Drug Rehab Center

1. our treatment program is becoming increasingly evidence-based
2. counsellors are now masters level therapists
3. free weekend refresher stays for alumni
4. flexible, more affordable relapse prevention services for alumni
5. enhanced family and couples services with the full-time appointment of Cathy Patterson-Sterling as Director of Family Services
6. enhanced biopsychosocial services (physical assessments, personal fitness programs, etc.) with the full-time hiring of Kye Taylor, kinesiologist
7. enhanced alumni services with the full-time appointment of Darren Nivens as Alumni Coordinator
8. a new wing complete with additional space for group activities (lounge, group therapy), accommodation (8 new bedrooms upstairs), and recreation (including the opening of an indoor lap pool in November)
9. a newly-landscaped campus

Item 4 from this list is worth special mention: flexible, more affordable alumni services.

More Options for Alumni Means Long-Term Value For Families

A few months back, Daniel Jordan (Sunshine Coast General Manager) and I talked about making lifetime commitments to our clients.   This commitment involves a multitude of free support services including online and telephone counseling, family programming and weekend visits.  We know that any client who continues to work with us can find the answers he needs to maintain abstinence, healthy relationships, and improved quality of life.

One way that I felt we could improve our offerings was to offer a more flexible relapse stabilization program. Typically, private treatment centers require their relapsing clients to return for another full treatment stay – often 42 days or longer. However, at Sunshine Coast, we find that returning clients often have the basics and their needs are more specific so a shorter stay is often sufficient. Furthermore, the additional expense of a second 42-day stay can create unnecessary hardship when a short-term follow-up could have sufficed.

At Sunshine Coast, we have offered a shorter 30 day program for our alumni at a reduced rate for more than 2 years. In the fall of 2007 we added a 7 day rapid stabilization for clients who had a short relapse so that they could quickly get back to their families and careers. Many of our alumni take advantage of these relapse prevention services and can refocus their recovery for less than half the price of what it would cost at other centers. 

It’s this commitment to a lifetime of care with very inexpensive and short relapse program opportunities that creates real value for our clientele.  Families can now access shorter, more affordable treatment that has a length of stay appropriate for the individual needs of the client.

Many of our alumni have successfully bounced back from a short relapse with little more than a week or two of relapse prevention work. These alumni seem to know when they have had enough time in the center and when additional therapy has met their personal recovery goals.  It is this trust that they know themselves and their recovery needs that increases their confidence in their recovery work and enables them to move forward with fewer, less intensive, and shorter-duration relapses.
 
Conclusion

In these economically uncertain times, we at Sunshine Coast are committed to increasing value when it comes to residential drug and alcohol treatment. That means not only making treatment more effective, it also means providing flexible and affordable “refresher” programs for alumni. In the end, it is a treatment center’s long-term commitment to clients and their family members which separates real value from a quick sale.

About the Author

Melanie Alsager is the Administrator of Sunshine Coast Health Center and oversees administration, operations and clinical programming.

By Melanie Alsager

Usually my work time is spent on site at our Powell River campus and involves management of the day-to-day aspects of running an alcohol and drug treatment center. It’s not often that I get a chance to reach out to other treatment centers in the province for a chat but this week was different. Daniel, General Manager at Sunshine Coast, and I are working on a new directory of drug and alcohol services in BC that will include private practice therapists that treat addictions, residential treatment centres, medical services, mutual support meetings, and government services for both youth and adults. Such a directory has been sorely needed since the last Kaiser Directory was published in 2001 by the Kaiser Foundation. Without the Kaiser Directory, families and health professionals looking for services in BC must refer to a variety of sources including professional association websites, government sites, the Red Book, and local phone books. Unfortunately, none of these sources are addiction-focused and much of the information is no longer current.

Our goal in publishing a directory is to bring the addiction community together. During my calls to various service providers, I was impressed by staff who were so helpful and so willing to answer any questions I had with real openness and support. It’s been a hugely rewarding experience and I am left humbled by the sincerity of the people working in this field and the quality of services they provide on often very limited budgets.  

Frankly, when I started working on the residential treatment/support recovery section I thought I would find a few dozen sites. It never occurred to me that there would be over 90 organizations providing services at facilities across the province. I must admit that I had long held the belief that the provincial government had done far too little to address the need for addiction services in BC.

