THE LODGE

The extended care treatment program at Jaywalker Lodge provides above all else time… time away from the chemical, the triggers, and the stressors; a time to heal. The minimum length of stay is 90 days, and some patients can and do stay as long as nine months to a year. Following completion of our intensive treatment and transitional residential programs, and sober living, clients that have graduated engage in our Alumni Program, and 80% remain in Carbondale for a year or longer. Ours is a comprehensive continuum of care with a focus on transitioning from structured, individualized clinical care to a financial self-sufficiency in a tightly knit recovering community learning to live sober in the real world one day at a time.

At Jaywalker Lodge, we believe individuals who return to treatment do so for many reasons – but none more important than the failure to grasp and fully personalize Step One of the 12-Steps. To this end, clients at Jaywalker will examine the impact of drugs and alcohol in all aspects of their lives through the writing and sharing of step-one “sections”. This “section” work reveals the underlying truth about everyone’s struggles with addiction and leads to a more fully internalized Step One experience.

The impact of drugs and alcohol in all areas of our clients’ lives is personalized daily through written “Step One Sections;” an emphasis on the basic texts of Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous; as well as dedicated groups and didactic lectures. Our clients examine closely the effect chemical dependency has had on family, social life and friends, work and school, legal, financial, spiritual, character, health, sex and relationships, and feelings and emotions. Our goal is that no Jaywalker client will have any reservations or “lurking notions” about the extent to which their relationship with drugs and alcohol has impacted his life.

Relationships with self, others and a higher power are examined in terms of recognizing and beginning to challenge “obstacles” to relationship building or, if you will, a relationship with a higher power. (Step Two) Obstacles include (but are not limited to) shame, resentment, anger, self-pity, grandiosity, arrogance, grief and loneliness. Dual diagnoses and mental health issues are medically managed by our consulting psychiatrist – and these too are addressed as “obstacles” via hands-on application to The 12-Steps principals. Our peer-directed culture creates an environment in which clients come to embrace “common solution” to our “common problem.”

The link between trauma and addiction is complex. Jaywalker clients are pre-screened for trauma during their admission’s interview, and upon admission, all clients meet with a trauma therapist for a more in-depth examination to see if they will benefit from ongoing trauma work. We believe that trauma must be addressed concurrently to help clients learn to manage symptoms in recovery. Jaywalker provides trauma counseling throughout the continuum through trauma-specific group therapy, individual therapy utilizing modalities such as EMDR, and through somatically based experiences such as Tension & Trauma Release Exercises (TRE).

Most people struggling with addiction experience anxiety and depression. These are normal feelings for all people; however, evidence has shown that there are higher rates of mental health conditions in those who struggle with substance use issues. At Jaywalker, we believe that these conditions must be treated concurrently to help clients learn to manage mental health symptoms in recovery. Jaywalker employs Master’s level, dually licensed clinicians, Psychologists, and Psychiatrists to help our clients learn coping skills for ongoing symptom management.

Mindfulness-based interventions are now widely accepted, evidence-based practices used in many of the country’s best treatment centers. Mindfulness need not be an alternative to 12-Step treatment; indeed, we believe it is an effective and viable bridge to a sophisticated 12-Step treatment protocol that meets the needs of diverse client populations. At Jaywalker Lodge, the mindfulness curriculum is designed to support each client’s 12-Step program and focuses on teaching them skills in the following areas: meditation, loving kindness, compassion, equanimity, wisdom, skillful action, attention, and values. In practical application, our program mirrors the wisdom of the 12-Step traditions.

While your loved one is in treatment their primary counselor will also help with case management tasks such as aftercare planning and referrals to ancillary services not provided at Jaywalker (specialty doctors, etc.). The primary counselor also serves as the family’s point of contact for their loved one’s care. In addition to providing updates on the client’s progress, the counselor will work with family members on various topics related to supporting their loved one’s recovery and ensuring they have support for their own recovery processes. Topics such as boundaries, codependency, helping vs. enabling, and accessing community resources will be discussed to help ensure the family system shifts into recovery.

Alternative therapies including yoga, martial arts, acupuncture, guided meditation, and an unmatched mountain-based expedition program are all essential components of the Jaywalker treatment process. Each week the men routinely are engaged in rigorous mountain challenges including mountain biking, hiking, rafting, skiing, snowboarding, ropes challenge courses, team sports and much, much more. The men and staff at Jaywalker are committed to community service both locally and across the country – service projects and service trips are conducted both in the Carbondale area as well as in the form of week-long excursions to support communities from Arizona to Iowa to South Dakota.

After 90 days in the highly structured, clinically intensive “Lodge” program, clients are provided an opportunity to enroll in the Jaywalker Solutions program, a 90-day “step-down” transitional living program, also located in downtown Carbondale. Here, men focus on making a safe and sober transition from the structure of residential treatment to life on life’s terms in our local recovery community. In Solutions, men engage in full or part time local employment, attend local 12-Step meetings independently, and participate in 11 hours each week of structured individual and group therapy.