Adult Community
The main axis of treatment
Whatever happens, there is hope.
Men and women are accommodated in separate rooms, and receive group therapy separately.
security | understanding | acceptance
"I was shouting outside and no one heard me... now that I'm in Agia Skepi, I whisper and everyone hears me"
Konstantinos M.
Target Audience
It is aimed at adult chronic users with or without a criminal background. Admission to the closed program can be done either after the detoxification is completed and prior to the preparation at the Counseling station in the Intake team for people who voluntarily choose the treatment (provided that if there are psychiatric difficulties they have been regulated) or through a referral from the central prisons (Cooperation Protocol) after the convict himself requests treatment and is assessed by officials as meeting the admission criteria, he is referred to the General Prosecutor's Office for the final decision. or through the Advisory Committee in cooperation with the prosecution (Cure Act) through a court order after giving the defendant the option of treatment instead of punishment.
Target Audience
Treatment Model
The therapeutic community provides a safe environment that offers the person being treated the space, time and way to deal with the problems that led them to use substances. The Closed therapeutic program is based on the model of therapeutic communities. In the philosophy of therapeutic communities, substance addiction is a problem with various ramifications that affects the individual as a whole. The treatment aims at the radical reformation of the personality, through the reconstruction of the identity of the treated person in combination with abstinence from the use of substances. The adopted hierarchical model of therapeutic communities offers an alternative family which, in the context of community coexistence, activates both self-help, mutual help and the assumption of roles of responsibility towards oneself and others. Regarding the psychotherapeutic methods and techniques used in the context of the community, the basis lies in the cognitive-behavioral model, with additional elements from group and family therapy, the systemic approach and psychoanalytic theory. These methods are applied to all types of interventions, whether they concern therapeutic groups, confrontation groups, psychoeducational groups or individual counseling psychotherapy. They focus on: - Recognition and management of emotions - Development of social skills - Taking responsibility - Post-traumatic stress management - Anger management - Relapse prevention. The set of therapeutic procedures followed is intended to help the patient to gradually develop his social and personal skills, to acquire tools for recognizing and managing his emotions and behaviors, to acquire a kind of healthy self-control and self-esteem, through which he will lead as smoothly as possible to the phase of social reintegration.
Therapeutic Goals
In the stage of the closed program, where the intensive treatment phase also takes place, the goal is mental addiction. The aim is to reconstruct the identity. Patients are asked to confront their addiction, recognize it and accept it. The difficulties arise from the emotional traumas that the client carries and significant deficiencies in healthy skills, as well as the difficulty of taking responsibility. In addition, they are asked to change their attitude, perceptions and behavior both in relation to substance use and in relation to its real needs at a social, family and psychological level. They are also called to recognize and redefine their relationships with people both within the community and with people important to them. They are also often confronted with their actions and choices as active users, for which they often feel shame and guilt.
Target Audience
Staff skills
The Therapist needs to have the knowledge around the theoretical background of therapeutic communities and addiction. Clinical training is also an important condition, since he will often encounter a double diagnosis, hence the need for an individualized clinical plan. It is considered appropriate to be able to create the conditions for the functioning of a therapeutic framework that promotes change and often to be a role model for the patient. He is often asked to change hats, depending on the phase the member is in and to adjust the role in which he presents himself to the client, but having strong boundaries which are the most therapeutic tool. He needs to monitor and assess the condition of clients, anticipate or manage crises, supervise and lead teams, delegate and oversee the overall picture of each client in context and intervene. It also makes decisions on issues related to treatment planning. The therapist's role requires high commitment, which in order to remain at productive levels, requires constant personal and group supervision and good "use" of the network of partners in the community.
Challenges
At the stage of the closed therapeutic community, where the intensive treatment phase also takes place, the goal is mental rehabilitation. The aim is to reconstruct the identity. Patients are asked to confront their addiction, recognize it and accept it. The difficulties arise from the emotional traumas that the client carries and significant deficiencies in healthy skills, as well as the difficulty of taking responsibility. The Treated Person is asked to change his attitude, perceptions and behavior both in relation to the use of substances and in relation to his real needs on a social, family and psychological level. He is also called to recognize and redefine his relationships with people both within the community and with people important to him. He is also often confronted with his actions and choices as an active user, for which he often feels shame and guilt.