New drug therapy program in Houlton

By Elna Seabrooks
Staff Writer
    HOULTON — A new, intensive outpatient therapy program targeted for substance abuse treatment starts Monday, Dec. 7 integrating physical and mental health for treatment and recovery from drug addiction.  Life By Design, a mental health and substance abuse agency with offices in Houlton, Presque Isle, Caribou, and Ft. Kent, is offering the service.
    “We work with people who need help in mental health and substance abuse issues. They come from all around the county, all ages, all spectrums” said K. Philip Jurson, a licensed alcohol and drug abuse counselor with Life By Design.
    Most of the current referrals to the agency come from “southern Aroostook County with a lot of referrals from the Department of Health and Human Services and a lot of mandated referrals from the court system, probation officers and lawyers,” according to Carol Westerdahl, one of the agency’s certified alcohol and drug abuse counselors. Jurson said the drug abuse problem is a “major issue in Aroostook County.” Westerdahl called it “huge.”
    Clients referred to Life By Design can cover the program’s services through a self-pay situation, MaineCare or one of the major insurance plans.
    The new Intensive Outpatient Therapy will meet five days a week for three hours a day in a demanding group situation. The latest research, according to Jurson, indicates that integrating physical and mental health improves the odds for recovery from drug addiction. For that reason, the program includes a health component with exercise and a nourishing breakfast since some addicts ignore that meal in deference to taking drugs and they often fail to exercise.
    Jurson added, the groups are gender specific “because women and men recover differently. Women may have relationship issues, domestic violence or sexual trauma issues while men may have more anger, violence or peer pressure issues which need to be treated differently.”
    “In group therapy, a game becomes a team-building experience to learn and experience social skills to demonstrate they can work with others. It stresses the positive aspects of their lives to reveal strengths and a passion for something other than drugs.”
    The complexity of substance abuse can stem from a home environment where drugs were used all the way up to self-medication due to seasonal depression, said Jurson. The new program will mean
“seeing people who can be dealt with in community,” stated Westerdahl.
Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Elna Seabrooks 
TEAMWORK — K. Philip Jurson and Carol Westerdahl are part of the team helping substance abusers overcome drug use and become productive members of the community.
    “If a client comes in the door, the first thing we would do is an interview to find out what their issues are and what resources we have here to help them work through their issues. We provide mental health therapy with licensed therapists. We provide the substance abuse piece, case management for housing, resources for school, medical doctors, finances and budgeting. Another major thing is to reunite families. And, the children would have their own case manager. The whole idea is to be able to support people to the point they can go back into the community, live in the community and be productive members of the community.”
    Life By Design can be reached at 532-9660.