Pre-Travel Info

Welcome

This page has been developed for you to read before arriving at Drug & Alcohol Rehab Asia to begin your internal journey. We hope it answers some of your questions.

Our Mission

At Drug & Alcohol Rehab Asia, the team provides high quality, cost effective treatment to those recovering from or experiencing alcohol abuse or dependence. In order to accomplish this mission, we provide a variety of psychological, behavioral, general health, and alternative therapy interventions that enable our clients to fully recover.

Who is Drug & Alcohol Rehab Asia for?

Drug & Alcohol Rehab Asia is for those people seeking a more discreet and comprehensive program than can found elsewhere in the world. The location and facilities match or exceed many rehab centers in world, including price, while offering a truly flexible and quality program. All clients who come to Drug & Alcohol Rehab Asia should be willing to participate in both group and individual therapeutic activities. Clients will also be encouraged to look at the cause and root of their dependence, along with addressing problematic behaviors and behavioral patterns they may be experiencing.

The Treatment Programs

At Drug & Alcohol Rehab Asia, we offer a four, six, eight, and twelve week structured programs, using a range of treatment approaches to complement the CBT core approach.

What is Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT)?

CBT has a strong level of empirical support for the treatment of substance abuse and alcoholism. CBT is a short-term, focused approach to help substance dependent individuals become abstinent from alcohol and other substances.

It is a way of talking about:

• How you think about yourself, the world and other people
• How what you do affects your thoughts and feeling

CBT can help you to change how you think (“Cognitive”) and what you do (“Behavior)”. These changes can help you to feel better. Unlike some of the other talking treatments, it focuses more on the “here and now” problems and difficulties. Instead of focusing on the causes of your distress or symptoms in the past, it looks for ways to improve your state of mind now.

It has been found to be helpful in:

• Anxiety
• Depression
• Substance abuse
• Agoraphobia and other phobias
• Social phobia
• Eating disorders
• Obsessive compulsive disorder
• Post traumatic stress disorder
• Schizophrenia

How does it work?

CBT focuses on helping clients to a) RECOGNIZE the situations in which they are most likely to use drugs or alcohol; b) AVOID these situations when appropriate; and c) COPE more effectively with a range of problems and problematic behaviors associated with substance abuse. CBT can help you to make sense of overwhelming problems by breaking them down into smaller parts. This makes it easier to see how they are connected and how they affect you. These parts are:

• A Situation – a problem, event or difficult situation

From this can follow:

• Thoughts
• Emotions
• Physical feelings
• Actions

Each of these areas can affect the others. How you think about a problem can affect how you feel physically and emotionally. It can also alter what you do about it. What does the CBT program involve?

When you are new to treatment, you may be nervous and apprehensive, at this stage and during detox (if required).

• The therapist will check that you can use this sort of treatment, and you will check that you feel comfortable with it.
• You decide what you want to deal with in the short, medium and long term.
• The therapist will work with you to agree to a care plan

The core group

The CBT program at Drug & Alcohol Rehab Asia will be done with a group of people. Regarding the group therapy:

• You will usually meet with a therapist and group 5 days a week for the program sessions. Each group session will last 90 minutes.
• The therapist will also ask you questions about your life and background. Although CBT concentrates on the here and now, at times you may need to talk about the past to understand how it is affecting you now.
• The program lasts for as long as you stay, on a rolling basis. The group will adapt to its members needs, each focusing on different areas of your life and substance abuse.

The Work

• With the therapist and group, you break each problem down into its separate parts. To help this process, your therapist will ask you to keep a diary. This will help you to identify your individual patterns of thoughts, emotions, bodily feelings and actions.
• Together you will look at your thoughts, feelings and behaviors to work out: –if they are unrealistic or unhelpful –how they affect each other, and you
• The therapist will then help you to work out how to change unhelpful thoughts and behaviors.
• It’s easy to talk about doing something, much harder to actually do it. So, after you have identified what you can change, you will be recommended “homework” – you practice these changes in your everyday life. Depending on the situation, you might start to: –question a self-critical or upsetting thought and replace it with a positive (and more realistic) one that you have developed in CBT –recognize that you are about to do something that will make you feel worse and, instead, do something more helpful. –at each meeting you discuss how you’ve got on since the last session. Your group can help with suggestions if any of the tasks seem too hard or don’t seem to be helping.

The strength of CBT is that you can continue to practice and develop your skills even after the sessions have finished. This makes it less likely that your symptoms or problems will return.

How effective is CBT?

• It is the most effective treatment for conditions where anxiety, anger or depression is the main problem
• It is the most effective psychological treatment for moderate and severe depression
• It is as effective as antidepressants for many types of depression
• It is the most effective treatment for drug and alcohol abuse

Know that:

• If you are feeling low and are having difficulty concentrating, it can be hard, at first, to get the hang of CBT – or, indeed, any counseling or psychotherapy.
• This may make you feel disappointed or overwhelmed. A good therapist will pace your sessions so you can cope with the work you are trying to do
• It can sometimes be difficult to talk about feelings of depression, anxiety, shame or anger

Your Therapist will bring you through the above experience, guiding you to decisions you make for yourself and ensuring you are supported.

Conclusion

Your time at Drug & Alcohol Rehab Asia will be much quicker than you realize and much more intense- all of which is fine!!!

The CBT program works really well alongside the health and relaxation facilities at Drug & Alcohol Rehab Asia. For those of us in the business, we know that places like Alcohol Rehab are unique and effective, and we believe passionately that it compares with, and exceeds, standards from much more famous names.

On your way to Thailand remember the following:

• NO DRUGS
• NO PRESCRIPTIONS NOT IN YOUR NAME
• It is not an expectation you arrive sober, but remember you must get through customs on your own!!
• LOOK for the board with your name at the Airport.
• You’ll be fine!

What to Bring

• Flip flops
• Flat shoes
• Trainers/gym shoes/running shoes
• Mountaineering shoes (for jungle trekking)
• Swimsuit (2 would be better)
• Gym clothes
• Light, loose clothing (laundry is done for you daily; you don’t need 4 weeks worth)
• Sunglasses
• Hat
• Small rucksack/bag for day trips
• Toiletries (shampoo and soap are supplied)
• Camera (optional)
• Wireless laptop if you wish to use the internet in your room
• Clothing for massages and towels for the swimming pool are supplied

Excursions

We arrange excursions for you every Sunday. These are included in the price.