Private addictions treatment and recovery centre opening in rural Saskatchewan

A new private addictions treatment and recovery centre is opening in rural Saskatchewan this month to help the province battle substance abuse.

Echo Plains Recovery Centre will open 12 recovery beds in Zealandia, Sask., on Jan. 15 and welcome anyone across Canada looking for help.

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Donna Shannon, director of Echo Plains Recovery Centre, said people need access to services that can delve into childhood traumas and look at the root cause of addictions.

“The thing we need to do first is identify what is causing them to self-medicate,” Shannon said. “People might not understand why they are angry all the time. Most of it is based in shame-based behaviour.”

Five-week programs will be set up with the goal of treating all addictions, substance use disorders and process addictions.

About an hour southwest of Saskatoon near Rosetown, Shannon said Zealandia is the perfect rural location for a recovery facility.

“It’s peaceful out here. It’s quiet. I think it’s conducive to recovery and changing lifestyle and getting them used to something else — something better.

She also noted most public treatment centres in Saskatchewan are out of date.

“A lot of the private facilities are using more modern techniques to deal with people with substance use disorders and process addictions. What’s being used now in a lot of the treatment centres is an older program and if it worked, we wouldn’t have this crisis right now.”

Echo Plains Recovery Centre will be using cognitive behavioural therapy and intense group therapy. Shannon has a degree in psychology and training in addictions counselling.

“It’s important that we address substance abuse disorder from a trauma informed approach,” Shannon said. “We need to realize that people are suffering rather than just doing this out of choice.”

Her therapy also includes an education portion about brain chemistry and chemical reactions that happen when a body is using drugs.

“It removes the guilt and the shame of the substance use in that, we have choices up to a certain degree and once we pass that line, there’s no more choices. They can’t help it and there is an explanation in the brain chemistry about how that works.”

Shannon’s job won’t be finished once a patient leaves the recovery centre after treatment.

“Going back into the same environment can be really difficult. I will hopefully be able to help families learn what the client has gone through.”

Shannon said herself and Echo Plains Recovery Centre will keep in touch with clients years after the completion of the program.

“I have kept track of many clients of mine up to years. They always kind of report in with a quick text or something and say 300 and some days I’ve been sober or I’m going on three years sober. It’s nice for me to get that feedback.”

The program will cost $18,500, with a discount of 10 per cent for the grand opening.

Class will start when enough people register into the program.