TEN years ago, this man thrashed about in a straightjacket as security held him down. Minutes earlier, enraged as a result of the drugs he had shot through his veins, he had smashed a row of family cars with a baseball bat. His mother was so angry she yelled to a security guard restraining him, ?Patayin mo na ?yan!?

He was not only drug-dependent; he was also addicted to gambling. He sold four cars ?
all gifts from his family ? to pay off accumulated casino debts.

Now the drug-crazed, compulsive gambler is an affable, good-humored 47-year-old, the administrative director of Rising Phoenix Foundation Inc., a holistic rehab center in Tagaytay City.

The rehab center does its work anchored on the 12 principles of recovery, which Luisito P. Tambunting knows by heart.

?I used to be very religious and was brought up to be God-fearing, before drugs controlled my life,? he recalled.

The security did not shoot him down, obviously, but his mother sent him off to a rehab center. Tambunting said he was grateful that his family literally forced him, with brawny men holding him steady as they took him away to rehab 10 years ago. And there was no turning back since ? not one relapse.

?I never would have made it without my family?s unconditional support while I was on rehab,? he said. ?It is important that both parties ? the family and the recovering addict ?
accept, recognize, and deal with each other?s mistakes in order for a drug-dependent to have full recovery.?

Rising Phoenix Foundation Inc. at L/2, Unit 62, MSA Prime Center Building, Madrigal Business Park, Alabang, Muntinlupa City (tel. no. 659-2069/2042; e-mail rphoenix@yahoo.com) is a non-profit, non-stock, non-government organization dedicated to rehabilitating substance abuse dependency and related disorders. It also treats other disorders, such as anorexia and bulimia.

Strategy

Founded in 2003 by recovering dependents, the foundation pools together over 50 years of experience in operating rehab centers. The Therapeutic Community (TC) modality is based on proven scientific methods ? including psychotherapy, psychiatric, educational, spiritual, and medical ? to help patients recover from any form of dependency and/or disorder.

Enrollment can last anywhere from six months to one year, depending on the progress of the patient. On rare instances, treatments can extend up to 18 months, especially for people who have more than just one addiction.

?Addiction is a complex problem,? said Fernando M. David, the foundation?s executive director. ?Not one form or patient is ever the same with the other. For instance, it could be depression that?s causing the addiction, or the addiction that?s causing the depression. Whatever it is, we will isolate the issue so we can address the root of the problem.?

Specializing in addiction counseling, David is the only member of the board who is not a recovering substance abuser and is among the most experienced in running the rehab center. Every board member of the foundation, in fact, has been his patient.

Addiction, continued David, was a self-medicating process. That?s why if a person is on drugs, there is a chemical imbalance in his/her system. This is why the scientific and holistic approach works well, he said. Behavioral, pharmaceutical, and psychological approaches are used, he said, because discipline and willpower alone could be fatal to a patient.

Worldwide, the success rate for treatment is between 20-30 percent. Rising Phoenix Foundation Inc. has a record success rate of 90-95 percent for treating patients who have completed the program, including the after-care program. But that figure is high mainly because only about 20-30 percent make it through graduation, or what the center calls the ?celebration of sobriety.?

?Some parents, when they see their kid is responsive again, think everything is okay and takes home the kid with them even if we insist that the patient should finish the entire course first,? said Oliviere T. Belmonte, executive vice president. ?A relapse is inevitable, and parents end up bringing back their children to the center.?

Social program

The Therapeutic Community has a social program where patients learn to establish a therapeutic relationship between themselves and the community; education program where formal education are conducted by professionals; and experiential education, where they are taught how to recover by applying methods that have worked for other patients before.

There is also the Spiritual program with civic activities, study groups and seminars to awaken spiritual consciousness; and the family program where patients, along with their families, attend therapy groups, counseling, seminars and dialogues so that when the patient is ready to return home, the family is equipped with the basic skills and strengths to ultimately achieve healing.

There is also a continuing care program, a lifetime support system of fellowship, counseling and therapy provided by the foundation?s staff and peers. The program is designed specifically to maintain positive gains the recovering dependent and their families have gleaned from the Therapeutic Community.

Patients share rooms. This way they will be obliged to look after each other, effectively taking away the focus on one?s self. Substance abusers, said David, were the most manipulative, self-centered people there were, only concerned with their own needs and completely thoughtless of those they hurt. The living quarters for men are separate from the women.

?We run a very long program because we want to give the person a chance to recover,? said Belmonte. ?Normal people have structures and patterns. The program aims to bring patterns back into a recovering addict?s life. An addict only has one thing in mind when they get up, whatever time of the day that might be: ?Where can I get drugs???

David said it was not easy to ?erase? memories from a patient?s mind, especially when most of their youthful recollections are comprised of blurred, fast-tracked giddy highs from drugs. Those were, from the point of view of an addict, happy days. Acceptance of wrongdoing takes time, and people need even more time to heal and recover.

The sense of belonging to a community is also an important structure of the program. Patients are given ?works? to do, beginning with simple tasks such as cleaning their rooms or house, to something that entails more responsibility, like checking in on their peers. This boosts self-esteem and confidence.

?If you can run the house then you?ll probably be able to go outside and run your life once again,? Belmonte said.