Verdun House on track to receive Accreditation

Verdun House, a project of The Substance Abuse Foundation Inc., is on track to attaining international accreditation for  its treatment programme from the European Association for the Treatment of
Addiction by early next year.  This is thanks to direction from the drug rehabilitation charity Action on Addition out of the United Kingdom (UK).

Two trainers from the UK based Action on Addiction facility, Kirby Gregory, Director of Client Services and Tim Leighton, Director-Centre for Addiction Treatment Studies, were on the island recently for the second leg of staff training towards Verdun House’s accreditation.

According to Gregory, his organisation’s role is to offer treatment to clients battling with substance abuse, help others who may be affected, such as family members, as well as to train persons to become addiction counsellors.  Action on Addiction comprises three residential treatment centres, three intensive day programmes and programmes aimed at the entire family, including children.  The organisation also conducts a degree programme in Addiction Counselling at the University in Bath, UK,
where students from all around the world benefit.

The two directors have been creating developmental plans for the staff of Verdun House, which have included interpersonal group therapy and motivational interviewing.  

“We find that Verdun already has a solid foundation and we are simply trying to enhance it.   I am very impressed with the Clinical Team and we hope that this training will give the staff an opportunity to do further research and implement their own model which is unique to their community,” said Leighton.

Gregory noted that accreditation gives potential clients the confidence to entrust their well being to the institution since it requires adherence to stringent rules and regulations and required evidence of compliance with these. Clients could therefore be confident that the staff are qualified and that they would receive the best possible
treatment.

Gregory and Leighton said that Verdun has the potential to become the model for drug rehabilitation in the entire region in the near future.  They further remarked on the impressive standard of basic education which most of Verdun’s clients possessed, as well as the success stories that could be a source of inspiration for all clients.

“The men here in group therapy tend to access their feelings more in comparison to those in Europe and America,” said Leighton.  He also made mention of the strong religious community within Barbados, which was evident at the group therapy sessions.

Clinical Director at Verdun House, Jacqui Lewis praised the two-man training team. 
She described the Motivational Interviewing training as a method which allows for the different professional disciplines of the counselors to become a cohesive method from which to work.

“The clinical team is thrilled and is enjoying the training sessions. Everything being taught in these sessions is an applicable method that gives us at Verdun House the opportunity and creativity to develop treatment plans and approaches to better respond to clients’ individual
needs,” she said.

Lewis said she looked forward to further training sessions with Action on Addiction which would assist Verdun House in its preparation for accreditation.