Q&A with Nancy Szakascy, Co-Founder & Clinical Director, Stone Eagle Retreat

Stone Eagle is a direct result of 30 years experience in the field of addiction treatment. Its very existence is a personal mission to give back integrity and state of the art medical assistance to those who continue to suffer this personal and often times unending enigma. Stone Eagle Retreat, based in Malibu, sets the focus on just six clients at a time providing them with 120 hours of therapy a month. This doubles the treatment experience offered anywhere else providing a highly active schedule engaging each client in every aspect of their personalized treatment plan. And even though we're located in a beautiful mansion surrounded by twenty-one sprawling acres, the frequent and intimate interaction with our highly-trained staff creates a homelike setting. This personalization, closeness and teamwork make Stone Eagle an unforgettable holistic experience we couldn't be more proud of.

Further, we are the first and only rehabilitation center to legally partner with the Prometa® Center in Santa Monica, which treats the biological components of addiction such as the cravings for alcohol, methamphetamine, crack and cocaine. The Prometa® protocol eliminates the cravings, which allows people to focus on their core psychosocial issues.

No, not all of our clients are candidates for Prometa®, but those who are determined to be candidates greatly benefit from our partnership on many levels. Regardless, all Stone Eagle clients receive medical evaluations, detox care and treatment by two leading addiction doctors.

Spearheaded by my husband Doug Szakacsy, our Director of Health & Wellness, we have created a unique nutritional program that is tailored to our client's individual dietary needs. Doug works in tandem with our Cordon Blue Chef to implement the nutritional component of the Prometa® protocol which is individualized foreach client's specific needs. Further, he acts as a liaison between the client and the medical staff by attending all treatments and follow-ups. It is not uncommon through this partnership that other conditions come to light requiring specialists with whom Doug has established trusting relationships. We are honored to assist any further medical needs and take pride in walking our client's through these tender times. In addition, Doug spends a minimum of 4 hours physically training each client which allows him to experience firsthand how their mind and body work together.

Primarily we treat drug and alcohol addictions (chemical dependency), but as a by-product of many dependencies such as meth and crank, there are sexual addictions that directly correlate, and many people struggle with shopping, gambling, food and professional burnout.

Being a very exclusive and private rehab center that primarily focuses on genuine recovery, almost all of our patients come from word of mouth. But with the recent change in the treatment of Hollywood notables, as well as different understandings on what kind of treatments are being provided, I felt it necessary to come forth and share what I know are the most helpful methods to achieve a sustainable recovery.

I literally did all of my early master's degree intern work in the field of addiction. Once I received my master's and was out of graduate school, my first internship was as a primary therapist for a residential treatment center for court mandated clients. My specialization in addiction and treatment started during my master's degree program, which required 3000 hours of individual & family work, as well as program direction in the area of rehab. Then, I continued to specialize in addiction in my private practice as well as working in various other addiction treatment establishments.

I attribute my success to the individuals and families who have been willing to stay in the process with me. Those who have the courage to do the work are the ones who benefit from the all we now know about the treatment process. I am merely the facilitator of sharing in that process which is as individual as the individuals themselves.

It remains imperative to treat the biological components and to guide each client to an internal navigation. Not doing the necessary and difficult work with core issues makes behavioral tools much to limiting.

I guide each client through a process that allows for enormous self-discovery by differentiating all of who they are, from the critic that lives inside each of us to the addictive side of themselves. Each archetypal table is as unique as the person being guided, and each aspect of the process draws from the subconscious and conscious material. In the end, my clients develop an extraordinary awareness that gives them a solid center to draw from, and a heightened coping ability that was never experienced previously.

For those who have worked to truly achieve a sustainable recovery, I must apologize for our industry. Until now, they have been limited in their ability to assist the biological aspects of the disease, making it impossible to focus on recovery when cravings are at the forefront. Now, with the Prometa® Treatment Protocol, we have the necessary help. When you are ready to be done with addiction, Stone Eagle Retreat has combined a state-of-the-art treatment plan for your genuine recovery.

I track a client's success rate when they are with me for a minimum of 18 months which includes out-patient follow-up. I realize the public wants some kind of recovery guarantee, but it is in these so-called success rates that the disrespect and misconception begin. Success in recovery is an individual thing. Recovery is a process - not an event. Sobriety fluctuates, and is determined one day at a time. As for my clients, at least 75% maintain sobriety with ongoing support, which includes the process of testing the waters and a relapse or two generally in lesser magnitudes. I attribute my success to strong bonds of trust between client and therapist, an unending integrity for best interests of my clients, and a higher wisdom in regards to the human and spiritual experience.

The problem is that we have been socialized to look outside ourselves for answers, as a result, we have deterred from the attainment of internal skills to assist in navigating our human experience. We then feel the need to self medicate -- numbing ourselves instead of learning what we need to do in order to emotionally evolve. Continually numbing our already limited conscious experience derails our ability to grow. At that point, not knowing how to cope, we spiral further into not knowing who we are or even how to be. To make things more challenging, some of us have a genetic propensity for addiction. Generationally, it is all passed down until someone values self-exploration and awareness enough to break the cycle. The suffering is optional - the learning is not.