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We now continue our 12-part series, Reclaim Your Life.
The disease of addiction will often change a person's entire way of thinking, but there
are very specialized treatments available as I found out when I visited Transformations
Drug and Alcohol Treatment Center in Delray Beach, Florida and met the people behind their
Serenity Lounge and Brain Solutions program.
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The people who benefit from our program come from a variety of backgrounds, but the one
thing that they have in common is they're all struggling with addiction.
They come in with severe anxiety, PTSD, ADHD, and they're unable to actually participate
in their treatment.
We offer several different programs to meet a wide variety of clients.
For example, we have an over 30's program, we have an under 30's program, we have a Christian
program.
We provide a holistic approach to all of those programs.
We also do genetic testing upon admission to see what works and what doesn't in each
individual client.
We really cater to their individual needs because we know how important it is when overcoming
addition.
This is an epidemic and clients are dying every day.
So we do what we can to really help them overcome what they need to before they leave here.
30 days is not long enough.
As a Master's level clinician, Megan Garvey is Assistant Director at Transformations Drug
and Alcohol Treatment Center in Delray Beach, Florida.
She knows only too well how addiction can actually change a person's way of thinking,
negatively affecting their behavior and emotions and even their will to live.
My low point was I ended up in a Psych ward in Pennsylvania -- I don't know how -- high
on crack, heroin, and Xanax.
My dealers even were telling me to go to rehab.
My family wasn't behind me.
I was homeless, in a Psych ward, no money, no nothing, and I didn't know if I wanted
to live anymore.
That was my lowest point.
Megan, how typical is Parker's story?
It's pretty typical.
Clients come in hopeless and confused and scared of change, and we try to instill in
them hope and insight to the severity of their addiction to the changes that could be made.
We can actually change that story they've been telling themselves for their entire life:
"I'm not good enough."
"I can never change."
And we can change that thought process from negative cognition to the position cognitions
before treatment even starts.
Now, when we talk about working with the brain and changing a person's way of thinking, how
do you go about that?
That seems so challenging.
With Brain Solutions, we actually offer them a brain assessment online.
So, they complete that and then they get results right away for what games they actually need
to play online in order to create those certain neural pathways in their brain in order to
change their functioning.
For example, cognitive functioning, how they process information, how they regulate their
emotions.
And also, I mean, there's a game called Bubbletopia and you click the little bubbles and it actually
changes negative cognitions into positive ones just by identifying the positive words
over the negative ones.
By means of these online games, a therapist will have the ability to objectively track
the extent of cognitive and emotional recovery in that client.
Along with the Brain Solutions services is the Serenity Lounge.
Megan, I've been to the Serenity Lounge.
Tell me what goes on in there.
Well, the client goes in and lays down, and there's a combination of vibro-acoustics and
music therapy, and it actually helps the client to calm down, relax, and more able to participate
in treatment.
Through the vibro-acoustics, it really, your body is 60% water, so the vibration with the
music puts your whole body in sync, allows the relaxation to take place.
It releases stress, muscle tension.
These are awesome amazing machines for anyone no matter what the symptom.
And have you noticed when they go to the Serenity Lounge, and they're there, and they come out.
What do you see?
I see the more at peace.
I see them more ready to participate in treatment because a lot of clients come in and they're
resistant.
They don't want to be sober.
The drugs have hijacked their brain, and so this is a way to get their brain back and
really help them re-establish their sense of self because that's what recovery is all
about.
The Serenity Lounge and Brain Solutions is just one aspect of the unique treatments offered.
Brain wave training is also offered here through a system called Brain Paint, a neural feedback
program that actually teaches the brain to work at its full capacity.
We are able to actually modify what they need, and their brain actually does the healing
itself through Brain Paint and Brain Solutions by creating those new neural pathways to actually
changing negative cognition to the positive ones.
I actually love the name that this place has, Transformations, because it truly was a transformation
for me.
It changed my life.
These specialized services, the Serenity Lounge, Brain Paint, can mean a total transformation
in though patterns so that each person can find serenity in treatment.
We hope you'll continue to join us in our Reclaim Your Life series as we show you how
these unique programs set Transformations Drug and Alcohol Treatment Center apart continues
to help those in addiction on the road to recovery.
Next time, we're going to see how their First Responders program aids those in need of recovery.
Remember, for more information, you can go to TransformationsTreatment.Center or our
website, TheBalancingAct.com.
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