Keystone Treatment Center Joins Forces With the South Dakota National Guard to Get Teens Off Drugs and Alcohol
Canton, SD (PRWEB) August 16, 2010
July 16, 2010 was a day that the adolescents at Keystone Treatment Center will remember for a lifetime. A member of the South Dakota National Guard visited the drug and alcohol treatment center and led a three-hour experiential therapy group with the center’s adolescent patients.
The adolescents participated in an activity involving the use of special goggles that are designed to mimic the visual impairment caused by alcohol and other drugs. To simulate being stopped at a sobriety checkpoint for driving under the influence (DUI), teens were challenged to walk a straight line while having their vision distorted through the goggles. When wearing the goggles, teens experienced a re-creation of some of the mind-altering effects of intoxication such as a loss of equilibrium.
“The goggles helped teens realize how drugs and alcohol affect their bodies and minds, impairing their ability to drive and do other tasks without putting themselves and others in danger,” said Brett Gaede, the recreational therapist at Keystone Treatment Center’s adolescent drug rehab. “By learning these lessons firsthand using the goggles, our hope is that the impact will be lasting.”
For most teens, the highlight of the day was scaling a 30-foot portable rock climbing wall. The wall could hold up to four adolescents at a time so they were able to challenge themselves individually as well as work together to reach the top.
“Climbing the rock wall gave the teens a chance to prove to themselves and their peers that they could accomplish anything if they set their minds to it,” said Gaede.
“We are so grateful to the South Dakota National Guard for providing this great service to our adolescents,” said Carol Regier, RN, CCDCIII, the executive director at Keystone. “The Guard has been and continues to be an active partner in helping South Dakota adolescents get and stay sober.”
Keystone has also been involved in a number of other outreach events. In recent months, the center’s addiction experts have made presentations in Texas, South Dakota, Nebraska and Canada addressing eating disorders and the link between addictions and family violence.
The center is also preparing for its annual “Recovery Takes Flight” event, which is coming up on September 1 at its residential facility in Canton and its outpatient facility in Sioux Falls. The staff will be joined by local politicians, Keystone alumni and the neighboring communities to release balloons in a celebration of recovery.
About Keystone Treatment Center
A premier drug and alcohol rehab center with a residential facility in Canton and an outpatient facility in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Keystone Treatment Center offers alcohol, drug and gambling treatment programs for adults and adolescents. Services are grounded in the 12 Steps, and include counseling, medical management, psychological and spiritual care, a weekly family program, and specialty tracks that address methamphetamine addiction, dual diagnosis, Native Americans, Christians, cognitive disorders and opioid addiction.
Keystone Treatment Center is a proud member of CRC Health Group, which offers the most comprehensive network of specialized behavioral healthcare services in the nation. With the largest array of personalized treatment options, individuals, families and professionals can choose the most appropriate setting for their behavioral, addiction, weight management and therapeutic education needs. CRC Health Group is deeply committed to making its services widely and easily available to those in need, while maintaining a passion for delivering the most advanced treatment available.
For more information, please call (866) 515-5253 or visit Keystone Treatment Center.
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