Learning is what it's all about.

Although education will not cure addiction, it will enhance the ability of the resident to identify and deal with the problems that addiction has caused.

While at the Cedars, residents will participate in an education series which will help the individual better understand the effects of alcohol and drug addiction. Every aspect of an addicts life has been affected by the addiction and in order to make the journey from an old using life style to a new alcohol/drug free life style, the resident must first know what he/she is dealing with. The importance of education is to help the addict identify and recognize signs and symptoms of addiction and to know that addiction is treatable.

Education also assists the addict in dealing with guilt and low self-esteem. The chances are pretty great that the addictive behavior has been unacceptable, not just to others but to the addict. The addict may find through education that the behaviors displayed in active use is par for an addict and that it "makes sense" why the addict behaves in those ways; seeing it as a symptom of addiction. The resident may begin to understand the total collapse of normalcy and the destruction that addiction has had in all area's of his/her life. These are only a couple examples of awareness that education can offer.

It is the hope that education will open the door to self-awareness and provide knowledge to pursue change. The series will include information on the denial system and the psychological defenses and maneuvers that addicts unconsciously use to protect themselves from realization that they are an addict. It will offer information on how the family has been affected, the roles they have played, and relapse prevention.

The educational series will be presented by trained professional staff who will provide the resident with a variety of subjects which will help them better cope with the transition to a new life style.