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 Back in July, we announced our pilot Family Experience, the multi-day intensive family program at Austin Recovery. The program took place at our Hicks Family Ranch facility in Buda, TX. Not only was the program extremely beneficial clinically, but it also garnered great feedback from loved ones who participated The pilot program even got a mention on A&E’s “Intervention” episode that aired on January 9th featuring an Austin Recovery client, as her family attended and benefited from the experience. Here is a summary of some of the feedback from the pilot:
I have attended several family recovery experiential workshops and this is among the best. The expertise and skill of the facilitators was the most important component of making it meaningful…
It was great not to see the addict until late in the program – it allowed us to remain focused on self-recovery. Honestly I think the program is perfect as it is. Thank you for offering this experience.
I found the experience truly exceptional. Thank you so much, our lives are truly improved… Thank you.
Thanks for the hard work and extra time put in by David Miller, Christina Hernandez, the Counselors involved, and the staff at the Ranch for making our first effort such a success.
As a result of this success, we now have scheduled our regular, ongoing Family Experiences so that loved ones of every Journey client will have the opportunity to participate during the client’s appropriate treatment phase.
As this is such a beneficial opportunity for clients and their families in their journey towards lasting recovery, we wanted to make sure it was not a huge expense to the families. Therefore, we have opted to include participation in the Family Experience for up to two-loved ones in the cost of the 90-day Journey program (additional loved ones can attend when clinically appropriate and as space provides for a nominal additional fee).
For more about Family Experience, click here.
As we mentioned in our blog post about Kwanzaa here, as part of our diversity initiative, we have asked for staff to contribute content regarding various cultural identifications and multi-cultural holidays in order to help share with and educate others. As today, January 23rd is the Chinese New Year, we have a new post for you, contributed by Terra Byrne, Direct Care Staff at Austin Recovery. Take it away Terra!
 Source: Reuters When I was seven years old, I remember my dad’s fiancee taking the two of us out to celebrate New Years the way her family was celebrating back home. I don’t remember a whole lot, but what I do remember was a lot of red, and a whole bunch of beautiful lanterns. I was given these crisp dollar bills in slick red envelopes; to be honest, I loved the envelopes more than getting the money. It was the first and last time I celebrated the Chinese New Year. All these years later, I still love seeing the symbols from that night– the paper lanterns and the red everywhere and the dragons and the jade tea that I drank for the first time.
I remember asking a lot of questions about why things were being done in certain ways; memory tells me that most of my answers were for good fortune, but why was red for good fortune? (There was so much red!) As I thought about that topic, I starting wondering what year we were going into. Not too long ago, we had a year of the Ox. I remember that because that happens to be the year I was born in as well and it stuck with me. So what are we going into? Tiger? Rabbit? Dragon. I found my answers, and would like to share them with you here. Here is the meaning behind some of the traditions of Chinese New Year:
Source: http://www.history.com/topics/chinese-new-year-traditions-and-symbols
JIE CAI CENG: Welcoming the Gods of Wealth and Prosperity
On the 5th day of New Year’s, it is believed that the gods of prosperity come down from the heavens. Businesses will often participate in setting off firecrackers as they believe it will bring them prosperity and good fortune for their business.
YUAN XIAO JIE: Festival of Lanterns
The 15th day of the New Year is known as The Festival of Lanterns and marks the end of the Chinese New Year celebrations. All types of lanterns are lit throughout the streets and often poems and riddles are often written for entertainment. There are also paper lanterns on wheels created in the form of either a rabbit or the animal of the year (Dragon for 2012). The rabbit lantern stems from a Chinese myth or fairytale about a female goddess named “Chang E” who jumped onto the moon. So she wouldn’t travel alone, she brought a rabbit with her to keep her company. It is said that if your heart is pure enough, you can see the goddess Chang E and her rabbit on the moon on this day.
Red envelopes
Called “hong bao” in Mandarin, the red envelopes filled with money are typically only given to children or unmarried adults with no job. If you’re single and working and making money, you still have to give the younger ones the hong bao money. The color red denotes good luck/fortune and happiness/abundance in the Chinese Culture and is often worn or used for decoration in other celebrations.
Dragon
The Dragon is present in many Chinese cultural celebrations as the Chinese people often think of themselves as descendants of the mythical creature. On the fifth day of the New Year when many people have to start going back to work, they will also have the Dancing Dragons perform in the front of the office building. On the 15th day of the New Year (Yuan Xiao Jie), they will also have a lot of dancing dragon performances. The dragon represents prosperity, good luck and good fortune.
