Odyssey by the Bay Cocktail Party

The Chairman and Board of Directors of the Odyssey House McGrath Foundation invite you to our annual summer cocktail party at “Callooa”, the gracious and historic home of Paul and Ros Espie.

Thursday 23 February 2012

6.30 pm to 9.30 pm

5 Bennett Avenue, Darling Point

Download the booking form here

Enjoy delicious food, wine and uplifting entertainment as you take in the views of Rushcutters Bay at sunset.

This is an event not to be missed.

Most importantly, all of the proceeds from this event will go directly to support the Parents’ and Children’s Program and the Withdrawal Unit at the Odyssey House McGrath Foundation to enable our life-saving work to continue.

They alone can beat their addiction,

but they can’t do it alone.

Campaign Hope

On October 1st we are launching 'Campaign Hope- breaking the cycle of addiction'. This campaign aims to raise funds for children's books and educational toys for children who have been affected by their parent's alcohol and drug misuse.

At Odyssey House we provide a Parent's and Children's Program which makes it possible for parents who are in addiction to participate in the rehabilitation program whilst living with their children. Living together as a family unit teaches parenting skills and aims to develop a happy, healthy and independent family and break the cycle of generational drug misuse. A family friendly atmosphere is created for the residents and their children who are participating in the program as they have private rooms, self contained cottages and communal dining facilities.

Each family is assigned a childcare worker who ensures the children who participate in the program, the children are aged from newborn to 12 years old have a regularly maintained routine and structure. During the day children are engaged in activities depending on their age, such as school and in the afternoons and evenings parents and children spend time together reading and engaging in interactions designed to enhance the bond between parent and child.

The Parent's and Children's program not only provides drug and alcohol rehabilitation for the parent but also family focused activities, development of parenting skills, family support and educational classes.

The 'Campaign Hope- breaking the cycle of addiction' is an important campaign not only for the children who have been affected by their parents alcohol and drug misuse but also the parents of these children. The funds that are required for childrens books and educational toys help the parents and children interact together and bond with each other in an environment free of negative influences that previously would of distracted and supported the parent's alcohol or drug misuse. These books and toys allow the child and parent to enhance their bond with simple learning tools and is something that could not be done before entering the Parent's and Children's Program.

Something as simple as books and toys helps to create a stronger family unit through parent and child interaction and bonding which in the long term assists the family to separate from the possibility of further generational substance misuse, therefore breaking the cycle of addiction.

So please donate and help support 'Camapaign Hope- breaking the cycle of addiction' and give children who have been affected by their parents alcohol and drug misuse, the tools that every child deserves to bond with their parents and help create a drug and alcohol free future.

Annual Reports

The Odyssey House 2010-2011 Annual Report is now available. Click here.

The Odyssey House 2009-2010 Annual Report is available online. Click here to download.

The Odyssey House 2008-2009 Annual Report is available online. Click here to download.

The Odyssey House 2007-2008 Annual Report is availiable online. Click here to download.

Admissions

Note: If you are in need of urgent medical attention please contact your local doctor or hospital if an emergency.

We provide a range of services to suit the needs of the individual client.

These services include:

o The Odyssey House Withdrawal Unit

o Assessment and Referral Centre

o A long term residential treatment program

o A long term Parent’s and Children’s program

o After Care program

To enter one of our programs you must meet the eligibility criteria, this will be done over the phone as part of the assessment process. During the assessment process you will be asked series of questions which will include:

o Your alcohol and/or drug misuse history

o Your medical history and medication

o Mental health diagnosis

o Criminal activity

If you enter one of residential rehabilitation programs an individual treatment place will be created based on your needs.

To book in for an assessment please call 02 9281 5144.

Celebrate Recovery Day and our 34th Birthday

Odyssey House opened its doors to over 400 visitors including past and present staff, graduates, friends, family and supporters to ‘Celebrate Recovery Day’.

For the first time this year we’re calling it ‘Celebrate Recovery Day’ to recognise that people have to work hard to overcome serious or long-standing dependence on alcohol and other drugs, dealing with the physical addiction and the personal reasons they began using drugs.Celebrate Recovery Day is held annually to recognise the achievements of Odyssey House clients, educate the public about the organisation’s work, thank staff and supporters, and commemorate helping more than 30,000 people to overcome drug and alcohol problems since 1977.

It was a gorgeous spring day with numerous stalls featuring woodwork, art and craft created by Odyssey House residents as part of their therapy, as well as multi-cultural displays, face painting and food stalls.

Guest speakers included new Campbelltown Mayor Mr Anoulack Chanthivong and 1989 Odyssey House graduate Rose, 47, now a happy and successful businesswoman, motivational speaker and mother of two, who has been ‘in recovery’ for 23 years after overcoming a serious dependence on heroin and other drugs.

Odyssey House CEO Mr James Pitts said “the event is a great opportunity for the public to find out what rehab is all about, talk with staff, and show their support for graduates and clients who are taking the arduous journey to overcome their drug dependence”.

So on Celebrate Recovery Day we commend and congratulate our graduates and our clients’ efforts and wish them well in their recovery, which is usually a lifelong process to maintain their new drug-free lifestyle and physical and mental wellbeing.

We also encourage people in the community to take the opportunity to congratulate their family or friends who have overcome an addiction, and to support them in their recovery.

Accreditation for Odyssey House

DAA Organisation Wide Survey - Survey Team Summary Report

The Australian Council on Healthcare Standards EQuIP 4th edition:

Odyssey House McGrath Foundation (Odyssey) appears to be a well resourced service with differing funding models operating from a sound clinical and therapeutic base. It is evident that all staff are guided by a recovery philosophy and the vision of Odyssey is soundly practised in all program and service areas. The clinical structure of Odyssey provides a positive opportunity for further consolidation of its framework of services and will therefore continue to identify priority areas for evaluation, enabling Odyssey to continually make improvements. There has been considerable time and effort directed towards standardising care approaches, as well as developing clinical policies and procedures that underpin these approaches to care.

Throughout Odyssey it was noted that staff's role expectations, function and responsibilities with regard to Clinical Quality Improvement is not clearly articulated and understood. This requires ongoing education and clarification to assist in these accountabilities, and will only progress Odyssey's integration of quality improvement across all the clinical areas. Staff development in the application and utilisation of data and information and the benchmarking of services and programs in service planning and delivery is recommended. Whilst some clinical data is being collected and collated, analysis, trending, aggregation and evaluation of clinical activities is limited at the coal face. In reviewing the collection of clinical data it is important to ensure efficiencies are maintained, duplication is reduced and the focus be on the streamlining of data collection and the reporting of approved suites of data will only contribute and assist in evaluating ongoing service provision. It is now important for Odyssey to begin to consolidate the collection of defined clinical data across the service, and begin to actively internally and externally benchmark. The outcomes from this process will only continue to assist with service planning now and into the future. There are some clinical projects which have commenced, completed or in progress, these now need to be consolidated into a service wide Quality framework.

There needs to be an ongoing review of a client's risk rating, whilst this is done at pre-assessment, the process after admission appears to be ad hoc and poorly documented. It was evident that complaints of a clinical nature are managed and resolved locally and whilst this active management is positive it is important that these continue to be captured centrally for more complete clinical reporting. Overall Odyssey is to be congratulated for its active approach to consumer feedback and complaints management. Individual staff across programs and services communicate well with the aim of providing sound clinical care, the client journey is monitored through a range of processes ensuring that the care provided is of the highest standard and importantly meets the needs of individual clients. Transfer, discharge and referral are all conducted in a proactive manner, thereby ensuring client needs are considered in advance and they are included in any future planning.

The Infection Control system supports the organisation. There are systems to ensure where possible infection control prevention is practised, there are systems to monitor and manage any disease outbreaks effectively. All information provided contains comprehensive information on Odyssey's full range of services provided and how to access them. The premise of Odyssey is the achievement of the appropriateness of the care and services it provides. The continued delivery of this care and service is focused on the treatment, care and rehabilitation of its clients, aimed at bringing their recovery, in settings most appropriate to their needs. Evidence was available demonstrating the planning and effective delivery of services. There are still many opportunities available to gather evidence on the effectiveness of the care and services Odyssey delivers, and to trend and analyse that data in relation to the ongoing planning, development and delivery of both care and services. Odyssey is to be congratulated for its consumer and carer initiatives and "lived experience" staff. There was evidence that clients are informed of their rights and responsibilities, and Surveyors saw examples of services and resources with the ability and expertise to target clients from different CALD communities.

For a list of the current recommendations please click here

2009 Newsletter Archive

Odyssey House Videos

Coming soon

It’s time to get serious about the Culture of Adolescent Alchohol Use

Recently, there has been growing concern over the issue of adolescent alcohol use, usually in the form of “binge drinking”, and the problems this creates not just for individuals but for society as a whole. The time has now come for us to get serious about addressing the factors which contribute to and perpetuate these phenomena among young people, and to stem the harmful consequences of these behaviours.

I think most of us as adults, depending on our age, remember when we were able to drink legally. That age for many was at 21, which coincided with the age at which you were able to vote, sign a contract, get married and so on. The lowering of the drinking age to 18 years was the result, to a large extent, of the war in Vietnam and the large number of young people who lost their lives in this war. Their lament was they could die for their country, but had no right to vote in its policies or drink alcohol legally.

The attainment of the legal drinking age was accompanied by some ritualistic act supported and applauded by friends usually, and family sometimes. At the University of Michigan, where I matriculated, on your 21^st birthday you went with friends to the Pretzel Bell. It was a popular hangout on campus where they supplied you with a one litre jug of full strength beer which you were expected to drink non-stop while the crowd urged you on to the sound of a bell which they rang 21 times until you consumed all of the amber fluid.

Today young people start drinking much earlier. In a study of residents in treatment at Odyssey House, 90 per cent nominated alcohol as their first drug of intoxification at between 12-13 years of age. In the general population the proportion of 12-15-year-olds consuming alcohol at risky levels for short term harms has doubled since 1990 from 2.5 per cent to 5 per cent. Young people are starting to drink earlier!

As opposed to the totem of ritualistic behaviours associated with alcohol use in the past, the consumption of large quantities of alcohol within today’s youth culture has become a ritual in and of itself. Drinking to excess has become an entrenched and normal behaviour. It has become a way for many young people to establish their identities and thus ensure themselves a “place” within their preferred peer group. Just as important as securing a sense of “belonging” within a group for young people is their need to “express themselves” in a way that is noticed and remembered. What better way than by being able to out-drink everyone and engage in behaviours which ensure you are noticed by the greatest number of people? It is a paradox on the story of Hester Prinne in the “Scarlet Letter” whose “A” sewn to her dress was designed to shame and scorn her in public. For young people, the “A” which stands for alcohol is a symbol of pride, not derision!

