Has your search for help been frustrating and confusing? Hopefully the answers to these questions will help as you search for a permanent solution…
Q. I am looking at or have tried other programs - how is your program different?
A. We use a social/educational approach rather than a medical/psychological methodology putting control over one's recovery in their own hands rather than a doctor, psychologist, or group. We provide an opportunity to permanently recover, because we believe it is a choice - not a disease. Our success rate for 12 years is over 68%.
Q. Why is the Jude Thaddeus Program 6 weeks long and most programs are 28 days?
A. Most medical, insurance reimbursed treatment programs are 28 days in length to coincide with the number of day's medical insurance will reimburse. It has been shown that most abusers go through, or are coming off detox during the first week of treatment, which does not allow for much, if any treatment learning or retention the first 7 days. The last week of most treatment programs is spent "planning to leave treatment," so the average person in a medical 28-day treatment program only receives treatment for not much more than 14 days. Most professionals providing treatment are aware of this issue, because they rely on AA meetings and aftercare to do the rest of the disease treatment job. Because these programs are reimbursed and measured by insurance companies for medical compliance, not for success of patients, long term statistics generally are not maintained.
Q. The other programs I have been talking to, or attended, say I need after care or AA meetings the rest of my life - do I need that with The Jude Thaddeus Program ?
A. No . Any program that is a 12-step based program believes you have an incurable disease - we believe your abuses are bad choices. The Jude Thaddeus Program is designed to teach our guests the need for personal responsibility for their actions rather than making excuses for poor behavior and choices. A disease by its very nature is out of the person's control. This is simply not the case with substance abuse. Substance abusers make the choice to abuse alcohol and drugs. Choice is a behavior, not a disease. Therefore, "you have the power to change this habit no matter how deep-seated you may think it is." Once you learn to accept deferred gratification instead of looking for counterproductive and destructive, instant gratification through substances, it becomes clear how bad choices may have slowed the maturing process and caused grief and sometimes debilitating depression in your life.
Q. Why do you say Alcoholic's Anonymous ( AA) is not effective?
A. We don't, their data does. In 1990, the Alcoholic's Anonymous General Services Office or AA GSO, the governing organization overseeing all "autonomous" meetings, published an internal memo for the employees of its offices. It was an analysis of a survey period between 1977 and 1989. "After just one month in the Fellowship, 81% of the new members have already dropped out. After three months, 90% have left, and 95% have discontinued attendance inside one year!" (Kolenda, 2003, Golden Text Publishing Company) That means that in under a year, 95% of the people seeking help from AA leave the program. Using the AA GSO statistics, and including the program dropouts, the success rate of AA, as a whole "the total averages of sobriety for the total AA membership become 3.7% for one year [of sobriety], and 2.5% over five years." (Kolenda, 2003, Golden Text Publishing Company) 97% of the estimated 12,000 substance abuse treatment centers in the United States are 12-Step based programs designed to be continued through AA meetings for life. Regardless of the success / or cost of the initial 12-step based treatment program you may looking at, the success rate of AA eventually becomes the actual success rate. That is why most programs will not provide their results after 1 year.
Q. If the Jude Thaddeus Program is so effective, why doesn't everyone teach it?
A. Because they can't. The Jude Thaddeus Program is a proprietary education program developed by Baldwin Research Institute, Inc. over the last 15 years and offered exclusively by St. Jude Retreat Houses. The program is a non-medical, social, educational program, offering a choice based curriculum for permanent recovery. The Jude Thaddeus Program is the only, independently validated program that publishes results of graduates during the last 12 years- because it works.
Q. Are there any studies that support the Jude Thaddeus Program model?
A. In 1995 William R. Miller (Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico) and his colleagues rated forty-three kinds of treatment by combining the results of 211 controlled trials that had compared the effectiveness of a treatment [method] with either no treatment or with other alcoholism therapies. The treatment with by far the best score was 'brief intervention'-followed by social-skills training and motivational enhancements. The Jude Thaddeus Program is a 6-week social based program that emphasizes the process of social-skills training and motivational enhancements, learning through doing, experiencing, and providing positive role models. Over the last 12 years an independent study has determined that an average of 68% of the guests who completed the Jude Thaddeus Program today enjoy a life free from substance abuse.