In August, we posted a blog titled The Power of Experience guest-written by Maryse Saffle, LCDC, our Experiential Coordinator. In her essay, Maryse described Musical Journey and Sweat Lodges – two of the forms of experiential treatment we employ for our clients. To follow that up, we wanted to share more about some of the other experiential therapies we use here. This year, we will have a series of blog posts guest-written by our experiential counselors and staff members, highlighting the various forms of experience-based treatments that clients can receive during their time with us. Today’s guest blog is on Guided Imagery – what it is, and why it is used – provided by Rosemary Wentworth, MA, CGS, CAGS, CCDP-D, LCDC and Experiential Counselor at Austin Recovery.
Enjoy!
Guided Imagery
By Rosemary Wentworth, MA, CGS, CAGS, CCDP-D, LCDC
Experiential Counselor at Austin Recovery
 At Austin Recovery, one of the tools used in the Experiential Programs is Guided Imagery. Its lineage is over a thousand years old in many cultures: Taoist, Buddhist and Western religious traditions. About 40 years ago, medical pioneers Oyle, Drs. Simonton, Assagioli, Bresler, and Rossman began to research imagery in order to work with people dealing with chronic pain, immune dysfunction, cancer, heart disease, and other catastrophic illnesses.
Eventually, approaches from Jungian and Gestalt therapies, Psychosynthesis, Ericksonian hypnotherapy, object relations and communications theory were integrated in order to develop Guided Imagery. Psychotherapist Naparstek, working with Vietnam Vets on issues of PTSD at the Medical Center in Virginia, catapulted the use of Guided Imagery into peer reviewed research domain. Emerging out of this field is the concept of PTG, Post Traumatic Growth, which states that positive change can come as a result of struggle. Our clients struggle with addiction and recovery, and can be helped along in their process with the tools of Guided Imagery.
Guided Imagery can be used to shed light on choices made that may have undermined well-being and to allow for a change of perspective that is more aligned with mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual wellness.
Imagery calls on our imagination. It uses the mind body communication of images which is the natural language of the nervous system. One part of our brain thinks with words and logic, processing information sequentially. The other part of our brain thinks with images and feelings, and processes information simultaneously. This mind body dialog is constant and we are unaware of its continuous stream. It is constantly influencing all parts of us.
You can experience this now by recalling a recent moment when you had a disagreement with someone. Notice what happens to your body: your breathing, heart rate, muscle tension, and anxiety.
Now recall a scene where you felt close and enjoyed being with someone. Notice what happens to your body: your muscles relax, breathing is deeper and slower, heart rate is lower and you have an overall feeling of well-being.
Both situations involve the use of intention, attention, and imagination. Guided imagery uses these three aspects of ourselves in a focused and directed way so that deeper parts can be reached to enhance recovery.
The Placebo Effect, which has statistical validity and reliability, has shown us that thoughts trigger the body’s self healing abilities. Research in the fields of pyschoneuroimmunology and clinical medicine indicate that the internal and external changes a person makes correlates directly with health and longevity. Guided Imagery is used in sports, stress and pain management, chronic illness, anxiety, trauma, and addiction. It is used to work through anxieties by visualizing other possibilities to fearful situations.
Using the flow of thoughts to see, smell, taste, feel, and hear, we create an image. This representation of our inner experience is coded and stored as information. When using Guided Imagery (directed thoughts in a focused state), the body responds as though what we are imagining is real. Golfers use imagery each time they visualize hitting a golf ball into the cup. Our bodies do not know the difference between real and imagined scenarios. fMRI studies show that whether we actually experience something or only imagine it, the brain activity recorded by the MRI is the same. This relaxed state helps with performance, thinking, creativity, healing and learning.
When thoughts are worry, tension or negative, we can redirect with guided imagery. At Austin Recovery our focus is on Addiction, and we use guided imagery to help clients:
- Connect to their Higher Power / Inner Resources
- Connect with their Inner Child
- Forgive themselves and others
- Discover and confront fears
- Have conversations with their “addictive self”
- Release Guilt / Shame / Blame
- Safely revisit the past and ‘reframe’
- Feel the benefits of Self-love and Self-care
- Deepen their relationship with their higher power
- Connect with feelings of gratitude
Resources
Alcohol and Other Drugs – Health Journeys by Belleruth Naparstek healthjourneys.com
“Created this guided imagery with the help of several 12-step groups and recovery counselors, using heart-opening imagery to help reduce addictive craving and teach relaxation skills. It includes images of the body restoring itself and regaining vitality to accentuate positive motivation and support sobriety. (61 min.) Keywords: 12 step, recovery, chemical dependency, addiction, compulsive behavior, drug use.”
