This articles discusses the Eleusis drug addiction treatment center and the role of ketamine in helping people overcome addictions.
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Pamala Duncan, Lifestyle.com, July 31, 2010.
Eleusis, an alternative alcohol and drug addiction treatment facility now open in the Tampa Bay area, is the only medically supervised addiction medicine facility offering Ketamine Psychedelic Psychotherapy (KPP). Their innovative technique capitalizes on some of the most recent advances is psychotherapy to produce a successful treatment regimen. The pioneering technique of Psychedelic Psychotherapy has proven in controlled studies to be more successful than conventional treatment approaches. In one study, nearly 70 percent of patients using Ketamine Psychedelic Psychotherapy maintained their alcoholism recovery for at least one full year. This was more than twice the success rate of 24 percent for the control group who received conventional treatment.
Psychedelic psychotherapy offers a brand new perspective on treating patients suffering from Alcoholism and other drug dependences. Central to the therapy is the idea that achieving a transpersonal, or spiritual, peak experience will help dissolve the patient’s ego and allow real progress to be made in the patient’s journey to recovery. Ketamine Psychedelic Psychotherapy helps patients to gain insight into their addiction and to consciously reprogram their minds during the temporary dissolution of their psychological defense mechanisms. These experiences often lead them to embrace lifestyle changes that support their recovery from Alcoholism and other Drug Addictions, while teaching them how to live a longer, healthier and, ultimately, sober life.
Patients are given a subanasthetic dose of Ketamine, an agent used for general anastheology but which produces psychedelic experience at lower doses. While medicated, patients spend almost an hour experiencing their Ketamine journey. The altered state of consciousness will slowly subside. However, the next hour, during which the patient remains in a non-ordinary state of consciousness, is the fertile time. Ego defense mechanisms are down and therapists lead patients in a pattern of guided imagery designed to reinforce the need for sobriety and to integrate positive lifestyle choices.
Central to the program is a set of lifestyle changes known as the WELL (Wellness Enhancement and Longevity Learning) program. During the three-week residential program, patients participate in more than 90 hours of encounter groups, interactive classes and psycho-educational lectures. Clients progress through a series of sessions designed to deal with not just the addiction, but to grapple with ways the whole person can be changed for the better. The WELL program integrates the following into recovery: Hydration, Nutrition, Exercise, Meditation, Journaling, Wisdom Circle, all encompassed in the center’s core principle, Rational Recovery. Rational Recovery seeks to instill in the patient some core values to build a clean and sober life around.
The center is founded and directed by Eli M. Kolp, M.D., a board-certified psychiatrist. An addictionologist since 1980, Dr. Kolp has practiced psychiatry for over 25 years and has been studying psychedelic psychotherapy for more than 10 years. He has spent a lifetime learning, practicing and teaching and has hard-won experience to back up his effective methods. Dr. Kolp specializes in the treatment of addictive illnesses and currently limits his practice to Transpersonal Psychedelic Psychotherapy.
Eleusis maintains several luxurious apartments in a complex just minutes from the inviting beaches of St. Petersburg. The apartment complex is fully gated and designed to provide comfortable accommodations reminding the patient of home. The complex includes a heated pool, tennis courts and a 24-hour fitness center. Each unit is a deluxe two-bedroom, two-bedroom sanctuary, designed to house four residents. In the serene, tropical setting of the West Coast of Central Florida, patients learn and practice healthful lifestyle habits that can help them achieve optimal health and maintain stable sobriety after leaving the WELL program.
To learn more about the WELL program at Eleusis, please visit the rehabilitation programs web site at www.Eleusis.us.