Today’s youth culture which promotes “binge drinking” is not the creation solely of young people who are more outspoken than their peers of previous generations. Much of their culture has been shaped and enhanced by societal influences. These include alcohol marketing which has specifically targeted young people through the provision of ready-to-drink products (RTDs). These products target young people as consumers who are ready to try “new” products, which is consistent with the impulsive nature of their development, physically and socially. Technology also plays a part. What better way to promote the idea that drinking is a great way to enjoy yourself as a young person than through new communication technology (YouTube, Twitter, Facebook) which allows young people to participate in and enjoy a virtual party?

Why do we need to get serious about addressing the issue of the harm alcohol causes to our young people? Some statistics may help to highlight the need.

· By 18, 50 per cent of males and females in the 14-24 year old age group are risky drinkers.

· 264 young people aged 15-24 years of age die each year as a result of risky alcohol consumption.

“Young People and Alcohol - The Role of Cultural Influences” National Centre on Education and Training in Addictions (NCETA)

We know the brain has its most rapid physical development between 12-24 years of age. We know between 19-23 per cent of adolescents engage in binge drinking and 1 in 5 teenagers between 16-17 years old drink at least weekly. Alcohol as a neurotoxin has an effect upon young brains in the area known as the amygdala, which controls rewards, gratification and risk taking. It also affects the prefrontal cortex which is responsible for planning, logic, and judgement. These facts make for a compelling case for decision makers to do something!

What needs to be done? There needs to be a debate as to whether the legal age of drinking should be raised. Many in the community feel it wouldn’t work and may be a waste of time. Yet given what we know about the effect of alcohol on developing brains – and on young people’s impulsiveness and risk taking behaviour – wouldn’t the debate be worthwhile in possibly reducing the effects of alcohol on young people’s health and welfare?

Parents also need to be vigilant in recognising their responsibility in this issue. Young people’s attitudes towards drinking are affected profoundly by parental attitudes to drinking. We as adults cannot over indulge in our own drinking and believe it does not affect our children. We cannot hold onto the rationale that it is better to give alcohol to our underage children because it’s better if they obtain it at home because they are going to drink anyway.

In addition, we – as parents, as a society – should not promote and sanction events which “normalise” binge drinking, fuelling anti-social behaviour! In this respect “Schoolies Week” is as good an example you can get of the establishment (state governments, local councils, the police and event managers) sponsoring an activity which promotes binge drinking! Official involvement does not seem to have reduced alcohol-related harm, with reports that this year’s schoolies on the Gold Coast are the “drunkest ever” and arrests are up two-fold.

If we look at what strategies have had a significant impact on curtailing unwanted behaviours which were a threat to public health and welfare, two examples may give us a direction to follow.

The first is the introduction of Random Breath Testing. It curtailed significantly the number of injuries and fatalities caused by persons who were under the influence while driving a motor vehicle. It also caused a major shift in people’s attitudes to driving while under the influence.

The second initiative has been the Quit Smoking campaigns. Health officers in all States and Territories deemed it in the best interest of the general public to ban and/or limit smoking in public places. This has resulted in a significant decline in the rates of smoking within the general population. Underpinning both of these initiatives has been willingness on the part of those who sponsored them to use public education campaigns to accomplish longitudinal gains in the first instance. However, just as important were the implementation of appropriate sanctions and/or penalties in support of the education campaigners. It is my belief it is worth the possibility of protestations in the short term as to the merits of lifting the drinking age in order to ensure the long term health and welfare of our young people.

As Abraham Lincoln said: “The probability that we may fall in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just!”

Alcohol in Sport

There has always been an association between alcohol and sport as far back as I can remember. When I was a child growing up in Detroit, Michigan in the United States, all the professional sporting teams were sponsored by brewing companies. The Detroit Tigers baseball team trumpeted the virtues of Carling Black Label beer promoted by a smiling “Mabel” the beer waitress/hostess. The Detroit Lions Gridiron team flew the flag of the then local Stroh’s Brewing Corporation. The renowned Detroit Red Wings ice hockey team was sponsored by Stroh’s as well. When they played either of the two Canadian teams, Montreal or Toronto, on “Hockey Night in Canada” it was the Molson Brewing company which featured prominently.

The relationship between alcohol sponsorship and sport in Australia is very similar to the historical situation I’ve described in the U.S. The names of many of the most prominent alcohol brands in Australia are associated with sports sponsorship. Bundaberg Rum is the major sponsor of the Australian Rugby Union series including the Tri-Nations. Foster’s Brewing is one of the major sponsors of this year’s Cricket Australia tours. Toohey’s sponsors many of the junior rugby league competitions in southern New South Wales, while Four X and Victoria Bitter have naming rights in other codes. Toohey’s is also a major sponsor of the Wallabies.

The association between alcohol sponsorship and sport fits like hand in glove. Demographic statistics tell us that Australians aged 20-29 are the most likely of all age groups to drink at levels that are risky, or a high risk of harm in the short term (AIHW, 2005). This age group is also the population most likely to participate in sport or physical recreation - (75% of 15-34 year olds according to the ABS, 2007). So there is a natural affinity between Australians in the age group most likely to consume the greatest amount of alcohol, and participate in sport and alcohol sponsorships! It makes perfect sense. What has started to make less sense in recent years has been the negative images and portrayals of the elite athletes whose alcohol fuelled behaviors have tainted their personal reputations, their sporting codes and their respective clubs.

What has changed over the years is the ability of the media to obtain firsthand accounts of any behaviour that is ill warranted and/or controversial. In the past reporting on such behaviour was the sole responsibility of the journalists who travelled with the team and covered their exploits. This exclusive relationship resulted more than likely in the under-reporting or non-reporting of the unsavoury incidents perpetrated by the athletes. In today’s “look at me” world, a number of multimedia devices enable journalists and the general public to act as the eyes and ears of the public at large in reporting the misbehaviours of alcohol affected athletes!

Another factor contributing to the growing public disquiet around athletes and drunken behaviour is the amount of money many elite athletes are paid. The average Australian can no longer accept the behaviour exhibited by athletes who are paid in the hundreds of thousands of dollars! Finally, the public perception that somehow these athletes are not accountable for their actions due to the lack of consequences, or minimal consequences has reached breaking point.

There have been a series of incidents which have fuelled the public’s backlash. In Rugby League in the recent past the Canterbury Bulldogs players were accused of sexually assaulting a woman at a hotel resort. A police investigation followed but there were no arrests. Two West’s Tigers players, Craig Field and Kevin McGuiness were suspended after their drinking led to the consumption of cocaine. The Newcastle Knights were allegedly involved in a scandal involving several payers who were drunk and one of the group sexually assaulted a young woman.

This year Greg Bird, star halfback for the Cronulla Sharks, assaulted his girlfriend with a broken glass while he was drunk. Another Cronulla player was videotaped in a drunken stupor at a shopping mall unable to maintain his balance, falling to the pavement with a female companion. Three players from the Brisbane Broncos were accused of allegedly sexually assaulting a young woman in the toilet of a Brisbane hotel. No charges were filed. Bronco’s captain, Darren Lockyer was shown misbehaving while under the influence of alcohol at a Brisbane hotel. Lockyer had denied the incident occurred initially.

The coach of the Sydney Roosters, Brad Fittler had gone to the room of a young woman dressed only in his underwear while drunk. Fittler said he had mistaken the woman’s room for his own! Finally, Rooster forward Nate Miles, while drunk defecated in the hallway of a hotel after trying to gain entry to a room inhabited by a family of four!

There is an attitude and culture surrounding elite athletes and their drinking that needs to be addressed. It is not confined to one code, and although Rugby League is featured prominently in this commentary, similar incidents have been exposed in the Australian Football League and cricket. In addition to the public backlash and outrage, major sponsors have started to threaten to withdraw their patronage. In one case, LG terminated their sponsorship of the Cronulla Sharks after the disclosure of the sex scandal surrounding former Cronulla player and media commentator, Matthew Johns.

It will not be until the owners, administrators and coaches of these elite athletes realise they are in the most at risk demographic for alcohol misuse that things will change. There needs to be a concerted effort to change the attitude and culture towards alcohol in sport, which has prevailed for far too long. If not, to take off the Victoria Bitter commercial, “Sport is feeling a long, long thirst that they can feel coming now! It’s the thirst caused by the lack of sponsorship dollars!”

References

Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) 2007, Participation in Sports and Physical Recreation, ABS, Canberra.

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) 2005, 2004 National Drug Strategy Household Survey : First Results, AIHW, Canberra.

James A Pitts, MA
Chief Executive Officer
Odyssey House

Alcohol - Why is it so popular? And useful facts you should know

Alcohol has been used by mankind for over 8000 years. It is the most widely used mood altering recreational drug in Australia, with 90% of the population having drunk it at some time during their life. So what accounts for the popularity of alcohol?

Alcohol is legal, which means it is available to the majority of adults who wish to purchase it at any number of outlets. Alcohol is widely advertised and marketed to consumers, and alcohol manufacturers are major sponsors of everything from national sporting, social and cultural events to individuals, local sports clubs and pub competitions.

The consumption of alcohol is embedded within Australian society as a celebratory and social activity. Alcohol is an integral part of sporting functions, birthdays, weddings, funerals and work related functions, and getting drunk is seen as a rite of passage by many young people.

Alcohol, when drunk responsibly, can produce a sense of relaxation, wellbeing and even euphoria in individuals, which enhances their enjoyment of whatever activity they are participating in. This is because alcohol is a central nervous system depressant and directly affects those parts of the brain which regulate emotion, memory, co-ordination and planning. It is rapidly absorbed into the blood stream and affects almost all of the body’s cells and systems. Consequently, for the majority of people who drink alcohol responsibly, it can act as a disinhibiting agent. This may allow them to ‘let their hair down’, feel more socially adept and reduce the anxiety they may feel in social situations. This is why alcohol is known as a ‘social lubricant’! It’s fast acting and loosens a person up so their interaction with their environment and other people seems to occur more smoothly and with a greater degree of pleasure. However, too much alcohol can cause concern.

I was recently a guest on the national ABC Radio program, 'Nightlife', hosted by Tony Delroy, in which we discussed alcohol at length and then opened the lines to talkback callers. One of the first questions I was asked was, “How does a person know when they have an alcohol problem?” As I have said, the vast majority of Australians drink responsibly. However, for some people alcohol can become a major issue in many aspects of their lives.