Guided Imagery Mix Six Brief Meditations for Mind, Body & Spirit by Belleruth Naparstek healthjourneys.com
“This mix of 6 brief guided imagery segments was retuned and remixed from favorite titles into self-contained clips, to provide quick access to a relaxed, healing mind state – especially useful when time is short. It includes imagery for Favorite Place, Sitting in the Seat of the Heart, Surrounded by Protection, Walking Meditation, Settling into the Body and Affirmations for Healing the Heart. Mix and match however you wish. 73 minutes”
The Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine, Mind-Body Center Store (relaxation CDs, videos, DVD) www.mbmi.org.
University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center website has free MP3 downloads with transcripts on various Guided Imagery themes (Daily Intention, Inner Advisor, Pain Relief)
Bibliography
Beck, J. (1995) Cognitive Therapy: Basics and Beyond. New York: The Guilford Press.
L Freeman, L. (2004), Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2nd ed., pp. 275-304. St. Louis: Elsevier Mosby.
Lam, DH, Watkins, ER, Hayward, P, Bright, J, Wright, K, Kerr, N, Parr-Davis, G, Sham, P.(2003) A randomized controlled study of cognitive therapy for relapse prevention for bipolar affective disorder: outcome of the first year. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2003 Feb; 60(2):145-52.
Lambert, SA. (1999) Distraction, Imagery and Hypnosis. Techniques for Management of Children’s Pain. J Child Fam Nurs. 1999 Jan-Feb; 2(1): 5-15.
Lewandowski, W, Good, M, Draucker, CB. Changes in the meaning of pain with the use of guided imagery. Pain Management in Nursing. 2005 Jun; 6 (2):58-67. Menzies, V, Taylor, AG, Bourguignon, C. (2006) Effects of guided imagery on outcomes of pain, functional status, and self-efficacy in persons diagnosed with fibromyalgia. J Altern Complement Med. 2006 Jan-Feb; 12(1):23-30.
Ornish, D, Scherwitz, LW, Billings, JH, Brown, SE, Gould, KL, Merritt, TA, Sparler, S, Armstrong, WT, Ports, TA, Kirkeeide, RL, Hogeboom, C, Brand, RJ. (1998) Intensive lifestyle changes for reversal of coronary heart disease. JAM.1998 Dec 16; 280(23):2001-7.
Payne, R (2005). Imagery. In Relaxation Techniques: A Practical Handbook for the Health Care Professional, 3rd ed., pp. 149-159. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone.
Rossman, ML (2000). Guided Imagery for Self-Healing. Tiburon, CA: HJ Kramer; 2000.
Rossman, ML (2007). In MS Micozzi, ed., Complementary and Integrative Medicine in Cancer Care and Prevention, pp. 65-79. New York: Springer.
Wynd CA. (2005) Guided health imagery for smoking cessation and long-term abstinence. J Nurs Scholarsh. 2005; 37(3):245-50.
Every Saturday at all Austin Recovery facilities, families and friends come to visit their loved ones in treatment. They are also given a minimum of one hour of education on a recovery related topic. On Saturday, December 24th, at the Edith Royal Campus, the topic was relapse prevention. Instead of the hour long lecture by the counselor, the female clients got together and put on a short skit for the visitors on the topic of relapse prevention. They were excited and did an outstanding job all the way around, working well together. Many family members and friends remarked on how much they got out of the portrayal of real life drama. The main character was a client that had just successfully completed treatment and was discharging after Christmas Day to go stay with her parents. She was faced with going home during the holidays, dealing with a controlling mother, an old drug dealer that wouldn’t go away, and battling with thoughts of using, all in new recovery when we are so vulnerable. The signs you see below were her thoughts as she fought her way through that battleground of early recovery. This is a life or death disease and to minimize it as something less is dangerous. In the New Year, please put recovery as your number one priority, remembering to pay attention to the signs.
