I AM NOT DISEASED My name is Shawn, I am an ..... Wait wait wait. Let me start over. My name is Shawn I am not diseased. I am not powerless, I am not out of control, nor have I ever been. Now just to let you know before I got here I would not have said these things because I totally fed into the diseased mentality. Completely believed I was powerless. I prayed and prayed everyday for God to remove my obsessiveness and defects to no avail. Now if you're one of those closed minded people like I was you may be thinking, well if you really worked the program you would stay sober. To those I will say I went to 180 meetings in 90 days. Three and four meetings a day. I worked the steps to the best of my ability more than once. I still had the desire, and believed it was up to God alone to relieve me of the obsession. Now I know the truth. Now I know I and I alone am responsible for my decisions. I chose to drink and drug and until I faced this fact nothing or no entity was gonna save me from myself. realizing the power is mine, that my success is in my hands, is so freeing and empowering. I can change myself from the inside out. I can control myself and my thinking, How depressing it was to think one little can of cold beer would make me drink thirty more. I am not weak. I am powerful but had been brainwashed otherwise. My happiness and my life are mine to make whatever I want to out of. I have total confidence in myself thanks to Saint Jude Retreats. The best most productive years of my life lie in front of me. I cant wait to show people that I can succeed on my own.

An amzing experince I came to st.Judes as a last ditch attempt to keep myself from returning to jail. I expected to give lip service to the program and merely use it as a means to avoid incarceration. However, during my time there the amazing people who comprise the staff, from the Directors to the chefs, helped me to change my view of life and my place in it. Also, the program itself is the only one that ever worked for me. After I failed to change through the 12 steps and jail only provided me with a hiatus from drug use I thought that I was hopeless and would never find another way. This program, combined with the wonderful people who presented it to me, changed all of that. I believe that had I not gone to st.Judes I would be in prison or dead now. I recommend this place highly to anyone who wishes to change their present circumstances and live a more fulfilling life. Thank you st.Judes, and all those who helped me during my time there.

Mountain Retreat - Inspiring I kind of stumbled upon Saint Jude’s Program during a google search marathon. And consider myself very fortunate to have done so. It was not the non-12 step method that appealed to me, as much as the all-encompassing approach towards life skills improvement. What I most appreciate about the experience was the perspective that my devastatingly destructive behaviors were in fact very logical. Drinking and drugging, as irrational as it seemed (for an extremely longtime I might add), had a purpose. A simple desire for pleasure, regardless of consequence. And, it was my responsibility to choose if that immediate gratification was worth it. Or, if there were more productive ways to spend my time and energy in search for pleasure, more difficult ways, more satisfying ways… Obviously this is easier said than done, and there is nothing revolutionary about instant vs. deferred gratification. But thanks to education on scientific concepts such as neuroplasticity and a thorough self-analysis I was able to gain the insight and perspective that I required to make the necessary effort to change. I’m definitely still a work in progress, and will always be… and that’s a good thing. I will forever be grateful for my experience at SJP. I’m a better person because of it, whatever the future holds. I took the program seriously and got involved with all the educational opportunities offered. Not everyone did, but that was there decision. It is definitely a lot of money to spend for a holiday. I was not an anti-12-step person when I entered SJP, but when I reflect on my using and drinking trajectory, my true ‘rock bottom’ was accepting powerlessness. Once I became ‘diseased’ my habits got exponentially worse. Saint Jude’s Program made it clear to me that I had the power to change my choices, and that it was my responsibility to do so, or not. I truly dodged a bullet by not attending a 12-step program again. The staff and educators were great, as was the food. The accommodations were good, but could use a little tune-up. The location was wonderful, with a lot of nature and tranquility. Highly recommend.

A refreshing alternative to the 12 Step Treadmill! In an arena that is dominated by the methodologies of AA/NA and their faith healing approach for overcoming drug and alcohol dependencies, it's nice to know that there are resources available that forward the notion that one can effect positive changes in their lives through education, cognitive changes and a lot of hard work and determination. While I have not personally been a client of St. Jude Retreats, I've had the pleasure of speaking with several members of their executive staff as a result of having published my book on the subject of addiction, "The Freedom to Recover". While our views on what works and what doesn't may not be 100% in alignment, they are pretty close. I've read over all of their course materials and have yet to come across a "program" or in-patient setting that offers anywhere near as comprehensive a game plan based on logic, self empowering ideas and real life approaches to addiction. Drug and alcohol addiction, or as I prefer to refer to it, dependency, is NOT a disease that requires lifetime "recovering" but rather, is a condition that one can overcome and put in their past. At least that is my view and one that St Jude Retreats embraces as well. Regards, Rolf Ankermann.

A great place to start your new life. I entered the retreat broken and overwhelmed. With the help of everyone there and the course material, I was able to learn to live again. I had a great time and was treated respectfully during my stay. I would recommend this program for anyone in need.