Some people drink in an attempt to self-medicate personal problems or perceived deficiencies in their lives, and use alcohol to ‘numb the pain’ and avoid thinking about their situation. Domestic violence, abuse, family problems, divorce, bullying, low self-esteem, health issues, unemployment, financial stress – alcohol can be seen as an escape for a while.
For other people, the reasons for alcohol dependence are less obvious and may be associated not with negative personal triggers, but with our drinking culture. Their dependence often develops when the positive effects of alcohol – such as a sense of relaxation, more confidence - become more prominent and the person comes to see alcohol as an essential component of their enjoyment of activities such as attending sporting events, getting together with friends, even relaxing after a hard day’s work.

Regardless of the reasons behind their drinking, as a person drinks more, they develop a tolerance to the effects of alcohol, and have to drink greater quantities of alcohol more frequently to achieve the same positive effects they used to receive from drinking. After a while, drinking alcohol may start to feature more prominently in the person’s life as an activity in its own right, supplanting time usually spent with family, friends and associates; and adversely affecting their ability to perform their job or engage in study or leisure activities.

This type of behaviour, coupled with physical manifestations when a person is not drinking such as nausea, anxiety, depression, tremors, sweating, headaches and difficulty sleeping, are warning signs of alcohol withdrawal, which denotes a dependence on alcohol. If these signs are prevalent, the person in question should seek professional help.

In closing, there are some useful facts to be conscious regarding the consumption of alcohol.

•    It takes the body one hour to process one standard drink of alcohol. A standard drink is:
•    One glass (schooner) of light beer (2.7% alcohol)
•    One glass (a middy) of regular beer (4.9%)
•    One 100ml glass of wine (12% alcohol)
•    One 30ml nip of spirits (40% alcohol)
•    A can of ready-to-drink spirits (5% alcohol) is equal to 1.2 standard drinks
•    A can of ready-to-drink spirits (7%) alcohol) is equal to 1.6 – 2.4 standard drinks
•    It is a good idea to alternate your drinks between alcohol and non-alcoholic. Start with water and/or juice.
•    Drink slowly. Sip your drink; don’t down it in gulps.
•    Eat before or while you are drinking. Food in the stomach slows down the rate of absorption of alcohol.
•    Select low alcoholic drinks
•    Avoid rounds or ‘shouts’
•    Drink one drink at a time. Don’t let people ‘top up’ your drink if you haven’t finished it.

(National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, 2008. Pfizer Health Report).

If you are concerned about your level of drinking or that of a friend or loved one, you can access our “Alcohol Insights” link on our web site at http://www.odysseyhouse.org.au and take an anonymous five-minute test called the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). It is self-scoring and will indicate whether you are drinking at moderate, risky, or harmful levels.

Please Drink Responsibly!

James A Pitts, MA
Chief Executive Officer
Odyssey House

Real Men Cook for Odyssey 2011

On Monday August 29th 2011 several high profile Male Celebrities joined forces to support Odyssey House at a fundraising luncheon held at the bel Mondo restaurant located at the Rocks in Sydney.

Real Men Cook identifies the role of men in their families, and also provides an opportunity for all of our guests to rub shoulders with these Celebrities whilst enjoying a fun filled afternoon of fine food and beverages overlooking Sydney Harbour.

Many of the 'Real Men' make return appearances year after year. The contingent who cooked up a storm this year included Better Homes and Garden's Ed Halmagyi, head chef of MuMu restaurant Craig McIndoe, media personalities Simon Marnie, Luke Jacobz, Mark Ferguson, Chris Gray, Justin Melvey and James Tobin who was the MC for the day.

Now in its tenth year, Real Men Cook 2011 was again a great success that raised much needed funds to help Odyssey House continue to help Australians live a drug-free life.

We would like to give a special thanks to everyone that attended Real Men Cook and supported Odyssey House at this fabulous luncheon. Your continuing generosity and support allows Odyssey House to continue its life saving programs which have helped more than 30,000 people with alcohol and other drugs misuse.

Again we thank you and look forward to seeing you at the 2012 Real Men Cook for Odyssey luncheon!!

We would also like to thank our sponsors, celebrity chefs and the Real Men Cook for Odyssey taskforce - Ian Brown, Ben Dalton, Kai Ellman, Tina Green, James Pitts, Carlie Poulden, Sandy Schofield and Jessica Berrell.

Sponsors of 2011 Real Men Cook

Principal Empire http://www.yourempire.com.au

Gold

Lion Nathan and Wingarra
Ben Sherman http://www.bensherman.com
Tupperware http://www.tupperware.com.au
Vintec http://www.vintec.com.au
He Cooks http://www.thecookingschool.com.au

Silver

Andreasen Green - Wholesale nursery http://www.andreasensgreen.com.au
Bel Mondo http://www.belmondo.com.au
Belinda Franks Catering http://www.belindafranks.com.au
Edward Riley - Auctioneer http://www.edwardriley.com.au
Gap Studio's http://www.gapstudios.com.au
Lindt http://www.lindt.com/au

Bronze

Absolute Advisory http://www.absoluteadvisory.com.au
Appletiser http://www.appletiser.com.au
Aria http://www.ariarestaurant.com
Beppis http://www.beppis.com.au
Coogee Sands Hotel http://www.coogeesands.com.au
Fruit Only http://www.fruitonly.com.au
Good Food Magazaines
John Duvall Wines
Pawitra Naturals http://www.pawitranaturals.com.au
Rock Pool http://www.rockpool.com
Roses Only http://www.rosesonly.com.au
Tess Events
Toby's Estate http://www.tobysestate.com.au
Toko http://www.toko.com.au

ATS Treatment Protocol

New Treatment Protocol for Amphetamine-Type Stimulants

ATS Treatment Protocol

Odyssey House McGrath Foundation 2009

AMPHETAMINE‐TYPE STIMULANT USE.
Treatment Protocol in Intervention developed for the use of staff and clinicians working with ATS clients of Therapeutic Communities.

Lynne Magor‐Blatch Project Officer

James A. Pitts Chief Executive Officer

Odyssey House McGrath Foundation

September 2009

Introduction

A new treatment protocol has been developed to meet the particular needs of people who are dependent on amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) and undertaking rehabilitation over several months in a therapeutic community [footnote1] (other forms of ATS treatment are usually much shorter in duration). Amphetamine-type substances are part of the psycho-stimulant group of drugsand include methamphetamine, speed, ice and ecstasy.

ATS users are increasingly presenting to drug treatment services, yet the evidence-base regarding withdrawal and treatment for ATS dependence is limited. ATS use is a unique and complex problem that presents a significant challenge to existing strategies, which in most cases are modelled on opiate and alcohol treatment despite the different physical properties to ATS. There is also a limited range of pharmacotherapies and there is often the compounding need for treatment services to address mental health issues and behaviours associated with ATS use and withdrawal.

The project is the brainchild of Odyssey House CEO James Pitts, who prepared the protocol in collaboration with consultant Clinical Psychologist Lynne Magor-Blatch. It was funded by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing through their National Amphetamine-Type Stimulants Grants Program, established as part of the National Drug Strategy’s ATS Strategy 2008-2011 to enhance the capacity of non-government organisations to respond to the rising demand of users of ATS, particularly in the challenging initial phase of treatment.

The process of developing the protocol involved:
• a literature review of background issues, problems associated with ATS use and current available treatment interventions
• consultation with National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC), other experts on ATS research and members of the Australasian Therapeutic Communities Association (ATCA) through forums in Australia and New Zealand
• the development of a draft protocol, which was trialled in 2009 in two therapeutic communities (Mirikai at Gold Coast, Qld, and Cyrenian House, Perth, WA). The feedback from the trials has been positive. Participants feel they have been greatly assisted in understanding their dependence upon ATS and have been able to learn useful strategies to help them to cope while in treatment.

A further evaluation of the efficacy and outcomes of the protocol will be undertaken by Lynne Magor-Blatch as part of a PhD program through NDARC. Odyssey House staff were involved in the initial consultation and development phases, and Odyssey House residents will be involved in evaluation process.
Mr Pitts presented preliminary details to the European Therapeutic Communities Conference at The Hague, Netherlands, 2-5 June 2009, generating significant interest from delegates and requests for copies of the protocol once released.

The protocol was launched on 16 September at the 2009 ATCA Conference in Canberra by James Pitts, Lynne Magor-Blatch and Professor Margaret Hamilton, executive member of the Australian National Council on Drugs.

Increased ATS dependence

There has been a significant increase in people who have started to use and become dependent upon ATS over the past six to seven years. This has been due to the lack of availability of heroin, which created a vacuum in the drug market that has been filled by ATS.

• More than 1.4 million Australians (6.3%) have tried meth/amphetamine over the course of their lifetime, and approximately 500,000 (2.3%) have used meth/amphetamine in the past 12 months (2007 National Drug Strategy Household Survey).
• In 2004-2005 there were 15,000 recorded drug treatment episodes for amphetamine or methamphetamine in Australia (AIHW, 2006). Amphetamines accounted for the largest
proportion of all drug-induced psychosis hospital separations [footnote 2] from 1999-2000 to 2003-2004, ranging from 41% to 55% respectively (Degenhardt, Rosburgh and McKetin, 2007).
• Amphetamine-type substances were the primary illicit drug for residents entering the Odyssey House rehabilitation program in 2008, accounting for 23 per cent of admissions.

The new ATS treatment protocol is designed specifically for people who are in therapeutic communities where treatment is mid- (3-6 months) to long-term (greater than 6 months) in duration. Other forms of treatment for people dependent upon ATS are usually much shorter in duration and administered in an outpatient setting as a “brief intervention” (2-4 counselling sessions). The protocol has the flexibility to be delivered in a block or as stand-alone sessions.

ATS treatment challenges

Successfully treating people dependent on ATS presents particular challenges:

• Mental health problems are common among more than half of ATS users: underlying the ATS use, caused by the ATS use, and/or caused by withdrawal from ATS. This may result in challenging behaviours that require more time and specialist attention from staff, and can impact on the success of treatment
• The majority of ATS users are polydrug users, with the attendant treatment issues this poses
• Staff report difficulty in engaging and motivating ATS users in treatment, which may adversely affect up to the first 12 weeks of treatment.

Mental illness

A large proportion of ATS-dependent users experience psychological problems, including depression, anxiety or psychosis.

While mental illness may be pre-existing, the psychiatric “bible” DSM-IV-TR describes ten amphetamine-related psychiatric disorders due to ATS intoxication or long-term use. Meth/amphetamine intoxication, particularly when alcohol and other drugs are involved, often results in agitation and aggression and impacts on frontline workers and families. Psychotic-like presentations (hallucinations, delusions) at hospital emergency departments and treatment centres are particularly worrying.

In addition, ceasing ATS use may cause psychological problems such as rebound depression, paranoid or suspicious thoughts, agitation, irritability and sleep disorders, which may persist for several weeks (usually 2-6 weeks, but sometimes up to 12 weeks).