Q. How do you measure your success rate?
A. Twice a year, an independent research company contacts a random sampling of 200 graduates. Results are confirmed by family members and friends. Sober statistics are based on abstinence from all substances. Those who may have successfully moderated their drinking or substance use fall into the drunk/using category in the statistics. This sampling is from all graduates during the last 12 years.
Q. Do you have any facilities closer to me?
A. Guests come from all over the world to attend the proprietary Jude Thaddeus Program, because it works.
Q. Do you accept insurance?
A. Insurance generally does not cover our program since it is educational rather than medical. We do accept MasterCard, Discover, Visa and American Express or any combination thereof.
Q. Do I need to detox?
A. We suggest detoxing in a medical facility if necessary prior to arriving. The St. Jude Retreat house is not a medical facility.
Q. How do you keep the environment drug-free and safe?
A. We have a policy in place that if anyone drinks or drugs while enrolled, they will be expelled from the program with no refund. Random drug tests are conducted throughout the six-week stay.
Q. How do I make a reservation?
A. There is a minimum $1,000 non-refundable deposit required on all bed reservations. The balance is due in advance of the start date. Beds may be rescheduled no less than 1 week in advance of your start date. Rescheduling less than 1 week in advance of your start date will require a new bed deposit. All bed deposits are non-refundable.
Q. I am coming, what do I bring?
- One week of clothing, we have a laundry on site.
- Gym clothes and a pair of athletic shoes
- An alarm clock (if you need one)
- Pictures, books, etc., (each room has shelves and bulletin boards for personal items)
- Money is only needed for:
- Toiletries and personal care items
- Cigarettes
- Phone Cards
- Seasonal Outerwear (i.e. hats, coats, jackets, swimsuit, hiking boots)
- Feel free to bring your cell phone, IPOD and laptop
Q. What is a day at the Retreat House like?
A. Your day begins with a voluntary trip to the fitness club at 7AM, followed by a continental breakfast. Instruction sessions run from 9:00AM to Noon. Lunch time is 12:00PM to 1:00PM. At approximately 1:00PM the afternoon instruction sessions begin and are completed by 5:00PM. Dinner is served promptly at 5:00PM. Dinner is usually completed by 6:15PM. Motivational seminars are conducted most nights at 7:00PM. Following the seminar, guests have free time to do homework, socialize, contact family, or participate in a planned activity. Guests can also read, play chess, watch television or spend time visiting with new found friends. The house is quiet by 11:00PM and all guests are asked to be in their rooms by 12:30AM. Sunday is "Family Day" where family is welcome and encouraged to visit, if possible. A brunch buffet is served from 9AM to 11:30AM.
Q. What else should I consider as I continue my search?
A. Post treatment success after 1-year for anyone who enters a drug or alcohol rehab treatment program does matter. Make sure the facility knows their rates of success and that they post the independent results on their website for the public to see and judge. Chose a program that bases their model on non– disease based education and not on addictive diseases. Make sure you look for a program that encourages a method of positive reinforcement and one that is choice based. Punitive programs have little, if any, success. Lastly, let your heart guide you when making the decision on what program is right for you, your loved one, or a friend. If you do not feel as if the particular drug rehab program is the right one, do more research… a life saved is worth the additional time and effort.
Q. What if someone does not want to stay?
A. Even the most reluctant guests become open to the program once they experience the pleasant home-like atmosphere and see that they are guests in our home rather than patients in a facility. They are treated with the kindness and respect you would offer a good friend, and are shown that changing behavior is a pleasure not a punishment. If a guest decides to leave voluntarily during the first week from day of arrival, they will receive a 75% refund less the Reservation Fee ($1,000.00).
Q. Who is Saint Jude Thaddeus?
A. Jude Thaddeus was one of the Twelve Apostles from the New Testament. Today, St. Jude is popularly known as the patron saint of hopeless causes.