Austin Recovery partners with A&E’s “Intervention” program to repair a young addict’s life
 Austin Recovery, the largest and most affordable not-for-profit drug and alcohol treatment center in Texas, has once again teamed up with the Emmy® Award-winning “Intervention” program to save an addict’s life. The episode, featuring Austin Recovery, airs Monday, Jan. 9, 2012, on the A&E Network at 9 p.m. CST.
“Intervention” profiles people whose dependence on drugs and alcohol has brought them to a point of personal crisis or estranged them from their friends and loved ones. Each episode features a surprise intervention staged by family and friends of the addict. The series has conducted 214 interventions since its premiere in March 2005; 162 individuals are currently sober.
In next week’s episode, “Intervention” will feature Austin Recovery’s 21-year-old client “Dallas,” a charming, intelligent, quick-witted young woman devoted to her parents and siblings who loses herself in drug use at a young age, leaving her life in shambles. Bouncing around between motels, friends’ houses and family members’ homes, Dallas was doing anything to support herself and her habit. Her family, struggling with addiction issues of their own, lost almost all hope after Dallas’ several failed treatment attempts. Recognizing her downward spiral, they made the difficult decision to intervene, hoping to reignite the potential they once saw in her.
“Dallas is a strong individual who learned early on how to take care of herself – a personality trait that helped her survive but simultaneously robbed her of some of the carefree innocence children are supposed to enjoy,” said Jonathan Ross, CEO of Austin Recovery. “At Austin Recovery we offer the opportunity for addicts to get their lives back on track.”
Austin Recovery treats many people like Dallas, serving approximately 2,400 clients each year through 30- and 90-day residential treatment programs, as well as medical detox, outpatient treatment and Family House, a program that allows women to bring two children under the age of six with them to treatment.
“With the new year here, many people will make resolutions to change their lives for the better and we want to make sure we reach those individuals and families affected by addiction,” said Ross. “Our hope is that they can watch Dallas’ story unfold and realize that there are resources to support them in freeing themselves of addiction.”
Gateway to Recovery — January 4 & 11, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
The Gateway to Recovery series provides information on how to detect addiction and what friends and families can do to help those needing treatment. This information series is free and often the first step in helping people find treatment and begin the healing process. Gateway to Recovery is facilitated by Mary Boone and is held from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on the first and second Wednesday of each month at Austin Recovery, 8402 Cross Park Dr., Austin, TX, 78754. Click here for more information.
Second Saturday Workshop — January 14, 10 a.m. to 12 noon
“Your Love is my Drug: Love Addiction and Recovery” presented by Katherine Aguirre, MA, LPC.
Turn on the radio today and tune into the litany of lyrics which herald love addiction as absolutely normal. This addiction is so normalized in our culture that people actually believe that these toxic relationships are standard. Opening our eyes to this process addiction and the devastating effects it has on individuals and their relationships is important for people recovering from chemical addictions, professional counselors, and our population at large. Join us for this workshop where participants will discover what love addiction is, where it comes from, and how to recover. Second Saturday Workshops are held the second Saturday of each month except December and are free to the public. No registration is required. 2 CEUs available to LCDC, ADC, LMSW and LCSW. Second Saturday is held at Austin Recovery, 8402 Cross Park Dr., Austin, TX, 78754. Click here for more information.
Austin Recovery Alumni Events
Join the Austin Recovery Alumni for fun events and fellowship throughout the week. Events include Sunday Night Alumni Speaker Meetings, Big Book study groups, Musical Journey, skating, hikes around Lady Bird Lake, drum circles, bowling nights, game nights, evenings at the coffee shop and more. For more information, contact Austin Recovery Alumni & Volunteer Coordinator William Miley at 512-426-5571 or click on the Alumni events link on www.AustinRecovery.org.
Volunteer Opportunities at Austin Recovery
Austin Recovery is always looking for volunteers to provide additional support to our clients in residential addiction treatment in the following areas: financial planning, parenting skills, healthy relationships, job readiness/interviewing skills,stress management, anger management, self-esteem and abuse issues. We also need volunteers for clerical work, yoga, arts and crafts, dance, spa days (pedicures, manicures, hairstyling), recreation and weightlifting. If you are interested or have questions, please contact Austin Recovery Alumni & Volunteer Coordinator William Miley at 512-426-5571 or wmiley@austinrecovery.org.