Engagement/motivation

In addition to likely psychological issues, many ATS users have disordered thoughts, have difficulty focusing their attention, and generally need additional assistance to help them settle into a treatment environment and concentrate on recovery.

People with ATS dependence may need assistance to recognise they have a problem and the consequences of that problem on them and the people around them. In addition, many ATS users (and drug users generally) feel guilty and ashamed and may not feel worthy or deserving of recovery. It is important to address these issues early in treatment in order for clients to persist with treatment, become motivated to change, and engage fully with their therapy.

Protocol overview

Application

The new ATS treatment protocol is designed for use in therapeutic communities where treatment is usually longer than three months (e.g. Odyssey House). However, the concepts have wider applications in other treatment settings (including other residential treatment environments and outpatient services), both in Australia and overseas.

The protocol focuses on working with clients within a group setting, which is the hallmark of therapeutic community (TC) treatment, but may also be used in individual applications. While designed with ATS users in mind, the protocol may also be useful in treating clients with other drug problems, given the prevalence of co-existing mental health problems among people entering treatment.

Treatment

Due to the prevalence of psychological issues among ATS users, the protocol emphasises the importance of identifying any mental health issues on admission and treating these accordingly, taking into account the combined effect of ATS use and mental illness. The aim is not only to improve the efficacy of treatment, but also to reduce the risk to staff and other clients. Regardless of the results of initial mental health assessments, staff are also advised to be alert for rebound psychological problems, a common side effect of ceasing ATS use.

After initial assessment and screening for mental health problems, the treatment protocol entails seven therapy sessions to be conducted in the early stages of treatment:

1. Building motivation for change
2. Understanding and coping with cravings
3. How thoughts influence behaviour
4. Understanding feelings: mind/body connection
5. Learning how to deal with anxious thoughts and feelings
6. Understanding and acknowledging core beliefs and values
7. Relapse prevention

The emphasis on starting sessions soon after admission recognises that although the client has made a commitment to enter treatment, their continuation may be influenced negatively by a number of factors, including removal from the drug scene and possible harm, relaxation of family and court pressure, and, very importantly, the loss of coping mechanisms i.e. the drug use that has previously assisted the person to cope with the issues or situations in their lives that they felt unable to deal with.

The sessions utilise a combination of recognised therapies including:

• cognitive behavioural therapy
• motivational interviewing
• mindfulness-based stress reduction
• mindfulness-based cognitive therapy
• acceptance commitment therapy.

Some techniques would already be known to staff, while others may require further training. To assist staff in facilitating sessions, the protocol package contains an overview of each session and worksheets and tip sheets for use with clients.

For further media information or interviews, please contact:
Carol Moore, Moore Public Relations Tel (02) 9560 2826 or 0402 382 363 Email
James Pitts, Odyssey House Tel (02) 9820 9999 or 0411 144 796 Email

To view the complete ATS Protocol please right click the following links and select 'save as' to download the following PDF files.

ATS Protocol Cover Page

ATS Treatment Protocol

ATS Literature Review, Consultations & Trial

Footnotes:

1 The therapeutic community (TC) model is a form of residential rehabilitation in which clients live and work together as a small community and actively participate in all aspects of the program to
help themselves and each other, rather than spending their time alone in a hospital-like setting. Self-help, responsibility and personal growth are emphasised. Clients undertake the rehabilitation
process within a highly structured environment, with treatment and support provided by professional counsellors and medical staff. In order for personal growth to replace drug dependency, clients work to change any negative attitudes and values, confront the reasons they resorted to drug misuse, and learn strategies for dealing with the ups and downs of daily life.

2 Hospital separations refer to the reason for a patient's stay in hospital based on their medical records after treatment has been completed, rather than the reason for admission.

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Odyssey Speaks

Hardly a day goes by without news of Australia’s drug problem: teenage binge drinking, the ‘ice epidemic’, a resurgence in heroin supply, party drugs at festivals, the link between mental illness and drugs...

Odyssey Speaks features regular opinion pieces, articles and presentations on alcohol and other drugs by Odyssey House experts, drawing on more than 30 years of firsthand experience helping 30,000+ Australians overcome drug dependence.

Unlike the song says: Go, go, go! to rehab

On 23 July 2011, singer Amy Winehouse died at her London home at the age of 27, her young life and promising career apparently cut short by misuse of alcohol and other drugs. She had been a star performer with a bright future, winning several Grammy Awards in 2007 for her album “Back to Black”. Since that success, Winehouse unfortunately became known more for her off-stage problems associated with dependence on alcohol and illicit drugs, and over the next four years the public witnessed the graphic demise of a truly talented young woman.

In the aftermath, it’s important to ask ourselves: what are we are able to learn when a high profile personality of Winehouse’s calibre goes astray and her behaviour seemingly leads to an untimely death?

Drugs and drug use, both licit and illicit, are common in our society. For those people who become dependent on drugs, there are very real negative consequences to their health and welfare and to those around them. The old adage that ”Drug abuse touches every strata of society!” is true. However, the people who are most at risk to the adverse consequences of drug abuse are those at the lower end of the socio economic scale.

One of Winehouse’s most successful songs was titled “Rehab”, with the catchy line being her assertion: “They told me to go to rehab and I said no, no, no!” Someone close to her had recognised that Winehouse was suffering due to her use of alcohol and illicit drugs and had encouraged, suggested and exhorted her to go to rehabilitation for help.

There are many people suffering from the same ill effects as Winehouse, and unfortunately many resist the urgings of concerned family and friends when self-help or out-patient counselling doesn’t seem to overcome the problem. While the prospect of taking months out of your life for rehab may be daunting, for some people - particularly those with long-standing drug dependence - residential rehabilitation may well be the answer.

Rehabilitation at an organisation like Odyssey House gives an individual the opportunity to live in an environment free of the negative influences that supported and/or perpetuated their use and dependence upon drugs. They can learn new coping strategies and skills to deal with the underlying emotional conflicts that were the driving forces behind their continued use of drugs despite the obvious negative consequences. This is done with the support of trained professionals in the field of addiction, some of whom have had their own recovery experience. Staff are supported by external consultants in the disciplines of psychiatry, psychology and medicine. Of equal importance is the fact that people undergoing rehabilitation take an active role in the day-to-day management of the program, taking responsibility for themselves and providing support for one another.

I would encourage people to remember Amy Winehouse as a tremendously gifted performer who died much too early. Unlike Amy Winehouse, I would encourage you to take notice if someone who cares about you has encouraged you to seek help, and go to rehab sooner rather than later. As a counter to Winehouse’s exhortation to say “No, no, no!”, I would encourage you to “Go, go, go!”.

James A. Pitts

Chief Executive Officer

Odyssey House

2008 Newsletter Archive

Odyssey House Media Vault

Visit this page for links to the most recent Odyssey House media releases and media mentions.

All media is courtesy of their respective owners. Copyright remains intact.

Please right click on the media title and select 'save as' to access that media.(note:some articles are not available online)

Odyssey In the Media:

Grabbing Attention. Wollondilly Advertiser - April 7, 2010 page 13

Need to bridge gap. Macarthur Advertiser, March 31, 2010 page 8
Being a boy is no walk in the park. SMH - March 27, 2010 page 9
Mornings with Kerri-Anne. Channel 9 - March 18, 2010
Paralympian guest at Women's Day celebration. Macarthur Advertiser- March 17, 2010

Binge Drinking 'often starts with mum and dad' Macarthur Chronicle - February 16, 2010
Hard Workers, Hard Drinkers, The Sun Herald - February 14, 2010

Cocaine. Read this before your next line. Cosmopolitan Magazine - January 2010, pages 76-78.
NSW Govt urged to pulp youth drug guide. NineMSN - January 12, 2010

The Demon Drink. Macarthur Advertiser - December 9, 2009.
Ignore the whines of protest and raise the drinking age forthwith SMH Online - December 9, 2009
Oh, What a Joyous Night of Carols. Macarthur Advertiser - December 9, 2009
Ready for Carols. Macarthur Advertiser - December 2, 2009

Night Life with Tony Delroy 702 ABC radio - October 26, 2009
Worthwhile odyssey.Macarthur Advertiser - October 21, 2009
Vital centre to celebrate at open day. Macarthur Chronicle - October 20, 2009

Events to cut stigma. Macarthur Advertiser - September 23, 2009
Glittering night for all concerned. Macarthur Chronicle- September 22, 2009
Our major prize winners. Macarthur Chronicle- September 22, 2009
Poidevin flying flag for charity ride. Goulburn Post - September 9, 2009
Breakfast host airs high hopes. Macarthur Advertiser- September 9, 2009

FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Question’s)

This page will display Frequently Asked Question's.

To submit a question please visit the Website Feedback page located here

2006 Newsletters Archive

About Us

A Message from the CEO

There are no easy answers to the problems of drug misuse in our society and the reality is that drug problems are not confined to an isolated few.

However, research has consistently shown that drug rehabilitation can work.

Since Odyssey House's inception in Australia over thirty years ago, it has helped more than 30,000 people with drug and alcohol problems.

The drug and alcohol programs offered by Odyssey House help to provide a 'A Calm in the Sea of Addiction' for thousands of drug affected men and women and their families.

Every resident involved in the program must confront the reason why they resorted to an addictive lifestyle. Residents are also taught alternative ways of dealing with the ups and downs of daily life.

Odyssey House not only saves lives, but also saves the community substantial amounts of money. After completing the Odyssey House program, residents are likely to live longer, lessen their drug use, reduce crime and ease demands on health and community services.

The Odyssey House McGrath Foundation is a registered charity, that requires the support and generosity of businesses and the general community to maintain the level and quality of its vital, life saving programs.

James A Pitts, M.A.
Chief Executive Officer

Odyssey House was founded in 1977 and provides residential and non-residential rehabilitation programs for men and women with alcohol and other drug misuse. When appropriate, the dependent children of residents participating in the program may also receive accommodation and support to help minimise the adverse effects of their parent's problems.

Our Mission Statement:

Odyssey House McGrath Foundation is a not for profit organisation dedicated to the provision of a dynamic and diverse range of services to the client populations who utilise our services. Our programs assist the participating individuals overcome their dependencies upon harmful external agents by empowering them through the concept of self-help and the ability to integrate, live within and contribute to the community at large.

The treatment method used at Odyssey House is unique in that it treats addiction, drug misuse and associated types of anti-social behaviour as being symptomatic of underlying causes and manages clients accordingly.

There are four basic rules that all Odyssey House residents must follow. They are:

No alcohol or other drugs
No violence
No sex
No stealing

Violation of these rules may result in exclusion from the program.

The value system that all residents are encouraged to adopt is based on Love, Trust, Honesty, Responsibility and Concern.

