Newport Academy

Dear Jamison,

As I write this letter full of gratitude and appreciation, our son has been a "graduate" of Newport Academy for 41 days. It gives me great hope to state that we are a family in recovery. It is an enormous understatement to say that without Newport Academy, this would not have been possible.

There are so many factors that go into recover, it is hard to discern what part(s) work, and what doesn't and how important is each piece. What I have witnessed, is a young man, our son, moved from confusion, frustration, despair and unwillingness into more clarity, more serenity, more emotional presence and a grateful willingness to be in recovery. This is a direct result of the staff and counselors and program of Newport Academy. Everyone at Newport Academy has demonstrated a dedication to recovery and a dedication to honesty and a dedication to the well being of those in the program. They do not just talk the talk, they walk the walk. And that is invaluable.

As a family, we have begun the work to communicate within the family with honesty, integrity and vulnerability allowing each person the dignity of their feelings. We began this work in the family group meetings at Newport Academy and continue to grow using our own programs of recovery in Al-Anon for Kathy and me and AA for our son. We continue to grow with the help of the Newport Academy After-Care program and we are extremely grateful to have that program available as we learn new attitudes and behaviors.

Recovery is never done; not for our son, and not for us, but we have embraced the ongoing process and I cannot imagine where we would be without Newport Academy. As I heard one member of AA say after years of recovery, "how did we get here from there?" And for us, the major catalyst in allowing us to "get here from there" was and is Newport Academy.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the courageous work you do.

With great appreciation and love,

-Kip

Dear Jamison,

It is with deep gratitude and great appreciation that I am writing you to thank you for all that Newport Academy has given our son and our family. The devastation that drug abuse caused our family was the darkest time I had ever experienced and was the worst nightmare our family could have endured. I know that Newport Academy saved our son's life and resurrected our family. Seeing our son come back to life and light is the greatest gift our family has ever received.

Newport Academy's holistic approach to treating our son's addiction enabled not only healing on a physical level, but development of emotional maturity, confidence, and a spiritual center in his life from which to operate. We are truly grateful and appreciative of your incredible staff. Not only was every staff member we met at Newport Academy kind, loving, knowledgeable and professional, but they also served as strong role models of admirable, successful men and women in recovery for our son, providing great mentoring and inspiration. The caliber of people at Newport Academy as well as the tranquil, beautiful environment provided a sense of dignity for the work being done and helped to dissipate the sense of shame we felt as parents in this situation.

It has been a joy having our son home with us after residential care. I am grateful for all of your help in this transition with the follow up care and support you offered. Our son is engaged, respectful and wonderful to have around. In addition, the tools we received in the family education portion of your program provided us with the ability to support our son's sobriety and our own stability as family members.

You have our undying loyalty. If there is any way we can be of assistance to your or Newport Academy in the future, please do not hesitate to give us a call. Beyond recovery, our son's experience at Newport Academy provided him the initiation into manhood with a great foundation upon which to build a successful life.

With love and gratitude,

-Kathy

I just want to share with you how great [our son] is doing. We are past a week now that [our son] has been home, and we are thoroughly impressed with the boy who has returned home to us! He has a new sense of confidence, in committed to living a sober life and has tools now to effectively manage his emotions and depression. We are thrilled with the results!
-A Mother, Los Angeles

No words can thank you enough for providing [my daughter] a whole new beginning for the rest of her life!
-Annette C and Family

Dear Jamison,

I would wholeheartedly recommend Newport Academy to the parents of any teenager who is struggling as a result of trauma or drug abuse.

My daughter's experience at Newport Academy was life changing. Before being sent to Newport Academy, at age 17, she was a daily user of marijuana and had experimented with other drugs. When she went to Newport Academy, she had been seeing a therapist weekly for two years, in order to deal with a serious trauma she experienced at age 15. Unfortunately, the therapy was not helping. Her lying, drug use and self destructive behavior only escalated. She was making life decisions that could have long reaching negative consequences.

When she came to Newport Academy (unwillingly) one month before her 18th birthday, my daughter could not understand why we had plucked her from "her life," and refused to acknowledge that she had a drug problem. Such is the skill of Newport Academy's therapists, clinicians and other care givers, that she decided to stay past her 18th birthday, for the full 45 days of primary residential treatment. This is noteworthy because at the age of 18 she could have left on her own.

When my daughter left Newport Academy, not only did she realize that she had a drug problem, but also she willingly went into a 90 day extended care treatment program. This is another example of the skill of Newport Academy's team. While she attended Newport Academy, my daughter was nurtured with healthful meals and activities. She was encouraged to confront her issues in therapy. She bonded with other girls in the program and realized that she was not struggling alone. While our daughter was at Newport Academy, my husband and I attended family therapy sessions with her and learned to improve our communication with her. We also began attending Alanon meetings, as recommended by Newport Academy. We continue to attend these meetings and they have improved the way we relate to our daughter and each other as well as to our younger son.

As our daughter continues along the path of recovery, I feel that the care, concern, education and treatment that she received at Newport Academy has made a huge difference in her life. In fact, if not for Newport Academy, I am certain that she would already have made more negative life decisions. Instead, she continues in extended care.

I will always be grateful to the fantastic staff of Newport Academy and would be happy to speak with any prospective parents who are considering Newport Academy.

