Extended Primary Care Rehab Facilities

Extended Primary Care facilities in South Africa are a very successful option for those requiring treatment with addiction recovery counsellors, but are hindered by a lack of finances or need a significant period of time in a Primary centre. Most Primary Care facilities have a programme lasting four weeks at most and can cost tens of thousands of Rands. Secondary Care is the next phase in the rehabilitation process, after which is Tertiary; each stage allowing the client a little more freedom and re-introduction into society.

Modern doctors and addiction professionals now believe that drugs are not the primary problem in a case of addiction, but merely a symptom that something much more complex within the person needs treatment. The addicted person needs psychological help and abstinence, not simply to stop using for a period of time. Addicts re-introduced into society without any tools to help them stay clean will struggle greatly.

Addiction and finding the best treatment
Addiction is a disease which is sweeping South Africa and the globe. It does not distinguish between race, gender, economic status or religion and can affect anyone. This is an important fact to note, as those with a lower economic standing than average are still prone to suffer from addiction problems, yet have no access to treatment centres unless they are willing to go to a government run, boot camp institution. These rehabs tend not to deal with the problem and simply treat symptoms.

Extended Primary Care Facilities
Extended Primary Care facilities have been established for those needing longer Primary Care treatment and are not ready for Secondary Care.

Therapy in Extended Primary Treatment
Therapeutically, an Extended Primary Care centre will run a very similar programme to a normal Primary Care centre. The Minnesota Model of addictions counselling incorporates the Twelve Steps (originally from Alcoholics Anonymous) into the therapeutic programme. The Minnesota Model is a therapeutic view that addiction is a disease and incurable, but may be arrested and abstinence achieved through a daily programme of recovery to include the Twelve Steps. This allows patients the benefits of intense counselling within a group structure and individual counselling, coupled with the supportive benefits of the Twelve Steps, which the patient will make use of for continued sobriety and recovery.

Therapeutic programme and The Twelve Steps
The Twelve Steps are used in a Twelve Step programme which incorporates staying abstinent from obsessive and compulsive behaviour and also changing the addict’s life in a positive direction, allowing them to cope with day-to-day issues and remain abstinent indefinitely.

A typical programme in an Extended Primary Care centre which uses the Minnesota model of counselling would allow clients to participate in individual and group therapy, art and drama therapy, addictions, hikes, and household duties. The programme may also include specialised outdoor activities such as surfing, scuba diving, caring and bonding with animals and more.

More affordable treatment
An Extended Primary Care centre offers addicts the chance to receive in patient treatment and intense counselling for three months or more for approximately the same cost as three to four weeks in a Primary Care facility. The programme is intense, and Extended Primary Care facilities have some of the best success rates in the world. Research, time and experience have shown that a short period in a treatment centre is simply not enough to help an addict stay abstinent upon leaving.

Those that stay in a centre for three months or longer, or proceed to the Secondary and Tertiary phases of treatment are far better prepared to cope with life on life’s terms and will have had some time in a recovery programme to be able to adjust to normal life again. It is highly recommended that any client in a Primary Care treatment centre proceeds to the next stages of treatment, i.e. Secondary and Tertiary Care for the best preparation for leading a clean and sober life. Addiction counselling by addiction recovery counsellors at a long term in-patient facility is a massive step towards a positive lifestyle for addicts and their families.