The Odyssey concepts by which residents live, include such basic beliefs as:

Drugs are just the symptom of underlying problems
Everything received at Odyssey House must be earned
The basis for treatment is feeling good about yourself
Personal responsibility and honesty are vital
Being popular is less important than being respected

The Odyssey House rehabilitation and counselling programs are rigorous. All participating clients undergoing the process of rehabilitation are expected to participate in all areas of the program to the best of their abilities.

Every resident involved in the program must address the reasons why they resorted to an addictive lifestyle. Residents are also taught alternative ways of dealing with the ups and downs of daily life.

The residential treatment program at Odyssey House applies a comprehensive rehabilitation approach to alcohol other drugs misuse in order for personal growth to replace dependency.

Our stakeholders

Tharawal Aboriginal Corporation(link http://www.tacams.com.au/contact_us.html)
DAWN Housing
Argyle Housing
Illawarra Aboriginal Medical Service
Family Drug Support (link http://www.fds.org.au/)

Odyssey Success

Odyssey success stories

Aley's road to recovery from alcohol misuse

Aley, as she is known affectionately to all at Odyssey, is 21 years old. She looks, sounds and acts like your typical young Australian woman. However, unlike many other young people her age, Aley has had to overcome some significant difficulties in her life.

Aley's parents migrated to Australia from Chile and both worked hard to secure a future for their children. Aley found her activities as a young child limited due to her father's English language skills and his drinking. The one activity Aley was good at was swimming and from the age of four she showed not only promise, but also the potential to be a champion!

Aley's father placed tremendous expectations upon her to win at swimming. More and more of her time was devoted to swimming carnivals at the expense of forming friendships. In most cases Aley did well at the carnivals, finishing first. But when she finished second or third her father wouldn't speak to her for weeks. As Aley said, "It took all of the fun out of it".

At 15, Aley's life was to change significantly and forever. Her environment at home remained chaotic and insecure due to the increase in her father's drinking. Aley tried to escape by spending as much time away from home as possible. On one of these occasions she was sexually assaulted. Aley tried to cope with the assault as best she could, but eventually started to drink, take pills and engage in violent behaviour.

Amid the chaos, and adding to it, was the discovery her mother had cancer. Aley was 17 at the time and, due to the fear she might lose her mother, descended into a spiral of further drunkenness. Her father said that if his wife died it would be due to Aley's behaviour. Aley attempted suicide on a few occasions before she was taken to a psychiatric unit where she was a self-described "mess". Her doctor recommended she contact the Odyssey House residential rehabilitation program to assist with her alcohol dependence.

At Odyssey House, Aley's confidence began to grow. She was given a job assignment in the kitchen where she had to learn to be responsible. "I didn't even know how to peel a potato!" Aley learnt how to communicate, negotiate and become responsible.

Aley graduated from Odyssey House in 2007 and is now working in the retail sector and studying human services part-time at university.

Alcohol Insights FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions about Alcohol

Q. What is a standard drink?

A standard drink contains 10 grams of pure alcohol; the number of standard drinks in a container of alcohol is indicated on the label. In practical terms, a standard drink is equal to:

    * one small glass of wine (100ml)
    * one 30ml nip of spirits or one mixed drink with 30ml spirits
    * two 285ml middies/pots/schooners of light beer (2.7% alcohol)
    * one 375ml can or 1.6 middies of mid-strength beer (3.5%)
    * one 285ml middy of full-strength beer (4.9%)
    * ¾ of a 330ml bottle of ‘alcopop'.

Q. What are the Australian guidelines for low-risk drinking?

The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) currently recommends that healthy men and women consume no more than two standard drinks per day in order to reduce the lifetime risk of harm from alcohol-related disease or injury. The lifetime risk of harm from drinking alcohol increases with the amount consumed.

On any single occasion, the NHMRC recommends men and women consume no more than four standard drinks on any one occasion in order to reduce the risk of short-term alcohol-related injury or harm. While the term binge drinking is most often used to describe drinking heavily over a short period, drinking continuously over a number of days or weeks is also considered binge drinking.

Young people under the age of 18 are advised that not drinking alcohol is the safest option. Children under the age of 15 are at greatest risk of harm from alcohol consumption - early alcohol and other drug use can cause serious damage in the formative years when the brain is hard-wired for life and most learning and emotional development is supposed to occur. Delaying the age of initiation of drinking for as long as possible reduces the likelihood of harm and may prevent problems with alcohol misuse in adulthood.

For women who are planning a pregnancy, pregnant or breastfeeding, the NHMRC recommends not drinking as the safest option.

Q. What is alcohol dependence?

People who regularly drink to excess may become physically and/or psychologically dependent on alcohol. They may find alcohol becomes more important than other aspects of their lives, or their body gets so used to functioning with alcohol that they cannot do without it. It can range from mild dependency to compulsive drinking or alcoholism.

Q. What harmful effects can alcohol have on health?

Long-term alcohol consumption at harmful or hazardous levels (more than 8 on the AUDIT) can damage many parts of the body, including the liver, pancreas, stomach, esophagus, and brain; memory problems and behavioural changes are often some of the first signs of serious alcohol dependence, along with the effects of poor nutrition caused by excessive drinking.

Emotional difficulties, anxiety and depression have also been linked with heavy drinking, although it is not always clear whether alcohol misuse is the cause and/or the consequence of mental health problems.

Binge drinking can result in acute intoxication, not only putting the person's health at risk, but also potentially leading them to engage in dangerous behaviours that may harm themselves and others. Alcohol poisoning can cause liver failure, brain damage, coma or death.

Q. How does one withdraw from alcohol?

A person who is physically dependent on alcohol should seek medical advice before suddenly stopping drinking, particularly if they are a heavy drinker. As the body adjusts to functioning without alcohol, the person can experience side effects such as tremors, mental confusion, cramps or convulsions. A medically supervised detoxification service can assist in managing the symptoms experienced during withdrawal, which may take from one to two weeks.

Q. What happens in a residential rehabilitation program and how does it work?

Residential rehabilitation involves living at a facility - often for several months - to receive treatment for drug or alcohol dependence, usually after a period of detoxification. Research shows that the longer a person remains in rehabilitation, the better their chances of remaining abstinent in the long term.

At Odyssey House, residents live and work together as a small, highly structured "therapeutic community" with approximately 100 clients and a supportive team of professional counsellors and medical staff.

Odyssey House treats the misuse of alcohol and other drugs as symptomatic of underlying personal problems. These problems must be addressed to successfully overcome dependence in the long term. Clients work to change any negative attitudes and values, confront the reasons why they resorted to drug misuse, and learn strategies for dealing with the ups and downs of daily life.

The therapeutic services provided at Odyssey House include:

    * extended group therapy specific to each level of the program
    * one-on-one counselling
    * specialist group therapy for clients with co-existing mental health conditions
    * cognitive behavioural therapy
    * psychological and psychiatric services
    * domestic violence and sexual abuse counselling
    * anger management groups
    * parenting skills training
    * assertiveness trainin
    * vocational counselling.

Our results show that rehabilitation works! More than 70 per cent of graduates from the Odyssey House program remain drug-free and alcohol-free three years later, according to independent research.

Useful Links

    * Alcohol and Drug Information Service: 02 9361 8000 or 1800 422 599 (for callers outside Sydney); see Yellow Pages for other states
    * Alcohol Guidelines (Federal Department of Health & Ageing): http://www.alcohol.gov.au
    * Australian Drug Foundation: http://www.adf.org.au
    * Australian Drug Information Network: http://www.adin.com.au
    * Australian Institute of Health and Welfare: http://www.aihw.gov.au
    * Australian National Council on Drugs: http://www.ancd.org.au
    * Alcohol and other Drugs Council of Australia: http://www.adca.org.au
    * National Drug & Alcohol Research Centre: http://www.ndarc.nsw.edu.au
    * National Health & Medical Research Council: http://www.nhmrc.gov.au
    * Odyssey House: http://www.odysseyhouse.com.au

2000 Newsletters Archive

Odyssey House Newsletter 2000 Issue Number 1
Odyssey House Newsletter 2000 Issue Number 2
Odyssey House Newsletter 2000 Issue Number 3
Odyssey House Newsletter 2000 Issue Number 4

2001 Newsletters Archive

2002 Newsletters Archive

2003 Newsletters Archive

Odyssey House Newsletter 2003 Issue Number 1
Odyssey House Newsletter 2003 Issue Number 2
Odyssey House Newsletter 2003 Issue Number 3
Odyssey House Newsletter 2003 Issue Number 4

2004 Newsletters Archive

2007 Newsletters Archive

2005 Newsletters Archive

Newsletters

Past and current newsletters are available for download here.

2011

2010

If you would like to view any of our past newsletters, please visit the 'archive' section to the right.

Register your interest in attending an Odyssey House event

Odyssey House hosts many fundraising activities to help support and maintain the high quality of life saving programs that Odyssey House has to offer. These programs assist clients overcome their drug and alcohol addiction and have since 1977.

Please enter your contact details in the form below and be sure to include the event name/s that you would like to register your interest for.

Current event registrations are being accepted for the following events:

The Australian Fund Manager Awards - Thursday 27th October, 2011

Odyssey House Open Day- Sunday 30th October, 2011

Other Odyssey events throughout the year that you maybe interested in include:

Odyssey House Ladies Luncheon

Real Men Cook

The Paradice Investment Management Goulburn to Sydney Charity Ride

News & Events

Dual Diagnosis

Discussion as to the relevance of the psychiatric diagnoses to the interaction of individual residents within the therapeutic community will be provided. In addition, specific intervention strategies will be detailed which arise from the diagnostic criteria. These include modifications to treatment and action planning and the determination of the need for and maintenance of psycho tropic medication for selected residents.

Group visits to Odyssey House

We regularly provide facility tours for groups from various organisations, educational departments and stakeholders on an as needed basis.

If you would like to request a tour please contact us by email.

Group sizes generally range between 10-25 people.

Please include your contact details and which organisation you are from, as well as how many would like to attend.

We will do our best to accommodate your preferred date.

Special Note: As this is a medicated treatment facility, no medication (including cough drops) can be brought onto the treatment facility.

It is recommended that your medication be left in your vehicle.

James

Hi — my name is James and I entered Odyssey House in December 2000 as a referral from the NSW Drug Court.

Before I came to Odyssey House, I thought I'd spend two days and then leave. But as soon as I walked in the door I instantly felt a sense of belonging and warmth that I have been desperately searching for all my life.

My mother was 18 and single when she had me. We lived at my grandmother's house until I was four and then my mother married a man who turned out to be violent towards me.

Looking back, I didn't have the sense of love and belonging that I needed as a child. Unfortunately, it was clear that I wasn't the most important person in my parent's life and I misbehaved at school to get the attention that was missing at home.