Now I believe that between the government, non profits and private providers, BC has done a good job in providing hugely necessary services for those suffering from drug and alcohol misuse and addiction. BC owes a great debt to the several hundred non-profit board members around the province who donate their time by lending a hand in providing the highest quality of services for in our regions. Where we seem to be struggling is in centralization of waiting lists (some facilities had long wait lists while others had empty beds) and in the speed of funding for new capacity where needs are developing.

The variety of the programs is suprising to me. All healthcare regions in the province seem to have counseling and treatment services, both residential and outpatient, for all sectors of the population of BC. There were very few gaps in services and also little overlap. The vast majority of service providers are of high quality and staffed with competent, skilled staff.
 
Some of things that caught my attention include:

1. healthy funding for youth addiction services and the high level of commitment by providers to  provide timely, quality services when needs arise.
2. the immediate provision of addiction services for pregnant women regardless of waiting lists.
3. the need for more treatment beds for people who are marginalized and experiencing great suffering, particulary in the Downtown East Side.
4. the highly skilled and well-educated workforce in most addiction treatment programs
5. the need for more detox (many facilities without detoxes are forced, at times, to provide detox support (particularly for stimulant withdrawal)

I look forward to discovering more “hidden gem” programs this week and being inspired by their dedication to finding real answers for clients and their families as they reach for a better life. Hopefully, our directory can make it that much faster and easier to connect the solutions with the needs.

About the Author

Melanie Alsager is the Administrator of Sunshine Coast Health Center and oversees administration, operations and clinical programming.

By Daniel Jordan

I received an email the other day from a women’s-only drug treatment center in the United States. As I read the article entitled, “Women Find Success at Female-Only Addiction Treatment Programs,” it reminded me that when people talk about the need for gender-specific treatment what they are really referring to is all-female treatment. Rarely, if ever, do I read an article pointing out the advantages of male-only treatment. 

After nearly five years serving an exclusively male clientele, I see the need to expand the definition of gender-specific treatment to include men. “Traditional” addiction treatment, often provided in a co-ed setting, has not done a good job of addressing the unique needs and characteristics of its clientele, often to the detriment of both sexes.

The Forces Behind the Womens-Only Treatment Movement

In her article, “Helping Women Recover: A Comprehensive Integrated Treatment Model,” Dr. Stephanie S. Covington, a leading advocate for womens-only treatment, writes a brief but telling history of the treatment of women’s addictions. Describing how women were essentially “invisible” in the field of addiction recovery until the late 1960s, Dr. Covington attributes this to “strong social taboos” against women who used drugs and alcohol to excess.

Internal Forces for Change

For many years, a small but vocal group of treatment industry insiders has expressed concern about the male-dominated origins of traditional addiction treatment. Much of their concern hinges on the two “cornerstones” of traditional addiction treatment programs in the United States: (1) the Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) movement of the 1930s and (2) the pioneering work of addiction researcher E. Morton Jellinek in the 1940s. The concern with Alcoholics Anonymous is its founding by Bill W., Dr. Bob and other men working with a mutual support group of mostly men, particularly in the early days of AA. Similarly, the concern with Dr. Jellinek was how he based his influential research on a population that was almost exclusively male. As a result, according to Dr. Covington, traditional treatment has always consisted of programs made “by men, for men.”

Furthermore, advocates for change have observed how traditional, co-ed treatment has made it difficult for women to discuss sensitive issues such as sexual abuse, parenting, and eating disorders. Brenda Iliff, Clinical Director at Hazelden Foundation, describes the treatment experience for women when Hazelden was still co-ed: “women tended to sidestep many issues when in the presence of men.” In some cases, she and other professionals would actually discourage women from talking about certain topics with male clients. “Most women will hesitate to talk about trauma issues in front of men, or about areas where they have failed as a parent,” Iliff says. “We even had women who wouldn’t eat in front of men because of issues surrounding body image. *” This behaviour, while no longer an issue at Hazelden since the opening of its Womens Recovery Center in 2006, continues today in other treatment centers with co-ed environments.

(*) Source: Celebrating Women’s Differences (March, 2007) Addiction Professional Magazine.

External Forces

Coinciding with the feminist movement, Dr. Covington points out that “taboo subjects” such as incest, domestic violence and addiction were openly discussed by health professionals and the general public for the first time in the 1960s and 70s.  In 1976, the U.S. Congress responded to pressure from feminist organizations and treatment advocacy groups by funding specialized women’s treatment for the first time.

