St. John's Counselling Service Substance Abuse Program

Over 33 years ago a commitment was made by St. John's Cathedral to provide both a spiritual and counselling connection with the Hong Kong community. Today that counselling commitment continues to grow in services and resources for Hong Kong's vibrant multi-cultural community at St. John's Counselling Service (SJCS) for children, teens, adults and organizations, irregardless of race, ethnic background, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, religion or faith.  We provide counselling services for Chinese, Spanish, French, and English speaking clients with our well educated and experienced counsellors who are from Hong Kong, U.S., U.K., Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, France, Canada, and Malaysia. In other words, whether our clients are non-religious, Buddhist, Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Hindi or any other religion or ethnic background, our counselling services are based upon a positive psychology model that focuses on growth and happiness.

St. John's Counselling Service continues to enhance our commitment to strengthening our community with both an out-patient substance abuse counselling service in Hong Kong and a residential treatment/rehabilitation program with our rehab partners in Thailand, South Africa, UK and the United States. Our measurement of success in our alcohol abuse/addiction program is not about how many days/years a person has been sober, but instead, our success is measured on two key treatment goals that allow sobriety (and/or responsible drinking) to be an enduring reality: 1) maintaining a healthy body-mind (exercise, diet, meditation) and 2) living the happy life (principles of positive psychology - behaviors and optimistic mindset). Concurrently, our measurement of success in our drug abuse/addiction service is not about how many days/years a person has been drug free, but instead, our success is measured on two key treatment goals that allow termination of addiction/abuse to be an enduring reality: 1) maintaining a healthy body-mind (exercise, diet, meditation) and 2) living the happy life (principles of positive psychology - finding meaning and purpose in life thru optimistic thinking and healthy behaviors).

Our Substance Abuse/Addiction Philosophy
There still remains today vast disagreements in the healthcare, legal and academic circles as to the nature of substance abuse/addiction and what type of treatment is successful for termination of such an abuse or addiction. Alcohol and drugs continue to be the main focus on addiction-abuse behavior, but as societies everywhere evolve into a more digital-online world, we now have a new set of abuse-addiction issues to be concerned with: online gambling, internet pornography, BlackBerry, texting, iPod, internet chat rooms, video games, and file sharing. Our modern world may have brought us new toys and sources of enjoyment (as well as new knowledge and more connections to others), but families, schools, governments, businesses and individuals are now seeking counselling for abuse and addiction behaviors in many areas we were simply not prepared for until most recently. At St. John's Counselling Service (SJCS) we have dedicated research, time and resources to better understand abuse and addiction behaviors, and as a result, we have now developed an effective, affordable, professional and comprehensive model for abuse and addiction behaviors. In the near future we shall be launching counselling programs for technology (internet porn, online gambling, video games), horse racing and casino gambling abuse/addiction as well. Come back and visit our web site from time to time learn about our new programs here.

First, let's clarify the differences between abuse and addiction (this also applies to other types of abuse and addiction as mentioned above). Abuse is the "problematic" use (or what we call behavioral problems) of a drug or alcohol whereby two elements are present: a) the abuse causes repeated relationship problems at work, family, legal and other social settings, and b) the substance abuse in question is used as a defense-denial-coping mechanism in dealing with unpleasant emotions and thoughts that arise from life's challenges (marital discord, work, stress, parent-child dynamics, etc). Addiction on the other hand involves two key distinctions from abuse (or what we call physical problems): a) the physical-medical problems such as physical withdrawal when a person tries to reduce or quit use (as well as possible body organ damage) is visibly present, and b) extreme psychological difficulties-thought patterns whereby a person is preoccupied with either i) obtaining and using the substance in question and/or ii) trying to recover from a substance.

Additional clinical experiences and research also highlight the fact the abuser or addict can exist in one of the following categories: i) anti-social addict/abuser who seeks pleasure without restraint or concern regardless what others think, and ii) psychological abuser/addict who seeks relief for their emotional pain and suffering. Consequently, before any treatment program can commence, we must first understand "the nature of the beast:" abuser or addict as well as anti-social or psychological. In other words, once we understand whether the true demise is addiction or abuse, we must also understand is the abuse or addiction in conjunction with a behavior seeking pleasure at any expense or going after relief.

Thus, our treatment programs recognize that we do need to have an assessment and diagnostic label for planning a course of treatment at the onset. However, what makes success in our programs more possible is not impressing upon our clients that they have inherited a lifetime disease label as part of their identity and sense of well-being.  In other words, keeping a person "stuck for a lifetime" in a disease label (problem mindset) is the least successful treatment model for substance abusers to overcome and terminate both the causes and the symptoms of their abuse/addiction. Hence, the reason why over 45% of all clients who sincerely desire to terminate their addiction or abuse lifestyle drop-out of counselling before the third or fourth counselling session. In short, counselling by fear and/or disease labeling simply does not work.

