


To promote a comprehensive healing process, individual counseling is also offered during 10-day inpatient Schick Shadel rehab, along with educational lectures that help clients deepen their understanding of the dynamics of addiction.Ĭounter Conditioning (a.k.a., Aversion Therapy) In this procedure, clients are given sedatives under the supervision of an anesthesiologist, and while in a deeply relaxed state their anti-drug and anti-alcohol counter conditioning is reinforced through client-therapist dialogue that features the use of positive affirmations. In addition to chemical aversion therapy, the Schick Shadel treatment regimen also includes a supplementary form of counter conditioning called sedation therapy. Many people who come to the Schick Shadel Hospital require medical detox before their rehabilitation can begin, and the hospital does offer these services to those who need them.Īfter discharge, clients are expected to return to the hospital twice, 30 days later and then 90 days later, for two-day refresher courses that help fortify their sobriety and reinforce the insights they learned during their time in rehab. The Schick Shadel Hospital is a fully staffed inpatient facility, where clients initially enroll in treatment programs for alcohol or drug dependency that last for a period of 10 days. But it does add another constructive element to rehab, and over the years it has helped many people control the cravings that underlie drug and alcohol abuse. The Schick Shadel style of counter conditioning, which is also known as chemical aversion therapy, isn’t designed to replace traditional treatment methods for addiction, such as psychotherapy. In this case, the goal is to reduce the strength and frequency of cravings to prevent them from undermining sobriety. Counter conditioning techniques aim to eliminate self-destructive patterns of behavior and replace them with more constructive behaviors. The key principle of the Schick Shadel Method is known as counter conditioning. He sought treatment for alcohol dependency at the hospital in 1964 and was impressed by the Schick Shadel Method and the results it produced. These fortuitous circumstances came about at the request of Schick CEO Patrick J. Neither of these men were trained addiction specialists but they developed a distinctive approach to treating alcoholism they were convinced would work.Īfter decades of relative obscurity, in 1965 the Shadel Hospital was purchased by the Schick Safety Razor Company, which dramatically increased its budget for research and development. Walter Voegtlin, opened the Shadel Hospital for alcohol addiction treatment in Seattle, Washington. In the very same year that Alcoholics Anonymous was founded (1935), a chiropractor named Charles Shadel and his partner, gastroenterologist Dr. Walter Voegtlin and the History of the Schick Shadel Approach

Studies have verified the effectiveness of this approach for at least some people addicted to drugs and alcohol. Schick Shadel practitioners believe they can dramatically enhance a person’s chances for recovery by using techniques that reprogram the brain to stop producing cravings. One option for addiction treatment, called the Schick Shadel Method, focuses almost entirely on these powerful physical and psychological desires. It is these cravings that keep bringing people back for more, despite the negative impact drugs and alcohol have on their lives. Men and women with substance use disorders experience strong and persistent physical and psychological cravings which are caused by changes in the brain. Meanwhile, another 9.9 percent will develop a drug use disorder (this includes those who become addicted to both drugs and alcohol). According to the latest research, 29 percent of American adults age 18 and over will develop an alcohol use disorder at some time in their lives. Alcoholism and drug addiction are more common than most people think.