Since those early days, treatment centers with specialized programs for women now exist all over North America. While the author could not locate data showing the actual number of female-only treatment programs, statistics from the National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services show that among the 13,771 addiction treatment facilities (outpatient, residential, hospital inpatient) in the United States surveyed in 2006, 32 % of these programs offered at least one special program or group for adult women while 14.2 % had a similar option for pregnant or postpartum women.

How Male-Only Treatment Can Enhance Spirituality in an Addiction Treatment Setting

While traditional treatment does not necessarily encourage discussion on gender-specific issues, it does address the critical issue of spirituality in recovery. However, in a co-ed environment, the ability of clients to experience spirituality is hindered by the presence of a mixed-sex peer group. At Sunshine Coast Health Center, the opportunity for our male clients to connect to their spiritual selves seems to coincide with their reconnection with, what author Herb Goldberg * describes as, the “Lost Art of Buddyship:” the experience of having a sharing, caring, and loving relationship with another man. For many of our male clientele, the last time they have had a true “buddy” may go back to grade school. Thus, in a male-specific treatment center the experience of having a “higher power” is fostered by a setting that encourages fellowship.

(*) Source: The Hazards of Being Male: Surving the Myth of Masculine Privilege (1976) Herb Goldberg, Ph.D.

How Male-Only Treatment Can Enhance Programming

While Dr. Covington’s description of traditional treatment being a “program designed by men for men” may be true, one cannot simply conclude that male-specific issues have always been part of the curriculum in traditional treatment. Assigned reading typical of traditional treatment programs - the Big Book, Came to Believe, Living Sober, the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, etc. – makes little mention of the unique challenges of being a man in the modern world.

Within a treatment environment that encourages self-disclosure, women in female-only treatment programs have, to varying degrees, enhanced their programs by addressing issues not considered appropriate for co-ed treatment. The Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) has identified 17 essential issues (1) for women in substance misuse treatment, seven of which include:

1. an attachment to unhealthy interpersonal relationships
2. interpersonal violence, including incest, rape, battering, and other abuse
3. eating disorders
4. sexuality, including sexual functioning and sexual orientation (2)
5. parenting
6. appearance, overall health and hygiene
7. child care and custody

Men in gender-specific settings can also benefit from an open discussion on many (though not always the same) subjects considered “taboo” in co-ed treatment. While The Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) has provided, as shown above, a list of  essential issues for women in substance misuse treatment, no such “official,” research-supported list for men in substance misuse treatment could be located by the author. The closest thing to a list was found in a book written by staff at Hanley Center, a male-only residential treatment center located in Florida. Titled Men’s Healing: A Toolbox for Life, authors Alam Lyme, David Powell, and Stephen Andrew identify five areas to help men understand the how and why of their behaviour, including:

1. father/son relationships
2. anger and aggression
3. emotional isolation
4. spiritual disconnection
5. sexual issues

(1) Source: Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (1994) Practical Approaches in the treatment of women who abuse alcohol and other drugs. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service.

(2) Note: for more information on female sexuality and addiction see Women, Addiction and Sexuality by Stephanie S. Covington, Ph.D.

Conclusion 

Ten years ago, in a NIDA article entitled “Gender Matters in Drug Abuse Research,” then NIDA Director Dr. Alan I. Leshner stated, “Evidence from NIDA’s gender-related research indicates that prevention and treatment strategies that address gender differences can be more effective than one-size-fits-all approaches in preventing drug abuse and relapse following treatment.” Without a movement to call their own and a lack of advocacy from treatment insiders, gender-specific treatment for men has not kept up with treatment for women. Perhaps the need for male-only treatment will be part of a larger, more powerful movement advocating for individualized therapy that is more focused on the unique characteristics of the client. One can only hope.

About the Author

Daniel Jordan is the General Manager of Sunshine Coast Health Center and hopes that these postings will help  take away some of the mystery often associated with addiction and its treatment.

Printed Resources – Men as a Special Population

For more resources related to men with addictions see the Special Population section of the Sunshine Coast Health Center website.

I Don’t Want to Talk About It: Overcome the Secret Legacy of Male Depression (2000) discusses how men attempting to escape depression fuel many of the problems we think of as typically male – difficulty with intimacy, workaholism, alcoholism, abusive behavior, and rage. Terence Real.

Men’s Healing: A Toolbox for Life (2008) is a book written about male-only treatment for addiction and the unique needs of men with addictions. Alan Lyme, David J. Powell, Stephen Andrew.