When I was 12, my stepfather left the family home but I had already started to have major behavioral problems.

I had a lot of anger and started truanting from school and getting into trouble with my mates. My mother sent me to a refuge at Auburn when I was 14. The strange thing was that I actually liked it at the refuge as I got on with the other kids and it was happier than being at home.

I left school, spent a year at the refuge and worked in a variety of jobs. However at 15, when I became a ward of the state, I started smoking marijuana and began to commit crime. My downward spiral escalated and by my 18th birthday I was in jail and had a heroin addiction.

I spent two years in jail and then lived with my older sister and her boyfriend for six months. I was working but was still using heroin, marijuana and ecstasy. I committed a break and enter and my case was diverted to the Drug Court.

A decision was made that I would undertake the drug rehabilitation program at Odyssey House.

Since I've been at Odyssey House, I've learned that I'm not the person that my parents treated me as. I look back and believe that I missed out on the character building that I needed as a child and as a result, I acted like somebody else to survive.

I have since discovered my true self and I am excited at my future. I officially graduated from the Drug Court in April 2002.

Odyssey House is the school that I attended to change my life — I facilitated the change but I feel that I couldn't have done it anywhere else.

I have remained drug-free for two years and recently completed a cooking apprenticeship at TAFE. I am now working full-time as a cook.

Please support Odyssey House and help make a difference to people like me.

Steve

Hi — my name is Steve and I am 39 years of age. Thanks to the inspirational drug rehabilitation programs at Odyssey House, I have been successful in overcoming a decade long struggle of an addiction to heroin.

I grew up in a loving, nurturing and stimulating household with educated, successful and loving parents. My father was a senior government bureaucrat and my mother is a Doctor. My two younger sisters and I were always encouraged to do our best and be happy with what we achieved.

During my childhood, my family spent over three years living in Washington DC and then returned to Melbourne, where I went to an exclusive private boys school.

I found myself immersed in a culture of enormous wealth and although I knew this didn't make me happy, it was my reality.

I completed high school in 1980 and got the marks to do whatever university course I wanted. I moved to Sydney and started studying for a Bachelor of Economics degree. I continued to live a shallow life and it was around this time that I first tried heroin.

After completing my degree, I gained a position at a large computer company in sales and marketing and quickly moved through the ranks.

My life outside work was one of indulgence. I was partying hard, spending all my money and living the high life. I was also smoking pot and snorting cocaine like there was no tomorrow.

My drug use continued over many years. After receiving a redundancy from work, I married and went overseas. On returning to Australia, my addiction escalated at a rapid rate — I had no purpose and no integrity. My soul felt tired.

After my marriage ended, I moved back in with my parents and my life continued to go downhill until I entered the Odyssey House program.

My year and a half stay at Odyssey House was an incredibly grounding experience.

I am now able to make the choices as to where my life goes. I have learnt to handle the everyday frustrations that life dishes up, without becoming overwhelmed. I have also learnt that money, luxuries and status don't result in happiness. Happiness comes from within.

Today, I couldn't be happier. I have a place of my own and am working for Odyssey House as a counsellor.

I have finally become a complete person - there are no empty spaces to fill with drugs or the other artificial realities that I indulged in. Drug use is no longer a choice for me.

Josh

Hi — my name is Josh.

I am 25 years old and had been in the drug rehabilitation program at Odyssey House for over a year.

I started taking speed, acid and ecstasy at 14 years of age. My drug use started recreationally — I would go to rave parties on the weekends with friends and use drugs.

I lived with my family in Neutral Bay until I was 18 and then moved out of home to Surry Hills. Having scored 94.5 in my HSC, I was accepted into a Bachelor of Arts, Visual Communication degree at the University of Sydney.

A year and a half into my degree, I left to pursue my love of graphic design. By this stage, I was using drugs on a daily basis. I was barely eating or sleeping but I still managed to study or work. I had convinced my parents that my drug use was under control.

It was when I started using heroin at the age of 21 that my family became really concerned and knew things weren't good.

Looking back it was a self-esteem issue. I had massive expectations of myself and also projected my high expectations on to others.

Odyssey House has succeeded in helping me keep clean for the first time in over 10 years. I finally came to the conclusion that I couldn't do it on my own anymore.

For the first time in a long while my parents are able to go to sleep at night knowing that I am safe. I have restored my relationship with them and my younger sister and feel that I am no longer the black sheep in the family.

I have a sense of optimism. I know life without drugs is now a possibility — I can make my life what I want it to be.

For over two years, before I went to bed I would say to myself I'm not going to use drugs tomorrow. I fully believed my promise to myself but would always wake up and start using drugs again. Odyssey House has given me the tools to learn to live without drugs.

Please offer your financial support to Odyssey House and help other young adults like me beat their addiction. Your help could save a life; just like Odyssey House has saved mine.

Employment Opportunities

Odyssey House is one of the most successful drug rehabilitation centers in Australia. Since its inception, Odyssey House has helped change the lives of over 30,000 drug addicted Australians and over 1,000 children of drug addicted parents. After graduating from the Odyssey House drug rehabilitation program, 75 per cent of cases remain drug and crime free after a one year period.

Odyssey House is a source of optimism that provides daily stories of courage and inspiration. Drug mis-users come from all walks of life and Odyssey House graduates now include doctors, nurses, public service workers, builders, teachers, business people, laborers and drug and alcohol workers. Odyssey House has enabled these people to return to life and become productive members of society.

Site Map

Privacy Policy

ODYSSEY HOUSE is strongly committed to protecting your privacy while interacting with our content, products and services. We want to provide a safe and secure environment for you and your children.

ODYSSEY HOUSE is concerned about protecting the safety and privacy of young people using our services. We encourage you to participate in your child's online experience.

The purpose of this Privacy Policy is to tell you what kind of information we may gather about you when you visit our site, how we may use that information, whether we disclose it to anyone, and the choices you have regarding our use of, and your ability to correct this information. Our policy allows you to choose what kind and how much information you provide to us and to control how we use whatever information you give us. Our goal is to provide you with a satisfying experience while allowing you to control your privacy and to give you a means to voice any questions or concerns you may have.

This policy applies only to ODYSSEY HOUSE Online and not to other companies' or organisations' websites to which ODYSSEY HOUSE Online is linked.

Please note that the ODYSSEY HOUSE has additional information about how it deals with privacy and personal information you provide ODYSSEY HOUSE Online when dealing with the ODYSSEY HOUSE.

Collection of information

Information is collected from you primarily to make it easier and more rewarding for you to use our services. Depending on the service you are accessing, you could be asked to provide information such as your name, email address or information about what you like and do not like. It is entirely your choice whether to respond to these questions or not.

ODYSSEY HOUSE Online collects two types of information. The first type is anonymous information. For instance, we may collect information to tell us that five thousand people visit this Privacy Policy today, but we do not know their names, where they live or their date of birth - they are 'anonymous' to us. Another example of ODYSSEY HOUSE Online collecting anonymous information is when ODYSSEY HOUSE audiences are invited to respond to surveys on the ODYSSEY HOUSE website. The surveys may ask you for demographic information such as your age, gender and postcode. This information is collected for research purposes, is used in the aggregate (where possible), and remains anonymous. Many of the individuals who access our services are anonymous to us.

The second type of information that ODYSSEY HOUSE Online collects is personal information. ODYSSEY HOUSE Online will collect personal information that lets us know the specifics of who you are such as your name, email address, or postal address, when you provide it to us. With this information, ODYSSEY HOUSE Online can provide a variety of personalised and enhanced services that are not available to anonymous users. We hope that you will find it beneficial to provide individually identifiable information about yourself to us because it will make our services more valuable to you.

Sometimes, we may specifically ask for personal information about you when you sign up to use a service. Certain information may be required, such as your name, age, internet address or screen name, billing address, type of computer, credit card number, in order to provide that service or product to you. This information may also be used to inform you of additional products and services which may interest you. You can choose not to receive such information when you are undertaking product or service registration on our website. We may also ask about your interests, but it is your choice whether to respond.

How much of your personal information that you choose to disclose to ODYSSEY HOUSE Online is completely up to you. The only way we know something about you personally is if you provide it to us, for example when you take part in a discussion forum or enter one of the competitions on our websites.

Use of anonymous information

ODYSSEY HOUSE Online automatically gathers anonymous information to monitor the use of ODYSSEY HOUSE Online like the numbers and frequency of visitors to ODYSSEY HOUSE Online and its areas, very much like television ratings that tell the networks how many people tuned in to a program. We only use such data in the aggregate. This collective data helps us determine how much our audiences use parts of the site, so we can improve ODYSSEY HOUSE Online to assure that it is as appealing as we can make it for as many users as possible. ODYSSEY HOUSE Online may publish or provide this aggregate data to other people.

Use of personal information

ODYSSEY HOUSE Online will only use the personal information you have chosen to provide us for the purpose for which you provided it. ODYSSEY HOUSE Online will not use it for any other purpose without your consent.

Cookies

For information about cookies on ODYSSEY HOUSE Online see this page.

The ODYSSEY HOUSE site currently uses cookies.

Disclosure

There will be occasions where it will be necessary for the ODYSSEY HOUSE to disclose your personal information to third parties. The ODYSSEY HOUSE may be required by law to disclose the information, or the ODYSSEY HOUSE may be required to disclose your personal information to third parties to provide the service you have requested. However, the disclosure will only be made where it is necessary to fulfil the purpose for which you disclosed your personal information. Otherwise than stated above, we do not disclose personal information that you may give us, such as your name, address, email address or telephone number, to any organisation or person outside of ODYSSEY HOUSE unless you have authorised us to do so. For example, when you contribute to an online forum you may want to publish your name and email address.

No sale of personal information

Under no circumstances will ODYSSEY HOUSE sell or receive payment for licensing or disclosing your personal information.

Interacting with ODYSSEY HOUSE Online

There are many interactive features on ODYSSEY HOUSE Online that you can contribute to. These include: online donations, Event Diaries, Reviews, Community, Mailing Lists and Email.

When interacting with ODYSSEY HOUSE Online, we suggest that you use your discretion and exercise caution when providing your personal information.

Note that whenever you post personal information in publicly accessible places, such as chat rooms or message boards, this information becomes available to anyone with access to the internet. This information can be collected and used by others. In short, if you post personal information online that is accessible to the public, you may receive unsolicited messages from other parties in return. Therefore, we recommend that you refrain from posting any information that you do not want seen in these public areas. For example, when participating in an ODYSSEY HOUSE forum, guest book or chat area, your name will appear on the message board. The ODYSSEY HOUSE recommends that applicants registering online do not use their real names, but a pen name or pseudonym. You must not intentionally use the name of another living person.

