles O’Brien, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania whose addiction expertise is so renowned that Penn even named it treatment center after him, described the events in a 2006 article co-written with NIDA director Nora Volkow:

There was good agreement among committee members as to the definition of addiction, but there was disagreement as to the label that should be used. The proponents of the term “addiction” believed that this word would convey the appropriate meaning of the compulsive drug-taking condition and would distinguish it from “physical” dependence, which is normal and can occur in anyone who takes medications that affect the [brain]. Those who favored the term “dependence” felt that this was a more neutral term that could easily apply to all drugs, including alcohol and nicotine. The committee members argued that the word “addiction” was a pejorative term that would add to the stigmatization of people with substance use disorders.A vote was taken at one of the last meetings of the committee, and the word “dependence” won over “addiction” by a single vote. Experience over the past two decades has demonstrated that this decision was a serious mistake.

Moreover, with the term “dependence” in the medical definition of addiction itself, it became very difficult to teach people that needing a drug to function isn’t the essence of addiction. The misdefinition encapsulated the idea that suffering withdrawal—rather than compulsive use despite negative consequences—was fundamental to the problem. That meant that the drive to take drugs—now demoted to being called merely “psychological dependence”—was less important than getting sick if you couldn’t get the drug.

In reality, this desire—and related repetitive drug-taking—matters far more than how sick you get when you try to stop. In fact, with heroin withdrawal, the severity of symptoms like vomiting and diarrhea isn’t particularly linked to relapse risk, which is far more associated with how much the person wants the drug. With cocaine, which doesn’t make you sick at all if you quit abruptly, the entire addiction is “in your head” or “psychological”—but that obviously doesn’t make crack not addictive!

Other changes to made include a possible removal of Asperger’s Syndrome from the manual that could result in denial of needed services and widespread underdiagnosis of autism, addition of certain mood disorders, and addition of substance induced disorders.

Click to read more about this, or to check out how sober college is making headway on innovated treatment for young adults.

Not only do we help our students build a new relationship with themselves, but we help them by providing a community of love and support. Alumni, staff, and residents make up the Sober College community. The community of Sober College is growing and our goal is to keep our students and alumni close that way help is just that much easier. Young Adults in early recovery need a strong support group and our goal is to provide everything we can for our students to lead sober and independent lives.

So this Valentines Day, Check out how we spread the love to our students or our community, and spread some love to those around you and to yourself.

Students, Alumni and Staff creates a community for students to feel comfortable while moving forward not only in recovery but in life. We pride ourselves on the “Sober College Atmosphere“, a place where young adults can see how truly great it is to get and stay sober.

Watch our Talent Show Live Stream this Saturday and 7 p.m. or visit us to learn about our drug and alcohol program.

Student Graduating High School

This past week one of our student’s, Max C., completed and passed his GED test. We are so proud and excited to watch no only max but our students grow and make achievements while in drug treatment. The Sober College program is designed for young adults to get help for drug and alcohol addiction while continuing to move forward in their lives. For young adults, we have found that not stopping their lives to get sober and helping them to learn how to keep moving forward in sobriety creates a level of attraction for our students.

We have lots of students who come in and havent finished high school or had to leave school early. Our goal is to help students move forward with getting there diploma or GED and move into College Courses or our Vocational Program. Sober College offers numerous options for students who are still in the process of completing high school. Our academic team will communicate and cooperate with the teachers, administrators, and counselors at a student’s current high school in order to keep them on track with their current graduation plans. If the student’s home school is not amenable to such an arrangement, Sober College utilizes Burbank Unified and Los Angeles Unified School District’s independent study programs. In many cases, students are able to participate in the Woodbury University college classes offered on site and receive high school and college credit simultaneously. Sober College also offers comprehensive GED preparation and testing. With the wide variety of options Sober College offers, all students have the option to finish high school during their stay.

So whether a student is like max and needs help finishing his GED or like our other students who are pursuing vocational goals, our goal is to help them move forward in the best way indiviualized for each student.

Learn more about the Sober College Program

Student in our Creative Arts Studio

Sober College is based on 5 Core Competencies to create a well rounded and balanced Young treatment program. Implementing life skills, productivity, sobriety, emotional intelligence and fitness in our students day to day routine teaches our students how to live life again, or for the first time for some of our students. These competencies make up the structure of our program, but our program is designed to let student build their own treatment plan within that structure. Dr. Ken our fitness director states, “It’s important that I do not run a cookie cutter program, but rather tailor it to the individual. Not everyone likes lifting, just as not everyone likes team sports, so I accommodate our student’s backgrounds, preferences, and talents”.

