Introduction
to Services
Introduction
Practical Recovery Services
(PRS) was established by Dr. Horvath in 1985, and operates
from a set of office suites in La
Jolla (San Diego), California. PRS views addictive
behavior as a practical problem requiring a practical
solution, not a disease you can't get rid of. We offer
flexible services adapted to your individual needs. We
consider your personal values, goals, life situation,
history, and relationships, as well as any other related
aspect of your life. Our detox, residential and
residential alternative clients stay in various locations,
depending on a range of factors. These factors are
discussed and living arrangements are made before your
arrival.
We do not make you fit a program. We construct a program
to fit you.
We use the "practical recovery" model (vs. a
disease or 12-step model). We think of addiction as a
practical problem, and we think of attending treatment as
a practical issue also. We will make it as convenient and
cost effective as possible for you to attend here, and we
will help you find as convenient and realistic a method as
possible for you to make needed changes.
Our comprehensive treatment approach works focuses on six
main areas: building and maintaining motivation, coping
with craving, identifying and overcoming any significant
emotional or behavioral problems, enhancing relationships,
achieving greater lifestyle balance, and building a
greater sense of purpose and meaning in life (consistent
with your own deepest values). You may also be referred,
as needed and as desired by you, to one or more
professionals on our extensive list of affiliate
providers, for medical, alternative medical, specialized
psychological or health enhancement evaluations or
services. We focus on providing our own core services, and
find the best affiliate providers for related services if
needed.
Our program appears to be unique in the US. We believe
there is no better program anywhere. We are committed to
providing scientifically supported services. We are highly
flexible and work collaboratively with your goals, values,
and sense of meaning in life. We don't try to
"break" you. We often focus on helping you get
an even better awareness of what you like, and like to do.
Such awareness is often the key to overcoming addictive
behavior. For clients doing intensive treatment (as
opposed to just a few outpatient sessions per week), we
often work as a psychotherapy team (more on that below).
Our clients typically come from the "hidden
population" of high functioning individuals who
nevertheless have significant addiction problems. Although
sometimes our clients are pushed here by others, most
often they choose to attend because on their own they have
chosen to improve their lives. These high functioning
individuals have included:
administrators, artists, attorneys, business owners,
chefs, clergy, computer professionals, contractors,
dentists, engineers, entrepreneurs, executives and
managers, financial services professionals, full-time
parents and homemakers, nurses, physicians, psychiatrists,
psychologists, professors and teachers, sales
professionals, scientists, students
and successful individuals from all walks and arenas of
life,
who nevertheless need help in this particular area. Our
clients are also diverse, coming from a variety of races,
national origins, religions, ethnic identifications,
sexual orientations, physical abilities, sizes, and ages
(including the retired, young adults, and selected
adolescents).
We feel deeply honored to have the privilege of working
with our clients, and we develop substantial affection for
them. Although our work is how we make a living, we are
also committed to it as a deeply meaningful part of our
own lives. We have developed great respect for the courage
our clients have shown, as they grapple with the causes of
their addictions (which arise from their history, their
situation, and their physiology) and make the changes they
need to make. We cannot think of more satisfying work!
No program is for everyone. In this website, and
especially in the section below, we attempt to give you a
good idea of what to expect at PRS, so that you can make
informed decisions about our program. Unlike many other
programs, we consider you still capable of interpreting
information and making good decisions! And you will
need these capabilities now, because what we offer is so
different from traditional US treatment that it may be
hard to grasp at first. So set aside ideas about addiction
as a disease, being an alcoholic or addict, lifelong
abstinence, lifelong recovery, lifelong support groups,
and powerlessness, and consider an alternative.
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Establishing a treatment plan
By the time most clients contact us they
are so indoctrinated into the traditional way of thinking
about addictive behavior treatment that they may not
appreciate the reasonableness of what we do instead. By
comparison, imagine the following scenario. You call a
plastic surgery group to inquire about cosmetic surgery.
You are told: we have a 28 day residential surgery program
for those with severe problems, and a 6 week outpatient
surgery program for those with moderate impairment. The
programs are similar: first we do noses, then facelifts,
breasts for women or hair for men, and liposuction. If you
object that you don't need all these surgeries, you are
told that you are mistaken. Everybody who calls needs
them, or you wouldn't be calling! And we don't deal with
any other problems (like heart problems or digestive
problems) until your cosmetic problems are taken care of
first!
Potential clients call us to ask, what is our program?
Notice that potential clients with behavioral problems or
health problems (e.g., depression or heart disease), would
not normally ask this question of a non-addiction
facility. You would assume that treatment would be
individualized, after completion of an evaluation. It is
only (the typical) addiction facility that has a
"program" that was established even before you
arrived!
Our treatment plan for you will evolve as we get to know
you. We do aim to teach all clients how to stop their
addictive behavior. BUT, you still get to decide when to
use these techniques (e.g., before the first drink, or
after the third), AND although the techniques are based on
three core ideas (craving is time-limited, cravings do not
force you to use, cravings in themselves are not harmful),
how these core ideas are applied in your life is as unique
as you are. How much time you need to learn your version
of these techniques, and the best format for you to learn
them, also varies widely. Furthermore, if related issues
(other emotional and behavioral problems, relationships,
lifestyle balance, meaning in life, ongoing motivation)
are not adequately addressed, treatment is not going to be
very helpful. Usually these related issues take up most of
our time together, and these issues are also as unique as
you are.
Together we specify in the first few sessions what we aim
for you to achieve with us. We do this by mutually
agreeing on what solutions are needed in your life.
We then consider how to develop these solutions.
Although we begin with this plan, the focuses of our work
almost always evolve as we make progress in some areas,
and perhaps run into unexpected difficulties in others.
Quite often information you knew but didn’t realize was
important emerges over time (such as past difficulties
which still affect you but which you tend to keep out of
mind). Sometimes improvement in one
area even leads to greater problems in another (e.g., less
substance use may lead to more anxiety).
If we are not meeting your needs we can make immediate
corrections. If you really don't like what is happening
you are free to leave at any time. There are as many roads
to recovery as there are individuals. We won't truly know
your road until we have traveled it! Overcoming addictive
behavior is not about establishing a master plan and
following it, or following a plan that everybody else in
the treatment program is also following. Overcoming
addictive behavior is more like a voyage of discovery. The
destination may be clear, but the journey will likely have
surprises. What we do know is that whatever problems you
have at the beginning or over the course of treatment, PRS
has the collective experience to help you resolve them, or
to find the additional help you need to do so.
There are also a number of practical considerations that
can have an enormous influence on how we might work
together, in particular on how frequently sessions occur,
and whether you attend groups. We attempt to be utterly
realistic in our approach, so we pay great attention to
basic issues of time, money, insurance benefits, the lack
of confidentiality within the insurance industry,
participating in group vs. maintaining complete privacy,
family concerns, employer concerns, etc. Tell us what your
concerns truly are, and we will work with you to deal with
them and still make progress.
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