Programs

Day Treatment 

This, our core program, operates Monday to Friday from 9 am to 5 pm, and consists of individual and group processes that reflect our holistic, wraparound, “whatever it takes” philosophy.

Connecting to Vitanova involves a step-by-step process:

• Self-referral, or via a third party (e.g., a doctor, lawyer, family member or friend) 
• Pre-screening and pre-assessment, to determine if what Vitanova offers and what the prospective client is looking for constitute a “match”. 
• An in-depth assessment of the client, leading to the initial design of a treatment plan to meet a client’s particular needs. 
• Short-term referral to another service (e.g., a detox centre) prior to admission, or to another treatment setting if better suited to the client
• Admission and orientation, including a tour of the premises, led by another client, with introductions to staff, volunteers, and other clients. 
• Assignment of a “primary counsellor” to the new client, and discussion to further refine the client’s treatment plan. 

Our approach to treatment is two-fold, being both therapeutic and practical (i.e., focused on mending the client and teaching him or her how to live a more ordered life day-to-day). The following chart lists the components of this approach:

Details of these components

Acu-detox has a long history at Vitanova, having been introduced many years ago by our then consulting psychiatrist, the late Sherwood (“Woodie”) Appleton. In 1996 he reported on the treatment of 45 Vitanova clients (30 males, 15 females) who indicated they felt “inner calm and serenity”, enhanced cognitive clarity and marked mood improvement after receiving auricular acupuncture.

Anger Management is a process of acquiring the skills to recognize the signs that you are losing control of your anger, and taking action to deal with the situation in a positive way. Anger management therapy explores the emotional life forces that develop into uncontrolled anger in an individual and teaches techniques to deal with anger effectively in order to live a healthier lifestyle. The Anger Management workshop is a 10-week program presented four times annually, and runs once a week.

For further information and to register for this program, please contact us at intake@vitanova.ca, or at 905-850-3690, Ext. 224 and/or complete the Registration form. To enrol, click Anger Management Registration and complete the registration PDF form and submit it via email to intake@vitanova.ca or fax it to the attention of the Intake Counselor at 905-850-3835.

Art and Music Expression These groups offer an effective way for clients struggling with addictions to gain access to the full range of their emotions, without having to rely entirely on their ability to verbalize what they feel. In effect, art therapy bypasses the potential manipulation of the spoken word and focuses on the issues that need to be explored and understood in order to facilitate a genuine change in behaviour. 

Goal Setting is a quite effective way of moving the process of recovery forward. On a weekly basis, in a group setting, each counsellor meets with all of their clients. Each in turn defines their goal for the coming week along with the strategy or technique each plans to employ to attain their goal.

Mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we are doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what is going on around us.When we are mindful, we reduce stress, enhance performance, gain insight and awareness through observing our own mind and increasing our attention to the well-being of others.Mindfulness meditation gives us a time in our lives when we can suspend judgment and unleash our natural curiosity about the workings of the mind, approaching our experience with warmth and kindness—to ourselves and others.

Relapse prevention is a cognitive-behavioral approach to relapse, with the goal of identifying and preventing high-risk situations such as substance abuse, obsessive-compulsive behavior, sexual offending, obesity, and depression. It is an important component in the treatment process for substance use and/or  alcohol dependence.

Self-awareness—the consciousness of oneself as an individual—is among the first components to emerge in the development of a self-concept. While self-awareness is something that is central to who one is, it is not something on which one is acutely focused at every moment of every day. Instead, self-awareness becomes woven into the fabric of who we are and emerges at different points depending on our situation and personality.  Through various exercises, this group guides its members in becoming fully aware of themselves.

Spirituality is a broad concept with room for many perspectives. In general, it includes a sense of connection to something greater than ourselves, and it typically involves a search for meaning in life. As such, it is a universal human experience—something that touches us all.  This group supports each individual in their journey to discover what spirituality means to them.

Stabilization and harm reduction are major features of our treatment program: first provided to clients on our waiting list who need and receive support by way of a weekly “check in” telephone call from one of our counsellors or peer support workers, as well as a weekly virtual group support session. After admission, staff maintain contact with the personal physicians of clients who have been prescribed any opiate antagonist drugs (e.g., methadone, suboxone). All other medications prescribed for clients—whether attending daily or living on site—are monitored by our consulting pharmacist, to ensure clients have access to those prescriptions as appropriate.

Therapeutic life skills are developed in the process of learning practical life skills. The latter involve learning how to complete a task, at the appropriate time, and perhaps in cooperation with others assigned the same task. The former deal with how the learning and doing of that same task contributes to recovery.

There is no set time for discharge.  We ask clients to keep an open mind and continue to work through the issues that arise in the course of treatment.  Typically that means three to four months.  Nevertheless, preparation for discharge is discussed regularly in group and individual sessions, in keeping with our shared goal—our clients returning to society as healthy and productive persons.  When the client and his/her primary believe the client has successfully addressed these issues, both will prepare a discharge plan—a program of actions the clients will commit to, to sustain recovery after discharge.  Sticking to this plan is what we term “aftercare”.

Women’s Program

A separate program for women only is under development, with a full launch later this year. It will be situated in dedicated space on the lower level of the building housing both the chapel and our non-denominational meditation space. This will duplicate our core program, which we have been delivering since 1991, with a focus on the particular needs of women, especially those with minor children.

Domiciliary Shelter

Coupled with our day program we also offer a domiciliary shelter program for up to thirty-four males who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless for reasons relating to their substance use/abuse/addiction.  On assessment, these potential clients know that accepting to be part of our domiciliary shelter program also entails making a commitment to be active participants in our day program for no less than three months.

Family Support

Substance use is considered a family illness, since loved ones are always affected by the situation, and for that reason a family support program is provided.  Clients are asked to encourage their loved ones to attend. By participating in the program, they learn how to support themselves and their loved ones struggling with substance use, how to help those who are involved in Vitanova programs, and how to help those who have completed their recovery and need the support of family members to sustain their recovery.  All are welcome to join.

Support groups are held once a week, every Tuesday evening from 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm. All participants in our support groups understand that such meetings are confidential.

Outpatient Support

We also offer one-on-one counselling for the following purposes and durations:

• Crisis intervention (up to 8 weeks)
• Short term weekly counseling (up to 6 months)
• Long term weekly counseling (up to 1 year)

For more information on any of the above, give us a call.

Upon entering our program, each client is assigned a chore alongside a group of peers.  Initially the chore is a light one, perhaps dusting the furniture in a particular room or vacuuming a hall carpet.  As the client progresses in the program he/she is assigned more responsible chores, ones that might include overseeing other, newer clients on a project, such as the painting of an office or tending to the vegetable garden. We believe the doing of chores constitutes valuable, transferable, and practical life skills that will be of benefit to the client for years to come. The therapeutic aspect is that the learning of all such skills teaches the key concept of order. Recalling our definition of recovery (see Our Approach), our clients by definition lack control over their lives. Recovery is the process by which such autonomy is regained. In the learning and doing of tasks that promote order, the client gains a measure of control over his/her surroundings and ultimately over his/her life.