Discovering The Solution, a new private, holistic substance abuse treatment center in Fort Walton Beach, uses positive approaches through the mind/body/spirit connection to help people return to hope and healing. “There has been a lot of shaming and negative reinforcement historically in working with addiction, instead of discovering the true person behind the addiction,” says Rebecca Thomas, chief executive officer and clinical director. “Our goal is to not just to stop a client’s self-medicating, but to find out what they are using it to mask.”

Thomas’ professional staff works with each client’s individual motivations and life purpose to replace self-destructive behaviors with positive coping mechanisms, so they can continue on their journey. “No one deserves to live in pain and despair,” says Thomas. “You can have a wonderful, happy life, and here we can coach clients through the steps to help them achieve that.”

Those steps come in a variety of core and optional services offered by Discovering The Solution. They include day or night intensive outpatient services, recovery coaching, trauma therapy, anger management, parenting groups, physician services, individual counseling, family education, couple’s counseling, 12-step program meetings, nutritional education, yoga classes, massage therapy, meditation, gym access, personal training, pet therapy, art therapy and alumni and aftercare support groups.

Mandatory urinalysis and breathalyzer testing is provided on-site for convenience, and the center offers Spanish-speaking services, as well as group meals. After graduating from a traditional month-long residential program, Thomas says many people relapse in those first 30 to 45 days following discharge. “When they step down from a residential program, we are here for ongoing care, so they don’t go home and fall back into old patterns.”

Discovering The Solution creates a course of treatment based on a person’s individual and family needs. “They are the expert of their own experience,” says Gerard Perillo, III, the center’s director of operations. “People need ownership to feel good, so they have the motivation to keep going.”

“What stopped a person from enjoying a full life in the first place is often a trauma,” says Thomas. “The trauma alters a person’s neural pathways, much like brain damage. The word trauma is used to describe experiences or situations that are emotionally painful and distressing and that overwhelm people’s ability to cope, leaving them powerless.”

Now, with a holistic treatment option in the community, people that struggle with addictions can come to Discovering The Solution in efforts to achieve a successful and lasting recovery.

 

Most insurance is accepted. Discovering The Solution is located at 1013 Mar Walt Dr., Ste. C, in Fort Walton Beach. For appointments, call 850-586-7818 or visit DiscoveringTheSolution.com.

Karen Roganov is a Gulf Coast journalist and educator, as well as an Air Force Reserve officer. She lives with her husband and children in Mossy Head.

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