Message in a Bottle: Stories of Men and Addiction (1997) shares the stories of alcoholics whom he helped treat, detailing how traditional treatments for addiction fail to meet the needs of men. Jefferson A. Singer.

Touchstones: A Book of Daily Meditations for Men (1986) begin with quotations from sources as varied as William Shakespeare, Wendell Berry, Michael Spinks, and Woody Allen and conclude with affirmations that underscore the lessons of intimacy, integrity, and spirituality. David Spohn.

Wisdom to Know: More Daily Meditations for Men (2005) serves as a practical and spiritual compass for men making their way along the often-tumultuous recovery journey. Hazelden Foundation.

Printed Resources – Women as a Special Population

For more resources related to women with addictions see the Special Population section of the Sunshine Coast Health Center website.

Best Practices: Treatment and Rehabilitation for Women with Substance Use Problems contains a selected bibliography of women-specific addiction information. Health Canada.

The Fight Within: A Story of Women in Recovery (2005) relays the human side of addiction and its consequences. Using narrative as a counseling tool, female clients collaborate with a group facilitator to process their own stories, which appear as a collection of writings. Norma Miller.

Goodbye Hangovers, Hello Life: Self-Help for Women (2003) the founder of Women for Sobriety explains the self-help system she devised to cure herself of alcoholism and discusses the special problems of the woman alcoholic. Jean Kirkpatrick.

The Handbook of Addiction Treatment for Women (2002) offers a historical context on the issue of women and addiction, examines the myriad challenges of the female addict, and includes recommendations for choosing a course of treatment. Shulamith Lala Ashenberg, Stephanie Brown.

Highs and Lows: Canadian Perspectives on Women and Substance Use (December 2007) Centre for Addiction Mental Health ISBN 978-0-88868-534-6.

A Place Called Self: Women, Sobriety, and Radical Transformation (2004) helps readers unravel painful truths and confusing feelings in their newfound sobriety. Stephanie Brown, Yvonne Pearson.

Recovering Women: Feminisms and the Representation of Addiction (2000) analyzes women’s addiction and recovery from a feminist perspective. Melissa Pearl Friedling.

Social and Behavioral Aspects of Female Alcoholism: An Annotated Bibliography (1980) includes 488 annotated references to journal articles about the social and behavioral aspects of female alcoholism divided into 9 subject categories. Paul H. Chalfant, Brent S. Roper.

Substance and Shadow: Women and Addiction in the United States (1999) Stephen R. Kandall

Substance Use Among Women: A Reference and Resource Guide is a compilation of theoretical, empirical, and clinical knowledge concerning key topics associated with substance use among women. Ann M. Pagliaro, Louis A. Pagliaro.

Substance Use Among Women in the United States (1997) Office of Applied Studies, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

A Woman’s Spirit: More Meditations for Women (1994) is a collection of wise, compassionate daily meditations for women now living a sober life and seeking spiritual fulfillment. James Jennings, Karen Casey.

Women and Alcohol: Contemporary and Historical Perspectives (1997) records the widespread and persisting ambivalence or hostility in many cultures towards the relation of women with alcohol by reference to religious and social pressures, gender roles and stereotypes. Moira Plant.

A Woman’s Way through the Twelve Steps (2000) is a workbook designed to help a woman find her own path through the twelve steps. Stephanie S. Covington. 

Women, Sex & Addiction: A search for love & power (1989) shows women how they can learn to experience their sexuality as a source of love and positive power and sex as an expression that honors the soul as well as the body. Charlotte David-Kasl.

Women Under the Influence (2006) documents the physical and emotional effects of substance abuse in girls and women and explores the role of advertising and entertainment industries in popularizing various substances of abuse. Joseph A. Califano.

While health care privatization continues to be a topic of lively debate in Canada, private companies have been treating Canadians with drug and alcohol addiction since the mid-1980s with the opening of Bellwood in Toronto. If you are considering addiction treatment for yourself, a family member or an employee, it’s important to be clear on the real advantages of paying for drug treatment.