Craig Franke, M.D. to Join Drug and Alcohol Treatment Center as Full-Time Medical Director
 Austin Recovery announced that Dr. Craig Franke will be joining the staff as Medical Director effective January 2, 2012. This addition will allow Austin Recovery to greatly expand its treatment options for clients with co-occuring psychiatric disorders.
In his full-time role, Dr. Franke will conduct daily rounds in Austin Recovery’s 28-bed Detoxification unit, and will also have regular hours to see clients in its seven other residential treatment programs. Austin Recovery CEO Jonathan Ross said “I have been excited about Dr. Franke succeeding Dr. Luker upon his retirement.” He continued “His presence at Austin Recovery will bring a fresh perspective on best practices in treating our increasingly complex clients.”
Dr. Franke, boarded in General Psychiatry and Addiction Psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, comes to Austin Recovery from Scott & White Memorial Hospital in Temple, where he acted as Medical Director of the Alcohol and Drug Dependency Treatment Program as well as Senior Staff Physician in Psychiatry. He is also an Assistant Professor at Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine, where he directs courses in substance abuse disorders to residents and fourth year medical students. Over the years Dr. Franke has also presented and been published in articles, books, and peer-reviewed publications on various topics involving psychiatry and substance abuse.
“Austin Recovery has a long reputation of excellence, and tremendous potential for a multi-disciplinary team to serve a wide range of patients” said Dr. Franke of why he is so excited to join the Austin Recovery team. He added “Austin Recovery is the most appropriate facility where we can increase awareness of substance abuse in our community, as well as facilitate substance abuse education among healthcare providers.”
This year, Austin Recovery began an internal diversity initiative to help broaden our cultural, social, and physical diversity. We launched several diversity initiatives (led by a Diversity Task Force – a diverse, cross-functional group of employee volunteers who take ownership of our initiatives and drive the change forward) that ranged from employee trainings, recognition and education around multicultural holidays, general awareness, and much more. To us, diversity encompasses acceptance and respect… moving beyond simply tolerance to embracing and celebrating the rich dimensions of diversity contained within each individual, which can be along many different dimensions, such as race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age, physical abilities, religious beliefs, political beliefs, or other ideologies (source). As part of our initiative, we have asked for staff to contribute content about their personal cultural identifications in order to help share with and educate others.
 Craig Ross, Austin Recovery’s Director of Men’s Voyage and Outpatient Programs is the first to contribute, just in time for the beginning of Kwanzaa:
Kwanzaa is an African-American holiday begun in 1966 by the Cal State Long Beach Black Studies Director, Dr. Karenga. His belief that all cultures should have a holiday which celebrates their traditions, is a foundation for this holiday. lt began before America began to celebrate MLK day. Kwanzaa is 12/26 through 1/01, each year. Each day of the seven days of Kwanzaa commemorates one of the seven principles (below). We have celebrated Kwanzaa in my home for 45 years now.
More about Kwanzaa
Source: The Official Kwanzaa Web Site
Kwanzaa is an African American and Pan-African holiday which celebrates family, community and culture. Its origins are in the first harvest celebrations of Africa from which it takes its name. The name Kwanzaa is derived from the phrase “matunda ya kwanza” which means “first fruits” in Swahili. The first-fruits celebrations are recorded in African history as far back as ancient Egypt and Nubia and appear in ancient and modern times in other classical African civilizations such as Ashantiland and Yorubaland. These celebrations are also found in ancient and modern times among societies as large as empires (the Zulu or kingdoms (Swaziland) or smaller societies and groups like the Matabele, Thonga and Lovedu, all of southeastern Africa. Kwanzaa builds on the five fundamental activities of Continental African “first fruit” celebrations: ingathering; reverence; commemoration; recommitment; and celebration.
Rooted in this ancient history and culture, Kwanzaa develops as a flourishing branch of the African American life and struggle as a recreated and expanded ancient tradition. Thus, it bears special characteristics, for it draws from the cultures of various African peoples, and is celebrated by millions of Africans throughout the world African community. Moreover, these various African peoples celebrate Kwanzaa because it speaks not only to African Americans in a special way, but also to Africans as a whole, in its stress on history, values, family, community and culture.
First, Kwanzaa was created to reaffirm and restore our rootedness in African culture. It is, therefore, an expression of recovery and reconstruction of African culture which was being conducted in the general context of the Black Liberation Movement of the ’60’s and in the specific context of The Organization Us, the founding organization of Kwanzaa and the authoritative keeper of its tradition. Secondly, Kwanzaa was created to serve as a regular communal celebration to reaffirm and reinforce the bonds between us as a people. It was designed to be an ingathering to strengthen community and reaffirm common identity, purpose and direction as a people and a world community. Thirdly, Kwanzaa was created to introduce and reinforce the Nguzo Saba (the Seven Principles.)