Ultimately, you are solely responsible for maintaining the secrecy of your passwords and/or any personal information. Be responsible whenever you are online.

Access and correction: personal data

If ODYSSEY HOUSE Online holds your personal information the ODYSSEY HOUSE will where possible provide you with access to the information. The ODYSSEY HOUSE will take reasonable steps to correct the information so that it is accurate, complete and up to date.

Security

The ODYSSEY HOUSE operates secure data networks that are designed to protect your privacy and security.

Complaints about privacy

If you have any complaints relating to online privacy issues on our websites, please notify ODYSSEY HOUSE Online. While the ODYSSEY HOUSE accepts no liability for any material or links posted to the service, we will investigate all complaints.

Changes to ODYSSEY HOUSE Online privacy policy

If we decide to change the ODYSSEY HOUSE Online Privacy Policy, we will post those changes here.

Website Feedback

Please email us at:

We are always trying to improve the structure and content of our website. If you have any suggestions or problems, please use the website questionnaire form below. Please read our privacy statement before sending comments.

We are particularly keen to know:

what you are looking for on the site
whether you found it
whether you had problems finding it and what they were
whether you had any technical difficulties
if you used a search facility—what you were looking for, the search terms you used and whether the system found what you wanted
how you think the site could be improved.
what you liked

We check feedback each day, if you would like us to contact you about an issue please include your email address or office phone number. We look forward to hearing from you.

Withdrawal Unit

The Withdrawal Unit is able to accommodate up to twelve people in need of medically supervised detoxification. The program is staffed by qualified registered and enrolled nurses on a twenty four hour basis. All clients are reviewed and assessed by a Doctor to determine the appropriate detoxification regime.

The person undergoing the detoxification has a choice of medical or non-medical detoxification, both of which are under supervision.

The program lasts from seven to ten days and includes a social and medical assessment, an individually suited withdrawal regime as well as a supportive individual and group counselling. Participants are also taught relaxation techniques and receive educational information on relapse prevention.

Participants in the Odyssey House residential drug rehabilitation program provide much needed emotional support to those undergoing detoxification.

Acupuncture, art therapy and group sessions are also part of the techniques used to assist individuals reach a successful conclusion to their detoxification.

Clients of the Withdrawl Unit have an opportunity to be referred to the Odyssey House residential program or other alcohol and drug programs at the completion of their detoxification.

Over sixty five percent of people who have entered the Odyssey House detoxification program have completed it successfully. Of those over thirty percent have chosen to enter the residential program.

Parent’s and Children’s Program

It is a program dedicated to specifically meeting the needs of the parent with their rehabilitation and the young child with their schooling, emotional and physical development.
There are no easy answers to the problems of drug misuse in our society and the reality is that drug problems are not confined to an isolated few.

The program includes counselling for parents, group therapy and parent educational groups.

Parents are encouraged to send their children to a local day care facility where they are provided with supervised play and recreational activities. Odyssey House staff co-ordinate outings and holiday programs for parents and their children.
Other services include:

Interventions, when needed, to ensure the health and safety of the child
Liaison with specialist paediatric, psychiatric, psychological and medical services
Supervised supportive accommodation for residents and their child whilst in treatment and as needed in the community welfare groups
Liaison with other community welfare groups
Liaison with partners of residents in treatment
Liaison with government departments including Community Services

When parents finish their own drug rehabilitation and can demonstrate they have achieved confidence and responsibility towards the upbringing of their child they are encouraged to move into community housing with the support of Odyssey House and also have the option of ongoing support through our After Care program.

Progressive Learning Centre

The Progressive Learning Centre is an educational unit, which is an integral component of the residential program available at Odyssey House. The Progressive Learning Centre aims to provide educational experiences, which assist clients to live in the wider community without the influence of alcohol or drugs.

The Progressive Learning Centre is dynamic and innovative in meeting clients varying needs and is an important facet of the therapeutic program. The objectives of the Progressive Learning Centre are three-fold:

To promote personal growth
To develop social skills
To provide opportunity for educational advancement

The Progressive Learning Centre is accredited and run by qualified staff.

For residents who have not had the opportunity to acquire basic skills, remedial classes in English and Maths are provided to help residents build confidence and tackle other challenges. The creative courses offered provide residents with the opportunity to experience new methods of self-expression in a non-threatening environment.

For residents wishing to explore new vocational avenues, an introduction to computing course is offered.

As progress is made through each stage of the rehabilitation program, residents participate in interactive courses aimed at developing self understanding and positive interpersonal skills. As residents enter the latter stages of the program, a vocational guidance and job seeking seminar is presented.

Outings to art galleries, exhibitions and theatre productions all form part of the educational program and are very popular. Other activities which promote constructive self expression and enhance self esteem are also offered.

The Progressive Learning Centre provides a range of enjoyable learning experiences in a supportive environment, which facilitates the personal growth of each resident involved in the program.

Please click the following link for PLC Annual Report

Residential Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Program

The Odyssey journey to become an individual with self confidence, a sense of adequacy, coping ability and a contributing member of society is arduous.
Residents achieve therapeutic goals by demonstrating their ability to move through the four levels of the program. These are:

To understand and negotiate the Odyssey system positively

To organise and complete tasks

To have a responsible approach to others

To be responsible for your own welfare

As residents move through the different levels of the program, they gradually take over the day-to-day administration and running of Odyssey House. This involves cooking, maintaining the property, painting, gardening, laundry, vehicle driving and other activities.

The Odyssey concepts by which residents live, include such basic beliefs as:

Drugs are just the sympton of underlying problems
Everything received at Odyssey House must be earned
The object of treatment is to feel good about one's self
Personal responsibility and honesty are vital
Being popular is less important than being respected

The therapeutic interventions used at Odyssey House include vocational counselling, extended group therapy specific to each level of the program, anger management groups, one-to-one counselling, cognitive behvioural therapy, domestic violence counselling, psychological services, psychiatric services and assertiveness skills training. There are also various sports and recreational activities organised.

Drug misuse can effect people from all walks of life. Graduates from the Odyssey House residential program include nurses, doctors, public service workers, builders, teachers, businessmen, labourers, drug and alcohol workers. Odyssey House has helped these people return to a normal life and become productive members of society.

After Care Program

The Odyssey House After Care program is aimed at supporting people who have completed a residential treatment experience for their alcohol, other drugs and and gambling problems. The service offers non-residential support and is located in Campbelltown.

The After Care Program is open to individuals who have participated in the Odyssey House program or other interventions.

We aim to assist people in recovery from illicit drugs by stressing the dangers of engaging in the use of licit substance i.e. alcohol, and prescription medications.

The program consists of a weekly support group, which has an educational focus and deals with issues of relapse prevention. The approach is a holistic one and aims to assist clients to build recovery-based lifestyles. Topics covered include:

Relapse prevention skills
Relationships
Life skills
Stress management
Communications
Relaxation techniques

Clients attend a weekly individual counselling session to discuss their own personal relapse issues in more detail. We recognise that slips and relapses sometimes happen and our aim is to assist clients manage these occurrences to prevent a return to sustained misuse of substances or alcohol.

The program is not designed to assist those in crises. If a client's relapse becomes unmanageable they will be referred to a more suitable service. Members may be required to submit to random urinalysis.

After Care is building a support network within the general community and the welfare field in order to build a resource base for clients. We accept referrals from other alcohol and drug agencies, family and friends, police and judiciary, health and medical professionals as well as self referred clients.

Assessment and Referral Service

The Odyssey House Assessment and Referral Centre is located at historic Robin Hood farm at Ingleburn, NSW.

A four to six week assessment program is run by the Assessment and Referral Centre to assist people to decide what is the most appropriate mode of treatment for their problem behaviours. During this period, a complete assessment is made of each person's medical, physical, psychological, educational and vocational history.

The person develops, with staff and peers, a long and short term treatment plan. At the end of the four to six week period, two options are available. The person may choose to enter into a subsequent treatment service at Odyssey House, including either the residential treatment program or the non-residential counselling programs.

Alternatively, a referral is made to a different type of service that is deemed suitable to meet the individual needs of that person. There are a wide range of drug and alcohol services that can be utilised.

Odyssey House accepts referrals from suburban, regional and rural NSW.

Health agencies, medical professionals, parents, counsellors, court personnel, the judiciary, police and family members are just some of the people involved in referring individuals to Odyssey House. There are also many self referred people who are encouraged to seek further information regarding Odyssey House to determine if the services and programs offered may be of help.

Odyssey House is closely linked to professional groups like the Network of Alcohol and other Drug Agencies, The Australasian Therapeutic Communities Association, the World Federation of Therapeutic Communities, the Law Society of NSW, as well as The Centre for Drug and Alcohol (NSW). In addition, it has an excellent working relationship with the Drugs Program Bureau of NSW Health.

Aboriginal Group

Stories

Here are just a few short extracts from some of our residents' stories:

Welcome

man1

It is easy to feel alone when in addiction and feel your life is being dominated by alcohol and drugs. You are not alone, Odyssey House is a leading expert in alcohol addiction, drug and prescription medication dependence and co-existing mental health conditions.

The treatment methods used at Odyssey House are unique in treating problematic drug misuse and its attendant behaviours as symptomatic of underlying personal problems (e.g. low self esteem, sexual abuse, domestic violence, parental drug misuse, health problems, family/relationship issues), which must be addressed to successfully overcome drug dependence and remain abstinent in the long term.

Our programs are not easy. In order for personal growth to replace drug dependency, clients work hard to change any negative attitudes and values, confront the reasons they resorted to drug misuse, and learn strategies for dealing with the ups and downs of daily life.

Your Odyssey journey will lead you to become an individual with self confidence and empower you to live a happy and fulfilling life without alcohol and drugs and its devastating effects.

Making the decision to seek treatment can be overwhelming, but your road to recovery begins here. Our Admissions and Intake Centre experts will speak with you over the telephone to learn more about your needs and provide further information on our programs.

Should you be suitable and wish to proceed a formal phone assessment will be scheduled and to arrange a smooth transition into one of our programs.

You can contact the Admissions and Intake Centre on 9281 5144.

Our wide range of services includes:

Admissions and Intake Centre
Assessment and Referral Centre
Medically Assisted Withdrawal Unit
Residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs, including
o Parent’s and Children’s Program
o Vocational and educational services
After Care Program
Magistrates Early Referral Into Treatment (MERIT)

How can you support us
Odyssey House has been saving lives since 1977, giving hope and inspiring positive changes in over a 1000 individuals and family members each year to overcome their addictions and to live fulfilling lives.
With the help of our supporters we have been able to continue our vital programs and hope to continue to expand our Parent’s and Children’s Program. This program is dedicated to keeping families together through the recovery process and with the guidance of specialised staff and clinicians they address the needs of both parent and child.
We continue to have a lengthy waiting list for this program and hope to raise enough funds to expand in the near future.

