Rehab in Thailand, Belgian aid workers go to a Thai monastery
On Monday 3 December, 'Beroeps Zonder Grenzen' will take four East Flemish aid workers to the rehabilitation center of the Thamkrabok monastery in Thailand. There, the monks help drug addicts by making them drink a herbal potion that makes them vomit.
A completely different approach than the one used by the care providers themselves in their own Kasteelplus centre.
The monks follow a proven method. All addicts are given a herbal drink that makes them vomit, to cleanse the body of all toxins. These sessions are essential in the rehab process and so the Belgians first have to undergo the heavy vomiting therapy themselves. This gives them an idea of what their future patients are going through: 'It's good that we experienced that ourselves, only now can I form a small idea of what drug addiction is.'
The life of a monk is one of hard work. Getting up before dawn, working hard, assisting patients with their vomiting sessions and all with just one meal a day. The aid workers from here do not have it easy and the harsh approach of the monks sometimes goes against the grain. But as the days progress, their vision changes and they become completely absorbed in their new working environment: 'In the beginning I thought it would be four long days: sleeping on the floor and eating only once a day. But now that it's over, I'm sorry and would have preferred to stay a little longer.'
Withdrawal in Thailand
Thailand is 17 times the size of Belgium and has about 64 million inhabitants. About 20 percent of them live in cities. In addition to rising prices, higher fuel costs and natural disasters, drug use is also one of the biggest problems. One in 17 Thai youths over the age of 15 is addicted to 'ya baa', tablets containing a mixture of methamphetamine and caffeine.
Belgium has about 3 drug addicts per 1000 inhabitants, in Thailand there are seven times as many.
A striking initiative to help drug addicts is the drug rehabilitation clinic at Thamkrabok Monastery. The therapy used there, including the intake of a special drink that induces vomiting, is particularly effective and is said to have a success rate of between 65 and 85 percent.
In Kasteelplus, a great deal of responsibility rests with the patients themselves and the therapeutic bond between the patient and the caregiver is essential. Roughly estimated, 1 in 3 will kick the habit, 1 in 3 will never be able to kick the habit and 1 in 3 can lead a decent life through trial and error. A treatment in Kasteelplus takes an average of 49 days.
'Professions without Borders', Monday 3 December at 20.40 pm on One (Belgium).
Source: TV Vision
Rehab is hard enough as it is, but so if that in that ”'Mileu”' is called ””Clean””
staying is just as hard. If an ex-addict is not offered any occupation… in the form
of work, then there is a good chance that he/she will fall back into his old world of drug use
Joghchum,
Completely agree, but if you want to get "clean" any form of rehab is worth a try I think.
Maybe then they will find the willpower to continue if necessary.
1 in 3 is quite a lot, and if you include that middle group who can lead a more or less normal life afterwards, those figures are still successful. (let's be positive and assume the numbers are correct)
I read that “getting clean” can really be taken literally here, and I wonder if all that forced vomiting doesn't destroy other things in the body.
And is that vomiting really useful, because after all you just vomit what's in your stomach, and not in your blood. Someone who "squirts" or "sniffs" has little use of vomiting, I think as a layman.
For the record – These are just concerns I have because I have no experience with this and it may work completely differently than I imagine.
In any case, I wish these people good luck and hopefully it helps.