Whole Person Recovery

Rehabilitation comes from the Latin word rehabilare, to return home to your self (to be yourself again).

Rehabilitation is the process of recovering those capacities that have been diminished due to illness or injury. This recovery can only be sustained if the addict does not relapse or return to substance abuse. Thus, the proof of successful rehabilitation is in relapse prevention. However, rehabilitation is more than simply avoiding drugs. The goal of a drug rehab is to help clients to re-integrate into their community as productive and valued people. The Whole Person Recovery concept is a way of understanding the process of rehabilitation as a long journey. The various methods and contexts for rehabilitation – such as individual, group and family counselling, self-help groups and vocational rehabilitation – are vehicles for the journey.

But the client is not a passive passenger in these vehicles. With the help of the counsellor, he is now back in the driving seat on the new journey along his life path. The counsellor acts as a guide and shows the route, takes on board travelling companions and can even act as mechanic to ensure that the vehicles are properly maintained. The vehicles of therapy and the support of the counsellor/mechanic are essential, but the recovering person can only progress on the journey through his own participation and energies. As the client comes out of the detoxification phase of treatment you can start to lay the foundations of the rehabilitation process. Abstinence in itself is not enough. If the addict does not see the benefits of remaining abstinent she will relapse sooner or later. The recovering person needs active guidance to clarify the paths to a major change in lifestyle.