-Abby C

The past two months weren't easy; things don't usually breeze by when you spend the majority of your energy kicking and screaming, or at least that is what I have found. As an addict I developed the skill to manipulate and BS my family, friends, and the system. I spent about 4 years perfecting that skill through trial and error; this skill was powerless though in the end.

On November 23, 2009 I was sent to my first inpatient treatment facility. On November 24, 2009 I left my first inpatient treatment facility, I didn't even have to pack my own bags. I was under the impression that I didn't need help, I didn't need the three staff members at , and I made the threat that I was leaving with only my two feet to make it 400 miles back to . I figure they must have taken me seriously or just didn't want to deal with me because they opened the door for me and forced my mom to come and get me. I'm pretty sure that no addict jump ropes into treatment with a smile on their face because they're thrilled to give up their drugs, that's why we get sent to treatment; we need help. After leaving , refused to admit me because their treatment program was not prepared to help an addict who wasn't absolutely ecstatic about being helped.

My family had almost given up on finding me help and I felt even more hopeless that I could ever be sober after being declined and also basically kicked out of treatment. Then by some miracle, on December 2, 2009 I faced another entrance into an inpatient treatment facility. After my night at , I figured it would be just as easy to get kicked out of Newport Academy. I tried convincing my parents to come get me, and when that didn't work it was time to start making my go around of threats. At Newport Academy they were much more prepared though. They didn't open the door for me and tell me to leave, even after I revealed that I had snuck in drugs. Instead, they found my drugs, took them, and had even more of a reason to have me stay.

The staff remained on call 24/7 for my first two weeks because no one knew what I was going to try next; clearly they were dedicated and their jobs at Newport Academy weren't just money to pay the rent to them otherwise their phones would have been turned off at 3 AM. As little as they knew about my next move, I knew much less about theirs. They always were prepared; it was impossible to get a step ahead of the staff because they all had either done the same thing I had done or they knew how to get me to not do it.

I tried to get the staff to break and play into my games, but it never happened unlike my first experience. Instead I found that playing a two team game isn't much fun when you're the only one playing. They never gave up, they never gave in, and at the end of the day I was the only one tired. I finally threw my towel in, but it wasn't forced. At Newport Academy they encourage you to take steps at your own pace, although the process may be expedited because you're dealing with not only educated counselors but with loving counselors which causes you to willingly give up your control over the situation.

The schedule was also much different at Newport Academy; however, it worked towards my long term progress. I didn't have as much free time as I did at , my routine was much more structured, which I also fought in the beginning. The schedule was very easy to adjust to once I became open to it. I actually began to want to get out of bed because I wanted to attend the groups to release any problems I was internally dealing with and even to just say I was feeling great; either way there was always a staff member who individually sat there and discussed and encouraged what you had to say. That seemed far much more beneficial to me than sitting in a room with 12 other kids and not hearing any input from the staff.

If I was presented with a offer to go back to November 23^rd just to see how things would have ended up if I was an addict happy to give up my drugs, there's no doubt in my mind I would decline it. Today I am sober, thanks to Newport Academy. I am positive that if anything were to have been done differently, I would be in juvenile hall, an institution, or dead, all of which I had experienced or came one breath safely out of. The facility that let me leave wouldn't have blinked an eye if something had happened to me. Newport Academy, on the other hand, would have never let me leave in the first place. I owe my restored life to Newport Academy; they were the only treatment facility that didn't turn me down and didn't give up, they treated my disease like a hospital would cancer, no illness was to ill for their facility and no step back in getting better was enough for them to send me home to die. They truly cared and that's what got me sober.

-Anonymous, Age 17

I want to take the opportunity to extend my deepest thanks to all of you for what have done. I truly feel you have saved my daughters life! The Newport Academy is an amazing place; where the whole truly is greater than the sum of the parts.

We came to Newport in the depths of desperation. had fallen into habitually using heroin to escape her pains from underlying issues. When we came to Newport I think had less than a 10% chance to remain healthy and sober. Upon leaving Newport 60 days later I think has well above a 90% chance to remain healthy and sober. Truly an amazing turnaround!

From top to bottom and from beginning to end we received great care and deep respect. Scott and Jamison were straightforward and willing to help in any way they could. Dr. Nosal proved to be a practicing genius at what she does. Three or four weeks into our stay at Newport we really weren't getting anywhere fast; it was like the wheels were spinning, the speedometer read 90 miles per hour; but, we were stuck in the mud and not moving. Then Michael appeared on the scene and provided a fresh insight and chance for real progress. Dr. Nosal showed her genius by immediately sensing the chance for change with Michael. She shifted around the human assets and created situations and opportunity for change to take place. Then, change took place so fast; where the wheels had been spinning in the mud we now suddenly caught traction and shot out of the mud hole as fast as could be imagined. Thank you Michael and thank you Barbara.

The care counselors were all wonderful; I won't name names in fear of leaving someone out. To the care counselors; I thank you one, I thank you all! The weekly lectures from Dr. Smith, Dr. Fortuna, Dr. Tobin and the others were all informative and helpful. The great meals provided by Chris and Julie were nourishing to the body and the spirit; they definitely added much to the overall. The equine therapy proved to be truly enlightening and also added a great amount to the overall.

Our first day at Newport I was given a booklet outlining the program at Newport Academy. It literally took more than an hour to read through the booklet; tears of hope just kept pouring out making it very difficult to read. On our last day at Newport it literally took more than an hour to write this short letter; tears of thanks just kept pouring out.

From the bottom of my heart,
Thank you all

-Anonymous