“I was a dedicated booze hound for 21 years until I broke my neck and 6 ribs in a car accident. I suffered a collapsed lung, heavy internal injuries, and possible paralysis. After my recovery, I was forced into therapy and after atrocious experiences with a therapist and her recommendations, I luckily somehow landed at MARC. My position was fairly unique: I had been sober for a bit, so the booze problem, at least, had temporarily remitted. But my life problems remained. As you can imagine, 21 years of excessive boozing scars you and you can also imagine how my wife felt seeing me broken and intubated in while the trauma ward at Sinai Hospital. In short, there was plenty of work to do and MARC helped me get to work.
First, I initially met Sam and he was kind and worked directly with me to sort out my tedious financial insurance snags. Then, I did the “intro interview” with Dawn and it was a great first impression. She made a potentially miserable personal survey enjoyable and positive. I landed in the IOP night groups, led by Laura 4 times per week. I did this for about 5 months or so, and it proved insanely valuable. You meet great people, with similar issues, sometimes with other substances or behaviors, and you become personally invested in their stories and continued success. No stigma or judgment, it grew into a team that helped each individual sort out their specific problems of the day and the generally rocky journey to more long term sobriety.
Laura was just great, a funny balance of toughness and compassion. And the yoga helped, too, especially for those who might not have tried anything like that before. I had weekly individual counseling at MARC as well, and this part was probably the most important for my specific goals. Cheryl quickly identified that my most pressing need was patching up my relationship with my wife, who was rightly pissed that I had nearly killed her husband. I met individually with Cheryl, which helped, but the big miracle came when we worked to repair the marriage in family sessions. After IOP, Rachel was great in leading the after care group and in my later individual “graduate” sessions as well.
As you probably figured, I can’t recommend MARC strongly enough. I speak from the position of a severe ex-boozer. And my wife also gives a wholehearted recommendation from her position as a loving family member. So, if you or someone close has issues with substance use, I urge you to give MARC a call.”