Sober College understands that every client is different, which is why each client has their own individualized treatment plan developed by the members of their treatment team. A clients treatment team consists of an academic coach, neuropsychologist and/or psychiatrist, counselor, therapist, and house manager. This team works closely with each client, their family, and each other to determine exactly how best to serve our client, and to ensure they are receiving the best care possible throughout their stay at Sober College.

Drug Rehab Comparison, states the below on how important both a community and individualized treatment are important.

students before service work!

For most treatment programs, in-patient and out-patient, there is usually a very strong component that stresses peer support. Studies have been suggesting for a long time that one of the best ways to treat addicts and alcoholics is to have them work with each other. People in different stages of recovery can help to shed light on the journey for others, they can share advice, and addicts tend to trust others who have been through the same thing rather than trained professionals who may not know what it’s like from the inside out.

At the same time, individual therapy is also extremely important. This gives the recovering addict the chance to really focus on their own issues, and their own process, and it gives importance to their own individual concerns. One of the most common distinguishing features of an addict is a rather pronounced self-centeredness. This is a personality trait that is formed after years of use and abuse, that leads to the spiral of addiction. By giving this self-centeredness a place in therapy, it has a place to find expression, ultimately leading to a breakthrough where they can discover that they are not unique, and not at all alone. In therapy, they can develop the necessary skills to talk about their own feelings, and this is one of the most important steps toward becoming a whole human being, free of addiction.

- Allen R., Former Sober College Student

Sober College is an attraction based program. At Sober College the staff and students, who have attended for a period of time, provide wonderful examples of where sobriety can take you. Sober College does not believe that they can force someone that does not want to be sober to stay sober, but they do think that after staying with us for a period of time students will be naturally attracted to sobriety. Alcoholics and drug addicts that do not think that they need to stay clean and sober may relapse. Many of the staff at Sober College are in recovery, and are a shining examples of the happiness that sobriety can provide someone. A want to be sober is not a requirement for long term sobriety. Many people that have come to Sober College and stayed sober did not plan on staying sober, but were giving a loving push by their parents or the courts to come to Sober College. This fact is mirrored by the amount of people that have gotten sober due to the court system through 12 step programs. Sober College helps many young adults become motivated to stay sober because they build lives that are so big and full.

Part of this “attraction based model” at sober college is teaching our students how to have fun in recovery. Who would get clean if it didn’t mean your life gets better. Our goal is to show our students that being in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction means having the ability to take life a step further. We teach our students how not only to live life but how to enjoy it. Most newly sober young adults struggle with the idea that they can have fun without drugs and alcohol. For many students at Sober College it is the only way that they know to have fun and relate to their peers. Sober College shows its residents that it is possible to have fun without using by introducing them to exciting new activities, and showing them that everything that they enjoyed doing while drinking and using is just as fun, if not more fun now that they are sober.

Check out Sober College’s Young Adults Treatment Center to learn why our students are having a blast, in rehab.

Women's Program during Experiential Therapy!

The percentage of women who have mental health problems such as depression in addition to addiction or who show signs of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is significantly higher than it is for men; in addition, the mortality rate for women with addiction(s) is 50 percent to 100 percent higher for women than men. Because of their size and hormone fluctuations during the menstrual cycle, women generally become intoxicated more quickly than men—and become clinically “addicted” much more quickly (according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism).

Although 40 percent of all alcoholics are women, women account for only 25 percent of all who receive treatment for addictions (according to the Alcohol and Drug Problems Association of North America). Aside from society’s general expectations of women, as well as its association of women and alcohol with loose morals, women face specific barriers to treatment that men do not. Barriers for women are usually very practical: lack of childcare, fear of losing their children, lower wages, and less money.

Throughout American history, society and traditional family structures have contributed to women’s roles being central to the stability and “nurturing” of the immediate family, and often of the extended family of parents and in-laws and close friends. And whereas drinking a couple of beers with his buddies makes a guy “manly,” an alcohol or chemical abuse problem makes a woman shameful and suspect, and her family, the object of pity and scorn. Women are more likely than men to lack social and family support for going into treatment. Because alcoholism is also a family disease, and however dysfunctional the family may be, the roles of mother and wife are seen as essential in meeting the needs of the others, and everyone’s denial remains a powerful barricade to treatment.

Student performing at the SC Talent Show!

