Drug Rehab Blog

Alcohol and drug rehab at Cirque Lodge offers many elements of recovery. We have the personalized therapies for addressing alcoholism, drug addiction and their created behavioral problems. We also offer an effective introduction to the 12-step program. These elements take on a whole new life when they are a part of experiential work. Experiential therapies are a unique element to our treatment facility. They are profoundly powerful in teaching the strategies of recovery and providing a needed spiritual awakening.

Experiential work gets the alcoholic/addict out their comfort zone and challenges them. By working through a ropes activity or with horses one can learn new strategies against the impulses to drink or use. They can also sense and realize things within themselves that can require change. Some of the experiential efforts require the help, thinking and support of a group. One can find strength within this support, but also can discover what role they play in a supportive environment. All the while, members of our experiential staff are available to help with instruction and the underlying message of the exercise.

Experiential work is also important in the recovery process and in providing vital spiritual experiences. We use nature and the spirit of the mountain to provide healing. We take our residents out onto the mountain and into the surround of nature many times during their stay. We use this as a venue for teaching concepts of the 12-step program, and to provide a quiet and serene place for meditation. Our experiential program provides a different take to treatment and therapy; for the alcoholic/addict, a powerful tool for creating life changing experiences.

Alcohol and drug rehab provides different and unique activities here. Cirque has a giant indoor ropes course designated for working with residents. But not all elements of the ropes course involve high wire walking and challenging climbing events. Some of these events challenge in a different way, the cognitive mental process. A number of different activities are referred to as “low ropes”. Low ropes events require problem solving skills and working as a team to overcome challenges. Such elements can help in building support, and provide individuals a different way of thinking about a difficult situation (One that does not involve drugs or alcohol).

Our experiential team is always coming up with new ways to challenge residents with these problem solving exercises. Residents come up with new and different ways to accomplish the challenge at hand. One time the residents used all the shoelaces from their shoes to faction a rope to accomplish the task. This can be a fun and therapeutic experience as the residents work together to attack and overcome their challenge.

When all is said and done, each low ropes activity begins or ends with a discussion. Residents can discuss what they learned from the exercise, and not everyone has the same emotions or experience with the activity. Residents learn from each other as they support one another. The Cirque Lodge uses many different types of recovery programming. Some of it is intensive therapies, and parts of it are exercises like the ropes course. We strive to give each resident so many different opportunities to learn, grow, and have that needed internally changing experience.

Part of alcohol and drug rehab at Cirque Lodge is our experiential program. We use indoor and outdoor activities to promote recovery and enhance the connection of body, mind and spirit. A challenging ropes course, art, nature, horses and even a helicopter are all used in providing a therapeutic and instructive recovery element. It also helps to make alcohol and drug rehab a little more of enjoyable and life changing experience.

We offer many different types of experiential activities. They are designed to help individuals within the terms of their own physical conditioning. As the recovery process continues, the overall health of individuals can also improve. We introduce new and more challenging experiential work. Some of these activities are intended to teach skills for the recovery process. They challenge the behaviors that were developed with addiction with behaviors conducive to the concepts of recovery.

We’ve talked of how experiential work helps with body and mind. Most importantly experiential therapy provides experiences for the spirit. The alcoholic/addict can be at quite low ebb spiritually when they enter alcohol or drug rehab. We use nature as a healing element and concepts of the 12-step program to promote a spiritual recovery. These activities can influence vital spiritual experiences. These create an internal shift and great emotional displacement. The ruling forces of addiction are replaced with new concepts of recovery.

As a part of alcohol and drug rehab, residents of Cirque Lodge participate in a number of activities. These unique activities teach very effective recovery lessons, and provide a therapeutic experience. One of these unique activities involves working with horses. The alcoholic/addict undergoes a metamorphosis when working with this noble animal. When presented to each other, neither the horse nor the individual have any trust or understanding. By time the exercise is completed, both parties involved have made a connection.

The equine program is quite the process for some. Some residents do not want anything to do with the horse. Horses are creatures of flight and acutely aware. The individual’s negative intentions can be reflected in flighty actions from the horse. Members of our experiential staff are there every step of the way. However, this is an exercise, and the resident must use proper communication in receiving instruction. Through the struggles it may become apparent that the client must ask for help with their problem. This is a similar example to life and addiction; one can ask for help with things that are beyond their control.

Through this exercise a connection is made. The resident in alcohol and drug rehab gains the trust of the horse. The horse is now willing to submit to any command with this trust. For the alcoholic/addict, it is always amazing to see what they gain from the exercise. The horses provide them what they stand in need of. Some can be struggling with their drug rehab stay. Time with the horses can help them in making connections and life changing decisions. The resident who wanted nothing to do with the horse is now making trips each day out to the stalls to see their new friend.

Alcoholism and drug addiction thrive in the emotion of fear. At Cirque Lodge, we have a unique way of addressing fear with those in alcohol and drug rehab. We use a rope course. At the Studio, a 17,000 ft. soundstage houses the world’s largest indoor ropes challenge course and climbing facility, dedicated for those in addiction treatment. This facility is used for many different high and low ropes events. The high ropes elements are ran by our experiential team; all of them are certified and trained climbers. They provide those in drug rehab a safe and memorable ropes experience.