Top Reasons to Pay for Residential Addiction Treatment

1. prompt intake – private treatment centers typically have much shorter wait lists than public treatment centers. This is important since there is often a limited window of opportunity when an individual decides to get help for their addiction.
2. medical professionals on staff - since many private addiction programs follow the Minnesota Model of treatment they often have a multi-disciplinary team of professionals that includes nurses, doctors, and psychiatrists
3. on-site detoxification – many clients require alcohol or drug detox before they are ready to begin treatment. Private drug rehabs often provide both of these services under one roof so you don’t have to have ‘clean time” prior to admission. Government treatment typically provides detox and treatment at separate facilities and there can be wait lists for both.
4. higher-functioning peer group – while this can vary from group to group in any treatment setting, overall, peer groups in private addiction treatment are typically higher functioning. Private treatment centers do not get referrals from the criminal justice system for individuals being granted early parole in exchange for addiction treatment and, because of funding issues, rarely get calls from individuals who are on social assistance. Welfare recipients or parolees tend to have “clusters” of challenges that can include lack of housing, unemployment, a history of sexual or physical abuse, communicable diseases (Hep C, AIDS, HIV, TB, etc.), and basic hygiene. These basic living issues may not be relevant to individuals who can afford to pay for treatment.
5. therapeutic setting – many private treatment centers are located in rural settings that can enhance the treatment experience. Furthermore, private treatment centers often have better accommodations and amenities such as a fitness center, swimming pool, etc.
6. additional therapies –  many private alcohol and drug rehab centers understand the importance of a biopsychosocial approach to treatment that recognizes the role that mind, body, and spirit plays in long-term addiction recovery. As a result, private treatment centers often include adjunct therapies such as massage, yoga, and other mind-body treatments that can help clients learn stress reduction techniques.
7. longer treatment duration – in Canada, private treatment programs can to be 6 weeks, 8 weeks, or 90 days. Most public government treatment programs are 2 to 4 weeks (*).
8. more services for alumni – private treatment centers typically have  alumni programs because it’s a good source of ongoing referrals if the alumni stays clean and sober. With long wait lists already, government programs have a lower incentive to provide alumni support.
9. support for the family – another long-standing tradition in private addiction treatment is support for the family. Family and Couples Programs are often offered every few weeks at private facilities where families and spouses are provided with their own therapist and work in their own group. Rarely does government-funded programs offer this level of service for family members.

(*) Note: some government programs are longer but, typically, these programs are sober living programs that do not have trained addiction professionals or provide a minimum of group or individual therapy.

Mistaken Beliefs of Private Addiction Treatment

There are also, however, some misconceptions about private addiction treatment. The general public may be mistaken in some of their expectations of private treatment just because they are paying for services.

1. private treatment centers are all licensed – FALSE. Many private treatment centers elect not to get licensed with their regional health authority. They may have a business license but this is very different than being licensed to provide health care services. The reasons for not being licensed with the local health authority typically include onerous staffing requirements, required changes to the facility to meet building code requirements, improperly installed septic or water systems, etc.
2. private treatment centers have clinical staff with better qualifications – FALSE. Canada currently has no standards for counselling professionals. Anyone can call themselves a counsellor. Private treatment centers do not have a governing body that monitors addiction counsellors. So, bottom line, you’re rolling the dice unless a government agency or private treatment center is willing to post the qualifications of their staff. 
3. private treatment centers have better outcomes – FALSE. Nobody knows if private treatment centers have better outcomes because rarely do private or public addiction programs conduct outcome studies of their alumni. An exception to this is Betty Ford Center in California, Hazelden Foundation in Minnesota, and the government-funded AADAC in Alberta. For more information on this topic read Comparing Success Rates of Treatment Centers.

Conclusion

If you are considering private addiction treatment, it’s good to have a clear understanding of the advantages of paying for treatment while being clear on some of the misconceptions. Hopefully, this overview will provide a more realistic expectation of what private residential drug rehabilitation can and cannot provide.

Becoming an informed consumer is the best thing you can do to avoid being disappointed. To help you get started, Sunshine Coast Health Center recommends reading Drug Treatment Basics which includes links to additional articles such as getting value for your drug treatment dollar, 10 questions to ask an alcohol and drug treatment program, how to find the right alcohol and drug treatment center, etc.

Disclaimer

The delivery of residential addiction treatment services varies widely from program to program. Prospective purchasers of private addiction treatment are recommended to contact treatment centers directly for further information. The author and Sunshine Coast Health Center provide this information for educational purposes only and assumes no liability for its content.

About the Author

Daniel Jordan is the General Manager of Sunshine Coast Health Center and hopes that these postings will help  take away some of the mystery often associated with addiction and its treatment.