At Sober College we have transformed the way women’s treatment works, hoping to reach more young women who need help. our initial emphasis is to introduce a functioning basis of physical sobriety. Over the course of stay we begin utilizing the principles and traditions of the distinctively successful 12 step model, while providing a forum for each girl’s individual goals and aspirations to manifest. The residents have the benefit of gained confidence through active execution of structures within Life Skills, Emotional Intelligence, and Community Welfare. Encouraging anything from enrolling in voice lessons to interning at a veterinarian’s office; we enthusiastically support each of our residents to realize their potential. Our Women’s Program provides a safe environment to recognize the possibilities, identify and work toward real goals, and learn healthy boundaries to support a healthy lifestyle.

Check Out the Women’s Program and all the we have to offer, at Sober College

Student during Wind Tunnel Therapy

Experiential therapies are integrated throughout the Sober College clinical program. Moving young adults out of their comfort zone can create emotional and therapeutic breakthroughs that impact the insight process and arrest negative behavior patterns.

The experiential portion of our clinical program is strongly skills based combined with a heavy dose of relapse prevention. Young adults in early recovery often struggle to identify the connection between emotions, feelings and physical responses leading to behavioral actions. The experiential process at Sober College enhances our student’s ability to make these critical connections and becomes a training ground for identifiable skills leading to a stronger relapse prevention foundation.

Experientially, clients are able to move out of their heads and into a fuller experience at which time they can experience problems and rehearse solutions in a new way expanding their sense of self and replacing compulsive behaviors with creativity and internal safety. Empirical studies show that experiential methods help clients achieve dramatic results in the areas of psychological symptom reduction.

-Human Connections Counseling Service

Last week our students traveled to iFLY, to do “wind tunnel therapy.” Indoor skydiving requires you to fly in a 120 mile per hour vertical column of air and experience the same feeling of freedom and fun a skydiver does. One by one, the students make their way into the wind tunnel, flying solo for sixty seconds at a time. For most, it is facing the ultimate fear in their life, letting go and experiencing powerlessness. Two focuses on the experience are that we all have the power to set our own destiny and that we don’t have to follow society’s stigma and expectations of what we need to accomplish or who we should be. The ability to perform well in the wind tunnel is a direct correlation of a student’s control of their emotions and their ability to manage their emotions. The skill is essential in relapse prevention.

Check out our students having Therapy at 120 miles per hour

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The girls have been participating in a Cooking Workshop. This workshop educates the residents about the importance of having well-balanced meals and how to prepare them from scratch.

This includes: discussing the menu of the night, shopping for the needed ingredients, learning about nutritional facts, prepping, cooking, and my favorite – eating!

The girls have been having fun and doing it as a team.

Here are some pictures of the Sober College girls in action!!

**A special shout out to Ladson for helping teach the girls proper cutting techniques**

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CORE Newsletter – January 2012

Another great month for CORE!

Let’s see how the residents of Sober College started off the year by giving to their community.

JANUARY

January 9: We started off the month by feeding families in need at the Union Rescue Mission.

(www.urm.org)

“I felt good about myself” – Bernardo U.

January 13, 20, & 27: A few of the residents went to the Pet Adoption Fund to walk and play with the   homeless dogs and cats. (www.petadoptionfund.org)

“I’m glad I went” – Jim K.

January 14: The residents joined Reading to Kids at Gratts Elementary and read books to the children. (www.readingtokids.org)

“It made me look at my life differently” – Cheyenne K.

January 19: A few residents did arts n’ crafts with homeless kids at the San Fernando Valley Rescue Mission. (www.sfvrescuemission.org)

“I liked seeing the kids’ imagination” – Chelsea D.

January 28: We went to Topanga Beach to help Heal the Bay clean up the trash cluttering our coastline. (www.healthebay.org)

 “It feels good helping the environment” – Timmy B.

January 30: We ended the month exactly how we started it … by going to the Union Rescue Mission to serve hot meals to families living on skid row. (www.urm.org)

“I was glad to help out” – Ladson H.

FEBRUARY

• February 3, 10, 17 & 24 (Fri): We visit our furry friends at Pet Adoption Fund.
• February 4 & 24 (Sat): We play games with kids at San Fernando Valley Rescue Mission.
• February 6 & 27 (Mon): Residents serve meals to families at Union Rescue Mission.
• February 8 (Wed): We rock the house at the Woodland Care Center.
• February 11 (Sat): We share the love of reading with Reading to Kids.
• February 18 (Sat): A few residents help keep our coastline clean with Heal the Bay.

“Charity activities are the force which gives our life meaning.”

-Mazhar El Shorbagi