High ropes events can help the alcoholic/addict in getting out of their comfort frame. This comfort is built up in the mindset of drinking and using. A climbing activity can help them in tackling their fears and having a sense of accomplishment. Through these exercises, the individual is answering to challenges placed forth by the experiential team. Fellow residents are also present providing help and support. In fact, some ropes activities require residents to work as a team to accomplish the feat. Achieving these feats can replace the fear and the struggles of addiction with new concepts of recovery.

With every experiential activity, a sit down occurs. Residents and the experiential staff have a discussion on what was learned and how it applies to the recovery process. Individuals can take a number of different things away from working with the high ropes events. Interestingly enough, most times it is exactly what they are in need of, personally, for their own recovery process.

The Cirque Lodge alcohol and drug rehab program consists of a number of unique elements that are coupled in with more traditional forms of recovery work and addiction therapy. Very profound recovery lessons are learned by working with the Cirque Lodge horses. The equine exercise teaches those overcoming alcoholism and drug addiction how to establish trust and to set boundaries. This can be a difficult process as horses are creatures of flight. Lessons in open and honest communication are used in accomplishing the tasks of the equine exercise.

It seems that the residents learn from this exercise exactly what they stand in need of. Each individual can be struggling in different ways and looking for different answers. The horses seem to provide them what they are looking for in their own personal way. Our experiential staff that works with the horses is a part of this equine experience as well. Many times their help provides the insight into life that is needed for long term recovery. It teaches them skills in addressing and dealing with addiction and codependency in their lives.

Alcohol and drug rehab at Cirque Lodge uses many locations to help individuals suffering with addiction. The surrounding mountains and canyons are used in providing recovery activities. The Provo River is a venue for alcohol and drug rehab activities as well. The Provo River is a famous fly fishing destination and fishing is an aspect we use in our experiential program. Not all elements of rehabilitation take place on a therapy couch. The mountains and the river provide a venue for healing and connecting to one’s higher power.

The River is used for a number of different things. Some residents are given the opportunity to learn fly fishing as an experiential activity. The Provo River is also used for rafting activities, walks and hikes, and as a quiet place for meditation and reflection. Different experiential activities give the residents of Cirque Lodge a chance to find a private place along the river banks and do some thinking. This can be place for making connections with nature and one’s higher power. The quiet serenity of the nature can speak volumes to the troubled mind. River activities can be influential in providing the spiritual experiences needed for an internal change.

There is something to be learned from the Cirque Lodge horses. Residents in alcohol and drug rehab can participate in experiential activities that involve working with a horse. This can be a challenging and also spiritual event. At first, the resident and horse are presented to each other. The resident must gain the trust of the horse. This is easier said than done. The addict/alcoholic is used to imposing their will and getting their way. They want immediate gratification. Horses are creatures of flight, and they aren’t willing, initially, to be subject to this type of behavior. This teaches patience.

The process of earning the trust of the horse can be a powerful one. The resident in drug rehab begins to sense or feel desperation, because the horse isn’t willing to trust initially. With the help of instruction from our experiential staff, the resident can begin to make a trusting connection with the horse. The resident must ask proper questions though. This teaches them lessons in asking for help with things that are beyond their control. There is a change within this process when the alcoholic/addict realizes the problem is not with the horse, but with their actions toward the horse.

When the resident begins to work in a partnership with the horse, a strong connection and bond is made. The horse becomes trusting, and willing to submit to commands. The horse no longer even needs the leading rope; it follows willingly. Cirque Lodge residents get exactly what they need from the equine exercise. The alcoholic/addict can have a number of varying things they are dealing with psychologically and emotionally. It seems the horse activity gives them just the therapeutic experience that they are searching for.

Cirque Lodge is known for its experiential program. A number of fun and learning activities are provided those in drug rehab to better prepare them for the recovery process. Our Studio facility has a massive 17,000 sq. ft. indoor soundstage that houses our ropes course. This course consists of two extremely large tripods connected by a number of different climbing activities and obstacles. The ropes course is used in a balance of the many other experiential programming elements that we offer. Our experiential team is experienced and certified as climbing instructors and are available to help residents through all the high ropes events.

Ropes course activities don’t all take place high in the air. A number of team challenges and problem solving exercises are part of our low ropes events. These activities help to build trust and support. They also pose a challenge to the alcoholic/addict to think outside their mindset to accomplish the task. At the end of each experiential ropes course activity, residents in drug rehab have a sit down with the experiential team. They discuss what was learned through the exercise, as well as how it is applied to overcoming addiction and the recovery process. These activities provide fun to those in treatment for addiction. It also helps them to build a number of skills to help them after rehab is completed.

Experiential activities are emphasized in the Cirque Lodge alcohol and drug rehab program. These activities do a number of things for those in recovery. They teach skills and strategies for the recovery process. They provide vital spiritual experiences that create an internal change. Some experiential activities are also used to show the joys of sober living. Cirque Lodge is located by the Provo River here in Utah. The Provo River is a famous destination for fly fishing, and some residents are given the opportunity to get in some fly fishing as an element of experiential therapy.

Fly fishing takes tremendous skill and concentration. It requires those in alcohol or drug rehab to think outside their mindset and work on their cognitive and physical skills. Fly fishing takes patience. This is something that must be developed for the recovery process. A member of our experiential team works with the resident as they fly fish, and makes it a growth and learning experience. It is an activity that the resident can take with them after they leave rehab. Fly fishing can become a productive activity that helps them to continue to work towards successful recovery.