Non-Twelve Step Drug Rehab

The Twelve Step philosophy of recovery is incorporated into everything from bare-bones community recovery programs to posh, luxury rehab programs. While it has helped many people forge a new drug-free life for themselves, it doesn’t work for everyone.

Some people embrace the religious component of the approach to recovery while others who may not be religious find a way to adapt these principles to their own way of looking at life so they can use the Twelve Step approach. But for others, the approach is not compatible with their way of thinking so they seek a non-Twelve Step program.

The Original Twelve Steps

In the beginning, the Twelve Steps applied only to alcohol recovery. They were part of The Big Book written in the late 1930s to help alcoholics achieve sobriety. Gradually, the Twelve Steps framework began to be applied to recovery from narcotics addiction, overeating, excessive shopping and much more. While some people succeed with these steps, many people want a non-Twelve Step option for addiction recovery. Either they have tried a Twelve Step program and didn’t succeed with it or they examined it and found it not to be a good fit for them.

The Narconon drug and alcohol rehabilitation program offers an effective alternative for those who prefer a non-Twelve Step drug rehab. The Narconon drug rehab network has locations around the world to help the addicted build lasting sobriety for themselves without requiring adherence to the Twelve Steps.

Targeting the Barriers to Recovery

It is very common for a person who has been addicted to be trapped in a cycle of guilt and cravings. Their intense cravings drive them to get and use more drugs, while they continue to build up an ever-growing burden of guilt for the harm they do to themselves and others. There must be an escape route out of this deadly pattern.

The Narconon rehab program addresses the specific barriers to sobriety that exist after a period of drug addiction. No drugs are used as treatment during this drug-free, non-Twelve Step drug rehab program. Instead, the focus is on truly rehabilitating each person’s self-respect, integrity, interest in life and ability to overcome life’s barriers.

Any fully-featured non-Twelve Step drug rehab must address these same points as the program progresses. Without an increase in self-respect, integrity, interest in life and an ability to overcome barriers, sobriety is much less likely to last.

Start with Detoxification

In most drug rehabs, detoxification refers only to the process of getting a person off the intoxicants they were using. This period may require close medical supervision and care to alleviate symptoms that threaten a person’s health. At the end of days or a couple of weeks, each person’s body has a chance to throw off the effects of the drugs or alcohol they were consuming. Now sober, they can begin to engage with the rehab program itself.

At a Narconon drug rehab, there is a second phase of detoxification. First, each person goes through a conventional withdrawal phase, getting the support they need to ease their symptoms. Next comes the Narconon New Life Detoxification Program which utilizes moderate exercise, a precise regimen of nutritional supplements and sweating in a low-heat sauna.

The purpose of this second detox is to help the body reach deep into the cells to flush out residual drug residues and toxins. These residues can affect the clarity of a person’s thinking and cause their cravings to continue for years after they get sober. The Narconon New Life Detoxification Program assists recovery by relieving what is often referred to as Post-Acute Withdrawal Symptoms.

After this detox, life can look sharper, brighter and more immediate. This change helps each person get a fresh start on their lasting recovery.

Learning to Approach Life in a New Way

A person who spent years or even decades addicted to drugs or alcohol is burdened by the pain and trauma suffered. That person has usually committed acts they never, ever thought they would do. The resulting guilt and pain act like chains that keep a person tied to their past. There must be a way to break these chains and build a new, sober life.

A short-term Twelve Step program may not offer very much in the way of life skills simply because there is little time. Better quality drug rehab programs that last longer have a greater ability to offer services that develop improved life skills. Being able to make sober choices despite life’s challenges is going to require these improved skills.

If a program is fully and only focused on the Twelve Steps, it is up to the individual to develop the life skills they need to work their way through the Steps. However, many fully-featured drug rehab programs use the Twelve Steps framework while also offering other types of service.

A New Focus and Stronger New Life Skills

To make this transition from a painful past to a positive new life, each person on the Narconon rehab program completes a series of exercises that gradually show them that they can indeed enjoy a life that is lived in the present. The past begins to fall away. Each person gains more control over their thoughts and actions.

Finally, it’s vital for them to reconstruct the life skills they will need when overcoming the usual barriers everyone experiences in life. In the recovering person, these life skills have normally been damaged or discarded in the years spent addicted. For recovery to be lasting, the skills must be restored. At a Narconon facility, each person receives instruction on the most important life skills that will be needed. As each of these students of life learns the lessons, they use what they have learned to begin repairing their lives, a process that will continue after they get home.

Preparing to Return Home

For every person completing rehab, the next transition can again present challenges. They must return home and begin to repair relationships. They may need a new residence and job, or new friends. A drug rehab program, whether following a Twelve Step or another model, will be the most successful if the graduate receives support while they make this re-entry. All the challenges they may have previously failed to overcome will be there, waiting for them. Families selecting a non-Twelve Step program for a loved one should ensure that aftercare services are offered by rehab staff to support the individual after they leave rehab.

Recovery from addiction doesn’t happen overnight. After years of addiction, most people need to move at their own pace as they learn new skills and recover their self-respect. The Narconon program does not have a time limit, just for that reason. A person returns home when they have completed the requirements of the program, achieving the improvements available at each step of this non-Twelve Step drug rehab program.