We get a lot of people looking for help with an addiction. This includes calls from families with sons or daughters that are abusing drugs or alcohol. Even though we are a program for adult men we still keep a list of addiction treatment providers that have services for women or youth. It’s a long list and maintaining it is a big job!

Currently, Sunshine Coast Health Center is updating records on youth treatment for addictions in British Columbia. To be diplomatic, the current process of finding treatment for BC youth with addictions is a wee bit confusing. This article will hopefully shed some light if you or or a significant other is in need of youth addiction treatment.

First, let’s look at the big picture. Addiction treatment in BC is delivered by five regional health authorities: Vancouver Coastal (Vancouver, Richmond, North Shore, Sea to Sky, Sunshine Coast), Fraser (Burnaby, Hope, White Rock, etc.), Vancouver Island (Victoria, Nanaimo, Port Hardy, etc.), Northern (Prince George, Terrace, etc.), and Interior (Kelowna, Kamloops, Williams Lake, etc.). Each of these Health Authorities have divisions called Addictions and Mental Health. Addictions and Mental Health provide both addiction counselling and withdrawal managemennt services (aka detox).

Our suggestion for British Columbians is to first try their local Regional Health Authority, Mental Health & Addiction Services branch. Call the phone number first because many branches have specific hours when they intake new clients. Most branches have youth counsellors but if you are in a smaller community you may have to travel to a larger municipality. If you are a family member you can make the call since you are still considered the legal guardian if you child is under the age of 19. If your son or daughter has an addiction and the school is the first to notice keep in mind that your child may be suspended until he or she receives addiction counselling.

Special situations such as when a youth has an addiction and a mental illness at the same time (also known as dual diagnosis) are typically referred over to the Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD). MCFD has Child and Youth Mental Health Services. There are Child and Youth Mental Health offices located throughout BC and these are run independently of the 5 Regional Health Authorities mentioned above. Many programs that treat youth with concurrent mental illness and addiction are co-funded by both MCFD and MOH since MCFD is responsible for youth mental health and MOH is responsible for addiction.

Keep in mind that eating disorders, although considered an addiction,  fall under mental health as far as the provincial government is concerned so MCFD Child and Youth Mental Health Services is your best bet for bulimia, and anorexia (for a list of eating disorder treatment options for Canada visit our Directory of Canada Eating Disorder Treatment Programs).

Now that you have an overview of how addiction and dual diagnosis are handled in British Columbia, let’s talk about some of the challenges of finding help for youth with addictions in British Columbia. First of all, it’s a big challenge for youth to access detoxification services. While most detoxes have youth beds, the real problem is that detoxes are few and far between. For example, a youth in Whistler that needs detox will have to drive all the way to Vancouver to get a detox bed.

Detox, however, is pretty much useless without residential or inpatient addiction treatment. While some youth can get by with outpatient treatment, some need more intensive treatment. It is no big secret that there are far too few residential treatment beds for youth with addictions in BC. And, unlike adults, there are few private treatment options in Canada for those families that can afford to pay for treatment.

So what can you do? Here are some recommendations:

1. look outside of your community for government-funded residential youth addiction treatment or detoxification. Be prepared to travel to another Regional Health Authority or even out of the province. AADAC in Alberta has some youth programs and if the youth is 18, qualifies for adult treatment.
2. ask your local Mental Health and Addictions branch if they offer day treatment. Day treatment is a cross between residential and outpatient where treatment is intensive (e.g. 4 to 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 6 or 8 weeks) yet clients go home at the end of each session.
3. consider private addiction treatment. We recommend families contact Kimma Jones of Know How Education who is a specialist living in Canada and is one of only a handful of experts in therapeutic school placements. If you are fortunate enough to live near Toronto, visit Recovery Counselling Services which is, bar none, the finest program for youth with addictions in all of Canada.

Apparently, the Keremeos Residential Treatment Centre Project is coming soon that will provide some relief to families. In the meantime, consider PEAK House in Vancouver, phone (604)253-3381 or Last Door in New Westminster, phone (604)525-9771. If you are a parent and need support call Al-Anon for a local meeting, phone (250)763-5555 in Kelowna, (604)688-1716 in Vancouver, or (250)383-4020 in Victoria. From Grief to Action in Vancouver also has some excellent resources for parents, phone (604)454-1484 (From Grief to Action is also one of the groups spearheading the Keremeos project so you can get updates from them).

Finally, feel free to call Sunshine Coast Health Center admissions toll-free 1(866)487-9010.