Where Sickness Ends and New Life Begins

Medical Observer Magazine

By Michelle Ciriaco

It is not enough that addicted individuals kick the habit; they must be able to replace it with something that will help him feel whole-in all aspects of his life.

Says addiction expert Randy Misael Dellosa: "What the addict needs is to experience wholeness, wellness, growth, and healing." These are what addicts experience at the Life Change Recovery Center (LCRC). Here, they not only learn to live a drug-free lifestyle but more importantly, they heal from their emotional and relational wounds so that they may experience a fresh lease on life.

Dr. Randy Dellosa, an addiction psychotherapist and founder of LCRC, disproves the popular myths that "addiction is a progressive and irreversible illness" and that "once an addict, always an addict." Such myths basically declare that addiction is a lifelong prison from which there is no freedom or escape, he says.

The LCRC addiction recovery program, which lasts four-and-a-half months, is conducted in three phases: two weeks drug detoxification, three months residency, and one month outpatient. During the program, addicted individuals are immersed in a community that focuses on values formation, personality development, relationship enhancement, and spiritual growth.

The LCRC addiction recovery program is meant to unlock the strength and resiliency hidden within the addicted individual. The addict becomes empowered to shake off destructive life patterns and acquires the competence to make life-affirming choices.

"The truth," Dr. Randy says, "is that even hardcore addicts can abandon their addicted lifestyle permanently. In order to change for good, what drug dependents first need is to build within themselves a strong sense of hope, empowerment, self-responsibility, and vision. Armed with these attitudes, addicts can then reinvent themselves and make their lives meaningful, joyful, and productive.