About Us
Schick Shadel Hospital combines classic Pavlovian conditioning, with contemporary taste aversion learning to eliminate the craving for alcohol and other drugs (cocaine, methamphetamine, marijuana, and prescription opiates).
Alcoholism and other substance dependencies now are widely recognized as being highly treatable brain diseases. These dependencies are no longer viewed as intractable consequences of moral insufficiencies or self-control defects. Akin to patients having other life-threatening diseases, persons with substance addictions typically suffer from recurrent relapses.
Craving is widely recognized as one of the strongest reasons abstinent substance abusers relapse into their prior, pathological patterns of alcohol or drug use. At this same time, they are also struggling to achieve and maintain abstinence.
Schick Shadel Hospital specializes in the elimination of these relapse-induced cravings; by providing our intensive and highly effective, scientifically-based, chemical dependency treatments. Since craving is caused by the brain’s memory of the positive effects of alcohol or drugs, our treatment program creates a new negative association or memory.
Patients begin treatment at Schick Shadel with a medical detoxification from alcohol and/or other drugs (if required). Our patients are extensively evaluated by a Schick Shadel physician (via EKG, laboratory work, history and physical examination), to ensure there aren’t contradications to treatment. Once patients are medically cleared to begin treatment, our physicians continue ongoing supervision of their medical care throughout their hospital stay.
During treatment, we use the brain’s natural memory ability to develop an unpleasant experience and association to alcohol or drugs. The new memories created from the process are what effectively removes the craving. This relatively brief anti- craving treatment typically requires five aversion therapy sessions, spread over a 10-day hospitalization. These treatments, although unpleasant as is the case with many life-sustaining medical procedures, are very well received by Schick Shadel patients; they place great value on successful cravings abatement. Once the craving is removed, other life issues can be more easily addressed. This is due to the patient’s actions no longer being compelled by their addiction.
In addition to the aversion treatments, our patients participate in multiple rehabilitation interviews using conscious sedation. These interviews provide the patients with opportunities to positively reaffirm the motivating factors that led to their entering treatment. These interviews also allow our clinical staff to assess each patient’s increasing aversion level; thereby individually tailoring remaining treatments based on actually attained aversive responses.
Along with these two invaluable modalities of treatment, our patients receive individual counseling and educational classes. These classes provide patients the necessary tools to ensure abstinence. Our counseling staff helps each patient develop an individualized, two-year continuing care plan. This plan helps to provide them with effective strategies for maintaining successful sobriety.