Please visit our donation page to become a support and a ‘Friend of Odyssey’ and you can truly make a difference.

Tracey's Story

Growing up in a supported and loving home with their dad, Tracey and her brother were no different to any other family. Tracey’s worst crime in her early school years was to be a chatterbox. In her later years she began missing school and eventually she left school completely in year ten. No school and no job led to her discovery of alcohol, occasional marijuana use and later to more serious addictions.

“I was 17 and bored, I was able to get marijuana from a friend of my brother, so it was easy. Soon I wasn’t able to go anywhere or do anything without a smoke. My life revolved around it - I had become dependent”.

“By 19 I met Adam who occasionally used heroin. I was intrigued by it and so desperately wanted to try it and so I made it happen. I craved it and my use went from fortnightly to weekly, to daily. Xmas Girls I had a new addiction and it had a hold of me”

“After Ashlee was born I received my first charge for ‘Possession of heroin’. I didn’t care, it had no meaning to me. I changed from a heroin user to morphine, it was easier to get, cheaper and I had steady supply”.

“My life was out of control. In 2010 my children were taken out of my custody as a result of driving under the influence of drugs with my children in the car. DOC’s gave me a one time offer that I needed to go to a long term rehabilitation program like Odyssey to regain custody of all my children again, and so my Odyssey journey began”.

“I entered the Odyssey House program and discovered I was pregnant with Rose, she was born while I have been in the program.”

“Everyone’s journey is different; Odyssey was my biggest wake up call, and the realisation that the life I was leading might mean that I would not be there for my children. I feel disgusted that I put my children at risk and I know that I will never do that again”.

“This Christmas will be special for us all. For the first time I am emotionally connected with my children, Odyssey has taught me to be responsible for myself and my children, and to always provide a safe environment. I can’t wait to see what our future holds”.

Contact Us

For further information on Odyssey House programs and services, please contact:

General Enquiries

Phone: 02 9281 5144
Fax: 02 9820 1796
PO Box 459
Campbelltown NSW 2560

Donation and Sponsorship Enquiries

Contact: Sandy Schofield
Phone: 02 8307 8838
Fax: 02 9820 1796
PO Box 459
Campbelltown NSW 2560

Admissions and Intake Centre

Phone: 02 9281 5144
Fax: 02 9281 5146
1st Floor, 431 Elizabeth Street
Surry Hills, NSW, 2010

Main Treatment Facility

Phone: 02 9820 9999
Fax: 02 9820 1796
13a Moonstone Place
Eagle Vale, NSW, 2558

Counselling Services

Phone: 02 9212 1977
Fax: 02 9281 5146
1st Floor, 431 Elizabeth Street
Surry Hills, NSW, 2010

Assessment & Referral Centre

Phone: 02 9603 2157
Fax: 02 9820 1504
169 Campbelltown Road
Ingleburn, NSW, 2565

Withdrawal Unit

Phone: 02 9824 8943
Fax: 02 9824 7265
169 Campbelltown Road
Ingleburn, NSW, 2565

After Care Program

Phone: 02 4628 8806
Fax: 02 4628 6008
Suite 1, 15-23 Dumaresq Street
Campbelltown, NSW, 2560

Our Services

The Odyssey House Admission and Intake Centre takes all admission enquiries.

Admissions are subject to availability and meeting the assessment criteria.

Call the Admissions and Intake Centre on 02 9281 5144

Odyssey House provides a range of services, to find out more, choose any of the following services:

Assessment and Referral Service

A four to six week assessment program is run by the Assessment and Referral Centre to assist people decide what is the most appropriate mode of treatment for their problems...

Withdrawal Unit

The Odyssey House Withdrawal Unit is housed in a newly constructed state of the art facility. Based in a 'rural' setting, the Detoxification Unit provides an ideal environment of privacy and comfort, which helps clients attempting to be drug free by detoxifying from a range of licit and illicit drugs...

Dual Diagnosis

Psychiatric co morbidity had been identified in therapeutic community populations at Odyssey House since the inception of the program in 1977. Recent research and published material have identified the "dual disordered" person(s) as having specifics needs which must be met if intervention(s) for their alcohol and other drugs problem are to be successful.

Parent's and Children's Program

The parent's and children's program at Odyssey House makes it possible for parents who are in the rehabilitation program to live with their children. Parent's and children living at Odyssey House have private rooms in self-contained cottages with communal dining facilities. Living together as a family, the program teaches parenting skills and seeks to develop a happy, healthy, self-supporting unit that strives to break the cycle of problematic drug misuse between generations...

Residential Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Program

The residential treatment program at Odyssey House applies a comprehensive rehabilitation approach to alcohol and other drugs behaviours in order for personal growth to replace dependency...

Progressive Learning Centre

After Care Program

The Odyssey House After Care Program aims to support people who are in recovery from alcohol and drug misuse. The After Care program is open to individuals who have achieved their recovery through Odyssey House or other interventions...

Odyssey House Staff

Organisations like Odyssey House don't just happen. The behind-the-scenes work that is carried out to ensure our continued success, year after year, is enormous. Certainly, a major contributing factor to achievements of Odyssey House is the personal investment that staff make in the young men and women who come through the doors of Odyssey House on a daily basis. The professionalism, dedication and passion of the staff at Odyssey House is inspirational!

Chief Executive Officer	James Pitts
Chief Operating Officer	Brendan Flynn

FINANCE
Financial Controller	Loretta Watts
Finance Manager	Dawn Paterson
Assistant Accountant	Sharon McRae
Resident Welfare	Kerrie Bruce

MARKETING AND FUNDRAISING
Marketing and Fundraising Manager	Sandy Schofield
Marketing Assistant	Jessica Berrell

CLINICAL
Chief Clinical Officer	Sharon Mestern
Clinical Nurse Consultant	Sonia Herrera
Clinical Co-Ordinator	Carmen Iancu
Clinical Support Co-Ordinator	Steve Hocking
Psychologist	Mel Eldridge
Quality Assurance Officer / Aboriginal Liaison	Leonie Murdoch

Therapy Manager	Robyn Ritchie
Therapist	Russell Bickford
Therapist	Tania Crofts
Therapist	Lea Griffiths
Therapist	Debi Ingram
Therapist	Angie Rhodes
Therapist	Natalie Sabic
Therapist

Withdrawal Unit	SRNLinda Clarke
Withdrawal Unit AOD Counsellor	Blake Richards

OPERATIONS
Chief Residential Facilities Operations Officer	Brian Holt
Facilities Operations Co-Ordinator	Alicia Constable
Centreline Operations Staff on Duty	Geoff Compton
Centreline Operations Staff on Duty	Craig Sinkovic
Centreline Operations Staff on Duty	Nicky Tillier
Buildings and Grounds Department Team Leader	Harvey Hempenstal
Kitchen Team Leader	Michael Powe

ADMISSIONS AND INTAKE CENTRE
Community Services Manager	Michelle Tziarkas
Legal Liaison	David Ridyard
AIC Intake Co-ordinator	Kate Taylor
AIC Administrative Assistant	Lee Tilley

After Care Co-ordinator	Hong Lu
After Care	Sanja Cajic
After Care	Barbara Panagiotopoulos

MERIT	Lance Shepherd
MERIT	Brooke Simpson
MERIT	Doris Kumaran

PROGRESSIVE LEARNING CENTRE
Principal	Kerry Waters
Artist	Clara Hali
Woodwork Teacher	Greg Hughes
Computers / Maths Teacher	Leon Kelley
Visual Arts Teacher	Mel Cranfield

Odyssey House Board

The Odyssey House McGrath Foundation Board of Directors plays an important role in the management of Odyssey House. The Board are committed to building and strengthening Odyssey House and present the community as well as the residents. These are the people who have helped make Odyssey House what it is today. Their commitment to Odyssey House is all the more astonishing, given their hectic schedules and already large work obligations. Their expertise and desire to help Odyssey House over the last financial year is greatly valued.

From the Chairman

I was appointed Chairman of Odyssey House in October 2011. I look forward to working with the other Board members to support James and the organisation. Odyssey House has achieved remarkable results over many years. It has enabled people both directly and indirectly affected by alcohol and other drugs regain their lives and happiness. It is an honour to be asked to Chair the Board.

These are the current Directors of the Odyssey House McGrath Foundation.

Natalie Archer

Christine Bishop

Greg Bundy

Jan Copeland

John Coughlan

Tim Green

Valerie Hoogstad

Lucy Pryor

Linda Simonsen

Doug Snedden

Sean Straney

Geoff Wilson

We look forward to the year ahead.

Regards,

Doug Snedden
Chairman
Odyssey House McGrath Foundation

Events Archive
News Archive

Odyssey by the Bay Cocktail Party

Thursday 23 February 2012

6.30 pm to 9.30 pm

5 Bennett Avenue, Darling Point

Campaign Hope

Annual Reports

Admissions

Celebrate Recovery Day and our 34th Birthday

Accreditation for Odyssey House

2009 Newsletter Archive

Odyssey House Videos

It’s time to get serious about the Culture of Adolescent Alchohol Use

Alcohol in Sport

Alcohol - Why is it so popular? And useful facts you should know

Real Men Cook for Odyssey 2011

ATS Treatment Protocol

New Treatment Protocol for Amphetamine-Type Stimulants

ATS Treatment Protocol

Odyssey House McGrath Foundation

Introduction

Increased ATS dependence

ATS treatment challenges

Mental illness

Engagement/motivation

Protocol overview

Application

Treatment

Form Submitted

Odyssey Speaks

Unlike the song says: Go, go, go! to rehab

2008 Newsletter Archive

Odyssey House Media Vault

Odyssey In the Media:

FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Question’s)

2006 Newsletters Archive

About Us

Odyssey Success

Alcohol Insights FAQ

2000 Newsletters Archive

2001 Newsletters Archive

2002 Newsletters Archive

2003 Newsletters Archive

2004 Newsletters Archive

2007 Newsletters Archive

2005 Newsletters Archive

Newsletters

2011

2010

Register your interest in attending an Odyssey House event

News & Events

Recent items.

Dual Diagnosis

Group visits to Odyssey House

James

Steve

Josh

Employment Opportunities

Site Map

Privacy Policy

Collection of information

Use of anonymous information

Use of personal information

Cookies

Disclosure

No sale of personal information

Interacting with ODYSSEY HOUSE Online

Access and correction: personal data

Security

Complaints about privacy

Changes to ODYSSEY HOUSE Online privacy policy

Website Feedback

Withdrawal Unit

Parent’s and Children’s Program

Progressive Learning Centre

Residential Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Program

After Care Program

Assessment and Referral Service

Aboriginal Group

Stories

Welcome