Saint Marks Review
Situated at the tip of the New Zealand’s South island in the small town of Blenheim, Saint Marks offers treatment for adult male and female clients struggling with alcohol and substance use disorders. Founded in 1987 as a drop-in care center, Saint Marks now integrates individual and group counseling, family therapy, holistic approaches, the 12-step recovery model and experiential therapies. For clients in need of dual diagnosis support, Saint Marks can provide medication management through contracted physicians.
Accommodations
Saint Marks is situated in a church building with added housing. With accommodations for 15 adults, residents can enjoy both the close community of peers as well as the privacy necessary for recovery. Residents sleep in shared, gender-specific rooms, and the facility offers multiple common rooms, a recreation room, outdoor areas for socializing and gardens.
Treatment and Staff
Most clients entering care at Saint Marks must first complete detox. While the facility can provide “supportive detox” with the nursing team and a physician, individuals with severe addictions complete detox at the Kennedy Unit in Christchurch before coming to Blenheim. While clients in residential care undergo a psychological and substance use history assessment, the facility offers an approach rooted in the Te Whare Tapa Wha model. To this end, programming focuses on mental, spiritual, physical and familial health. Staff seeks to cure the “whole person” by treating the root cause of a condition, and this involves multiple therapeutic disciplines.
Saint Marks combines holistic treatment, experiential therapy, psychoeducation and the 12 steps. Residents engage in individual and group sessions rooted in various psychoeducational concepts like anger management, relapse prevention, self-esteem and life skills. The facility offers art, drama and music therapy as well as life story to assist clients in recognizing negative patterns and experiences in their past and present. Clients enjoy complementary, recreational therapies like tikanga, gardening, Tai Chi, yoga and cycling. In addition, residents are immersed in the 12-step method, in fact completing several of the steps before they leave treatment.
The tight-knit team at Saint Marks is comprised of addiction specialists, counselors, a registered nurse, house manager, supervisor and a clinician. The facility contracts outside physicians when necessary, so clients with co-occurring conditions can receive medication management.
Extras
While some clients pay for their own accommodations and treatment, most receive an allowance from Residential Support Services for both their stay and therapy.
Saint Marks owns an adjacent property for clients in need of accommodations after treatment.
In Summary
Located on the northeast tip of the South island, Saint Marks is a nonprofit treatment facility that provides residential and detox treatment for adult clients with alcohol and substance use disorders. While the 12-step method is the cornerstone of the programming, the treatment team also incorporates an array of holistic and experiential approaches to provide a well-rounded therapeutic experience. With its dedicated, multi-disciplined team, Saint Marks has been healing people since 1987, and is a credit to the community. For clients seeking help in New Zealand, Saint Marks is a great resource.
Saint Marks Location
St Marks 61 Main Street
Blenheim
New Zealand
Saint Marks Cost
Most clients treatment and accommodations are covered by Residential Support Services. Private pay clients, call for details. Reach Saint Marks by phone at 03 578 0459 or by email.
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Sponsored DISCLAIMER: This is a paid advertisement for California Behavioral Health, LLC, a CA licensed substance abuse treatment provider and not a service provided by The Fix. Calls to this number are answered by CBH, free and without obligation to the consumer. No one who answers the call receives a fee based upon the consumer’s choice to enter treatment. For additional info on other treatment providers and options visit www.samhsa.gov.
