
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