Integrated drug rehabilitation

Integrated drug rehabilitation

JAKARTA (JP): Detoxification to clean up a drug addict's body
is just the beginning of a long and winding course of therapy
before an addict can return to society, a seminar has concluded.

"To become physically drug free is easy. Just join a detox
program and your body will be free from drugs. But what comes
next is more important. Like how they will control the trigger to
use drugs or how to get a job and interact with people," Emi
Sutomo, a member of the Tunas Kencana Indonesia Foundation
(YTKI), an association of parents of drug addicts, said during
the seminar on drug abuse here on Monday.

The seminar, jointly held by YTKI and the Titihan Respati
Foundation (YTR) rehabilitation center, introduced a relatively
new method of drug addict treatment called Therapeutic Community
(TC). The method has been used in the United States since 1963 by
the New York-based Daytop International rehabilitation center,
which claims to have healed 93,000 alcohol and drug addicts.

According to Aloysius Joseph of the U.S. rehabilitation
center, chemical detoxification is a condition of entry and not
the goal of treatment.

Rather than focusing on medical treatment, TC is an integrated
program which involves physical, psychological and social
treatment.

"The first thing that is being emphasized is that people can
change. A lot of addicts came, thinking that they couldn't get
better. But change is possible if they believe so," said Joseph.

YTR is one of only two rehabilitation centers that adopt the
TC method.

The method is divided into two main programs: A primary
program and reentry or a familiarization program.

The primary program consists of role modeling, a family milieu
concept, therapeutic session, religious session and peer
pressure. The session then continues to intellectual and
spiritual sessions, vocational survival skills, behavior and
psychological shaping.

The primary program lasts for six months, followed by another
six months of a reentry program or familiarization program in
which patients prepare for their return to society.

Most of the drug addicts are trained to become counselors,
like Desy, 17.

She became an addict three years ago, when she was in second
year of a private junior high school. Starting with drinking, she
ended up taking putaw (low grade heroin), given to her by a
friend.

The program costs Rp 3 million a month.

"It's expensive because we invite experts and doctors from
other countries," said Emi.(09)