Treating addiction in isolation does not offer a long term solution, he argues. At Arta, neither drugs, nor behavioural therapies are used to treat addiction. Instead addicts are helped to understand their behaviour and what their addiction says about them. They formulate their own goals then professionals implement individual programs which may include psychotherapy. At Arta, trust is restored and healing takes place over a period of approximately nine months.
Therapy takes place in the evenings, there is no television.
Instead, meaningful interaction is encouraged. The first phase of the program takes place on a farm. The aim of this phase, just as in the first seven years of la child's life, is to rebuild a healthy body by means of a rhythmic lifestyle. During the second phase, residents transform this life rhythm of the environment into a routine of their own. Now that physical withdrawal is behind them, their emotional life, previously dimmed by drugs, is nourished through stories, artistic therapy, drama, music and group eurhythmy, personal conversations and group discussion.