The Program

Intake: One to three sessions to ascertain a full medical-psychological history and initial assessment.

Agreement: Upon completion of intake, a formal treatment program is constructed that clearly outlines the course of treatment, roles and duties by patient and counselor, relapse protocols, emergency and intervention action steps, collaborative care.

Medical Assessment: If required, to be assessed by a medical doctor for physical related ailments and issues.

Therapy: Individual sessions (45 minutes each session) on a regular basis utilizing cognitive behavioral and brain-based treatment models. Sessions are interactive, handouts, homework and development of a healthy lifestyle. We DO NOT use a 12-step or AA type approach.

Lifestyle Counselling: To complete a nutrition and exercise assessment to support full recovery.

Family Support: Family and relationship support sessions for family members.

After Care: Upon discharge, a lifelong learning care plan shall be provided to ensure a continued sense of care and community is provided to all our substance abuse patients and their family members.

 Our Caring Counsellors
St. John's Counselling Service counsellors are either Counselling/Clinical Psychologists and/or Clinical Social Workers with years of counselling experience and reputable academic qualifications from Hong Kong and overseas universities. Our counsellors are interactive in each counselling session, striking a balance between active listening and exploring options and opportunities to resolve many of life's challenges and opportunities that contribute to abuse and/or addiction lifestyles. SJCS counsellors are both male and female with English and Chinese language skills.

Support Group
St. John's Counselling Service shall start a men's and women's support group program in 2010. Visit our web site in the future to learn more about this community service. Our group sessions are not intended to be a 12-step program, but instead, a psycho-educational group on substance abuse and addiction topics as well as nutrition, coping skills, relationship and communication skills, and building a positive self-esteem.

Third Party - Insurance Reimbursement
Certain healthcare insurance policies reimburse their members for certain costs associated with out-patient counselling and residential treatment programs. Please contact your insurance provider for further information. St. John's Counselling Service also works with employers and their Employee Assistance Programs to provide special packages for their employees.

Medium of Counselling/Materials
English and/or Chinese.

Registration
You may call us for more information on (852) 2525 7207 or 2525 7208, or email your request at info@sjcshk.com. All information provided is strictly confidential and private, and is never released to any third party without our client's written consent.

Substance Abuse Treatment Fees
Hong Kong Out-Patient and After Care Program: Fees are based on a sliding fee scale, taking into account your monthly income and type of counselling program you require. Our affordable fees are structured to ensure our clients have the most optimal chances of completing their substance abuse counselling program.

Thailand, South Africa, UK, U.S. Program: Fees are based on a set fee from our overseas providers. Fees do not include travel to and from Hong Kong to Thailand and/or other locales. Program fees do include lodging, food, medical exams, group sessions, 1:1 counselling, and other health building activities such as nutrition classes, exercise, meditation, yoga, colon cleaning and other activities. Each program is carefully explained to our clients to ensure we find the right program that fits your work, family and financial constraints. All programs overseas are conducted in English.

Hong Kong Medical Detox Program: Fees are based on several factors, to include whether the medical detox service requires hospitalization or through an out-patient basis. Hospitalization is provided at two private hospitals; one on Hong Kong island and the other in Kowloon. Out-patient medical detox can also be provided by qualified medical staff in Central - Hong Kong (English and Chinese speaking). Corresponding therapy and after-care counselling is provided by St. John's Counselling Service therapists. Actual number of days for treatment vary depending on the medical status of each client. Local detox services are in English and Cantonese.

Our Affiliations
As a member of the Association of Intervention Specialists (AIS), our collaboration with one of the largest substance abuse professional bodies allows us to continually improve upon our skills and resources in helping families, friends, and organizations assist others in getting treatment despite the fact they have refused treatment or are in denial over their abuse or addictions.

As an Organizational Member of BACP (British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy) we are bound by its Ethical Framework for Good Practice in Counselling and Psychotherapy, the Ethical Guidelines for Researching Counselling and Psychotherapy (where organizations undertake research) and subject to the Professional Conduct Procedure for the time being in force.

As a professional member of the American School Counselor Association (ASCA), St. John's Counselling Service is able to collaborate with one of the largest counselling associations worldwide in working with students, schools and their families in addressing academic, personal/social and career development issues. This collaboration also allows us to remain current with counselling tools and strategies for Hong Kong's schools and families to ensure our children and teens can seek a healthy balance between learning and fun.

St. John's Counselling Service is also in partnership with Hong Kong University HKU Family Institute, City University (Hong Kong), Hong Kong Polytechnic University, University of New England (Australia), and Monash University (Australia) master's degree counselling and psychology programs as an internship placement centre for their students to acquire advanced counselling skills and knowledge as so provided by our positive psychology counselling model and 33 years of experience in counselling.

Email: info@sjcshk.com