Oh, Canada – or Why We Get So Many Clients From North of the Border!

While the majority of our clients come to us from across the U.S., and others from as far away as India, a significant number of you also arrive from much of Canada.

The stats regarding your countrymen are interesting. More of you come from Alberta, specifically Calgary, but also Edmonton and Grand Prairie, than any other province. Next comes British Columbia with Vancouver Island leading the way, then Saskatchewan, Ontario, the Yukon, and Northwest Territories. So far we haven’t seen anyone from the Maritimes or Manitoba – must be that initial “M”?

While the locations are fun to play with, the reasons for you coming south are pretty much the same:

  • Confidentiality;
  • Effectiveness;
  • Individuality;
  • Support;
  • Cost Effectiveness and R.O.I. (Return on Investment).

Many of these reasons are the same as those noted by your U.S. counterparts with some variations of degree rather than substance.

Confidentiality is even more of a problem in Canada – given National Health – than here, though of course it’s bad here where too many don’t realize that health insurance records are public records that are freely bought and sold.

Additionally, with your much smaller population, Canadians have a much harder time evading the small town gossip problem – something that, as a long time Alaskan, I can fully appreciate.

Consequently, if you want to avoid being ratted out, or doing it to yourself, it’s best to come south for a week’s “vacation” and get the help you need very very quietly.

Effectiveness is the same for all of our clients regardless of your origins. Here the situation is the same in Canada as it is in the U.S. The only offerings are the largely worthless AA/12 Step, Minnesota Model scams. As we have frequently noted, in  Ending Alcohol Abuse: What Works, there isn’t any mystery about what actually helps, but it does take skilled, experienced professionals with a vested interest in your success to make it happen.

We only work with you, an individual or couple, and never with groups. Our policy of adding only one new client a week was established when we opened the doors nearly a decade ago and has not changed. You may be abusing alcohol, but you are not part of a monolithic group of “victims of alcoholism.” You’re treated as a competent person capable of making changes that reflect you personal self-interest, self-image, and personal choices.

In the “support” category, we are the only program we have ever heard of that actually does real follow-up. That amounts to at least 3 months worth of individual weekly session by phone or Skype.

Why? Because follow-up, and follow-through, are what cements success. That’s why we do it and “they” don’t. We don’t want you needing to come back – they do. It’s that simple.

Finally, we are cost effective: $12,500 for the package (5 Day Intensive, physician’s evaluation and Naltrexone anti-craving support, 12 weeks of follow-up). Residential programs typically run anywhere from $30,000 to $200,000 and offer nothing with any proven effectiveness.

Throw in airfare and a hotel and you’re still looking at $15,000 or less. For most drinkers that amounts to your alcohol spending for between six and eighteen months – not counting lost wages, DUIs, and/or divorce.

So, please, think about it? Review Our Expanded Program Description and give us a call. Let’s plan your California vacation together?

Here’s to your health, physical, mental, legal, financial, and familial!

All Substance, No Filler!

All Substance, No Filler!

When we’re asked what makes us different, we could rattle off any number of things from the individuality to the confidentiality to the research base to the treating you like an adult.

Additionally, there is a structural difference which is extremely important and ofter over looked. We are intensive outpatient and most programs are residential.

What does that mean, exactly?

It comes down to filling time effectively in our case, and killing time cheaply in theirs.

Think about it for just a minute – if we had 20 or 30 of you (or more) and had to “manage” you 24/7 for 30 to 90 days, geez! What are we going to do with all of you and all of those hours? Take out sleep time, meal time, and other givens, there is still a ton of time to fill. And it has to be filled cheaply!

The result?

No individual counseling, no trained counselors, and no use of the things that work, ie. CBT, motivational interviewing, assertiveness training, medical considerations, etc. All of these require professionals, individual time, lots of staff, and they all promote success.

As any typical residential program knows – what makes for a great treatment model also makes for a lousy business model if what you have in mind is operating a rehab mill and endlessly recycling your clients.

The result is, of course, filling time with endless AA meetings, “Step” work, and other filler that sounds like something but isn’t. That’s where “equine therapy” (playing with horses), canine therapy (playing with dogs and, yes, Scruffy will greet you, at no extra charge), Ropes Courses (remember knot tying in Girl/Boy Scouts?) and Heliotherapy (riding in helicopters). Most recently it’s “wolf-dog therapy.”

Everything that fills time, costs little if anything (as when the van drops you onto local AA meetings three times a day), and prevents you from actually getting past your alcohol abuse problem.

Want something better?

We don’t waste your time and effort, or ours, on “filler.”

It’s just you, an individual or couple, and us for 3 hours every morning. Then you have the afternoons to digest, relax, and plan your own filler, A recent client and the friend who came along, enjoyed horse back riding (not “equine therapy”) here on the peninsula; zip lining on Catalina Island; beach walks in Redondo Beach; dining in a variety of restaurants.

They also stayed in a hotel that matched their budget and tastes. Want to treat yourself to “luxury rehab?” Stay at Terranea Resort or, on a more modest budget select the  Best Western Pacific Coast Highway, but it’s your choice! Want something in between? Just call and confer!

What’s the message here?

We trust you to be a reasonable and responsible adult who can choose for yourself. That too is a matter of substance. But if you’d prefer to be treated like an incompetent and errant 5 year old, well, then, go off to “rehab” with our blessing.

But why not at least review Our Expanded Program Description and then decide for yourself?