Official colors: black, red and green.
Nguzo Saba – The Seven Principles
Source: The Official Kwanzaa Web Site
Umoja (Unity): To strive for and maintain unity in the family, community, nation and race.
Kujichagulia (Self-Determination): To define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves and speak for ourselves.
Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility): To build and maintain our community together and make our brother’s and sister’s problems our problems and to solve them together.
Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics): To build and maintain our own stores, shops and other businesses and to profit from them together.
Nia (Purpose): To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.
Kuumba (Creativity): To do always as much as we can, in the way we can in order t leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it.
Imani (Faith): To believe with all our heart in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.
Kwanzaa Gifts and Greetings
Source: The Official Kwanzaa Web Site
Greetings: The greetings during Kwanzaa are in Swahili. Swahili is a Pan-African language and is chosen to reflect African Americans’ commitment to the whole of Africa and African culture rather than to a specific ethnic or national group or culture. The greetings are to reinforce awareness of and commitment to the Seven Principles. It is: “Habari gani?” and the answer is each of the principles for each of the days of Kwanzaa, i.e., “Umoja”, on the first day, “Kujichagulia”, on the second day and so on.
Gifts: Gifts are given mainly to children, but must always include a book and a heritage symbol. The book is to emphasize the African value and tradition of learning stressed since ancient Egypt, and the heritage symbol to reaffirm and reinforce the African commitment to tradition and history.
Sam Darcy, Executive Director at Vista Taos Renewal Center wrote a great piece for Addiction Professional on Making the Case for Holistic Care in Addictions Treatment.
At Austin Recovery, we believe the best and most effective way to maintain a life of sobriety is to experience the lessons taught in treatment, not just listen to lectures. In treatment, we can talk about connecting to a higher power or digging deep into feelings and emotions, but until clients do it, there is no experience in which to anchor the lesson. We offer many forms of experience-based therapies, including Musical Journey, inner-child work, art therapy, yoga, sweat lodges, organic gardening, cinematherapy, and more.
The article by Vista Taos does a great job in making a case for holistic treatments as being more than a cliche, or tag line about treating the mind, body and spirit, but instead being proven by research to improve treatment outcomes and lasting sobriety. According to the article:
“Research from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration (SAMHSA), as well as research published during the past few years in The Lancet, New England Journal of Medicine, The Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment in addition to a wealth of publications from eminent researchers such as Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, Dr. Jerry Boriskin, Tian Dayton, Dr. Don Meichenbaum and Dr. Colin Ross to name a few, all substantiate that incorporating holistic approaches, along with 12 step recovery and established therapeutic approaches improve patient outcomes” as they help clients “resolve theunderlying issues motivating their addiction and addictive behaviors.”
The article continues to describe the benefits of a few of the holistic, experience-based methods they employe. Click here to access the full article.
Click here to learn more about Austin Recovery’s experiential therapies.
Steve Race, an Austin Recovery client who completed treatment a few months ago, provided us with two thoughtful essays that he wanted to share with the world. The first one, It (Only, Always) Works if You Work it! we shared here with you previously. Today, we follow with his second. Steve, thank you again for opening your heart and mind for us! Here are Steve’s thoughts, in his own words.
Love is Life, Fear is Death
A spitting, crackling fuse rushes towards our ever-primed 50 megaton relapse bomb! All that remains are a thousand memories of instantly wiping away our intolerable misery with the peaceful rush of oblivion courtesy of our “medicine” … our sweet, alluring, irresistable POISON!
Relapse. For some, someday another, perhaps last chance to recover. But for 100s of 1000s of Americans in a single year’s time, an unbreakable chain then will drag us towards lonely suffering and dying, torturing the hearts and souls of our uncomprehending loved ones all the while!
If ONLY we would just stay… just today… WITH our program of love… WITH – our God! Yes we can! Dear God – Keep us safe, keep us loving, keep us spiritually growing, accomplishing such good things for ourselves with each action to benefit other people! Carry us along Your rainbow of beauty until we reach the pot of gold… our happiness earned, and our fulfillment built by our love given!
–Steve R. to AR
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