About
Background
In 1992, SELF adopted the Therapeutic Community (TC) approach and obtained its inspiration from the program of DAYTOP — an organization based in New York that originally formulated the TC approach in 1963. Like most other practitioners then, SELF inherited the methods from various people and operated its program through “best understanding”. In following the model, most of the SELF staff were recovering persons who took charge of running the program. Only a minimal complement of professional staff were hired to support the program team.
Through the years however, SELF had to develop its approach in order to cope with shifting demographics and to meet the demands of its changing clientele. There were also cultural issues to consider and by 2003, it was evident that many of the 12-year old practices needed to be reviewed and redefined. The result was a complete reinventing of the SELF program in 2004, which brought about major improvements in the way things were done in SELF. The hiring of numerous professional staff also took center stage in the development. Since then, professionals were placed in charge of the clinical aspects of the program, leaving only a few graduates of the program to take charge of behavior management.
Rehabilitation and Beyond
SELF evolved from being a center that merely promoted recovery to an institution that is concerned with improving the quality of life after treatment. We have been persistent in developing a sub-program that not only helped its members secure sobriety but also offered them a chance at reinventing themselves. Through an undergraduate program called the Supervised Practicum and Internship Program (SPIP), residents are trained to perform with excellence and Pride in Quality in preparation for their trial-filled journey outside the facility.
Through the SPIP program, these select individuals are trained to tackle multiple activities. They are taught how to churn out reports, accomplish clinical documentation and perform duties through a systematic administrative organization. Whatever the activity, the standard bar is raised to near perfect levels (and is adjusted according to an individual’s psychological capacity). It was observed that most residents have expressed wanting to be pushed towards excellence. For them, it was a good preparation for handling real-life crisis situations, difficult relationship problems, school assignments, work obligations or even the corruption of the world—without being defeated.
Amazingly, after some years of implementation, we noticed remarkable results in their pursued professional attainments. In the batches of 2004 through 2009, all the graduates that went back to school after treatment were able to attain academic excellence. More than 70% of them earned themselves a spot in the Dean’s List of various prestigious colleges and universities.
Graduate Testimonies