QUESTHOUSE
Overcoming the pain and despair of addiction is the most difficult challenge anyone can face. There are no shortcuts, no magic solutions. And frankly, there are no bargains. Not when the cost of relapse is so high.
QUESTHOUSE is a voluntary retreat for spiritual recovery, uniquely committed to the long-term healing of its guests. Our caring focuses on the whole person—body, mind, and spirit—not just surface symptoms.
QUESTHOUSE is a secret place apart from the everyday world to entertain silence in the heart, to listen to the inner voice—a place for the addicted person to discover his or her own recovery.
QUESTHOUSE’s sole purpose is to promote healing. Our staff is bound together by a passionate belief in the innate dignity of every human person. Guests are cared for in a gentle, respectful manner and are provided a safe place for the healing process to begin.
Guests address their specific issues, whatever they may be: denial, frozen feelings, past abuses, post acute withdrawal, spirituality, unresolved grief, interpersonal relationships, sexuality, family of origin, daily living skills, and relapse avoidance.
Family members and friends are included through the Family/Friend Guest Program so they may understand the behaviors associated with addiction. They too will learn how to solve problems, improve communications, care for themselves, and resolve the confusion and conflicts of the past through weekly meetings led by our staff.
A PROGRESSIVE CONDITION
QUESTHOUSE draws from the most successful addiction recovery programs in the world. We believe, and our care is based on the belief that . . .
- Addiction is not a moral weakness!
- Addiction is not a sign of weak will!
- Addiction is not a mental illness!
- Addiction is not a bad habit!
- Addiction is not a result of stress!
- Addiction is not a temporary loss of control!
- Addiction is a chronic, progressive, incurable, and often fatal condition characterized by loss of control over alcohol or other drugs.
- There is always hope. Recovery is always possible, no matter how far the condition has progressed.
A UNIQUE ASSURANCE
We believe in our program. Because our guests receive a special comprehensive assessment to insure that they receive maximum benefit from participating in our model of recovery, we stand behind it with a unique Guest Plus Assurance. Our Guest Plus Assurance plan provides further care at our expense* should a guest relapse within sixty days from the date of arrival. Given our exceptional level of care, it is an offer very few will ever require.
*Up to a seven-day length of stay, subject to some restrictions, prior program compliance, and a $100 fee for food.
A PHILOSOPHY OF COMPASSION
They are survivors! If we do not have respect for their strength we cannot be of any help. It is a privilege that they let us in: there is no reason they should trust us—none. No one can know their terror. It is your worst nightmare come true, a nightmare from which you never awaken. It is unrelenting. There has been no safety; no one, no time, no place, no nothing. All was tainted. Hope was obliterated time and again. That they are in our office is in itself a supreme act of valor. They are our guests. Treat them with dignity!
TEN COMMANDMENTS OF QUALITY SERVICE
- Our Guests are the most important people in our retreat.
- Our Guests are not dependent upon us: we are dependent on our Guests.
- Our Guests are not an interruption of our work: our Guests are the purpose of our work.
- Our Guests do us a favor when they call: we are not doing our Guests a favor by serving them.
- Our Guests are a part of our retreat: not outsiders.
- Our Guests are not cold statistics: our Guests are human beings with feelings and emotions like ours.
- Our Guests are not someone with whom we argue or match wits.
- Our Guests are people who bring us their wants: it is our job to fill those wants.
- Our Guests are deserving of the most courteous and attentive service we can give them.
- Our Guests are the life blood of our retreat.
Thank you for being our guest!
TWELVE GOOD REASONS
TO RECOMMEND OR USE QUESTHOUSE
QUESTHOUSE is professional, thorough, and successful. You can see for yourself when you compare our services and accomplishments with other recovery approaches.
We want to help people recover. That is one good reason to recommend or use QUESTHOUSE – because we care. Here are twelve other reasons to help you decide:
- QUESTHOUSE is licensed by Kentucky’s Cabinet for Health and Family Services, which found no deficiencies in a recent visit by the Inspector General.
- QUESTHOUSE bases its recovery program on the proven principles set forth in Russ Hopper’s QUESTHOUSE: A Gentle Spiritual Retreat for Recovery from Alcoholism integrated with the highly successful programs of recovery and relapse prevention offered by Joe McQuany’s Recovery Dynamics, Terry Gorski’s Relapse Prevention Strategies, and the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous.
- QUESTHOUSE has generated favorable reviews from noted experts Joseph A. Califano, Jr., Cardwell C. Nuckols, Ph.D., Abraham Twerski, M.D., and Stanley Gitlow, M.D.
- QUESTHOUSE employs experienced Kentucky Certified Alcohol & Drug Counselors and/or Masters level therapists who maintain a long-term personal recovery program and thus serve as role models for guests. Additionally, all counselors are members of NAADAC, The Association for Counseling Professionals.
- QUESTHOUSE has developed and uses a comprehensive thirty-page psychosocial history to insure that guests receive maximum benefit from participating in its model of recovery.
- QUESTHOUSE offers an affordable twenty-eight-day program where people receive help without insurance company involvement. No insurance hassles, no unexpected discharges, and guests get the help they need.
- QUESTHOUSE helps guests address their specific issues, whatever they may be: denial, frozen feelings, past abuses, post acute withdrawal, spirituality, unresolved grief, interpersonal relationships, sexuality, family of origin, daily living skills, and relapse avoidance.
- QUESTHOUSE includes family members and friends in the therapy process so they may understand the behaviors associated with alcoholism and drug abuse. Family members and friends learn how to solve problems, improve communications, care for themselves, and resolve the confusion and conflicts of the past through four weekly on-site meetings.
- QUESTHOUSE offers an extensive sixteen-week Continuing Care Program at no additional cost. Professionals are offered fifty-two weeks of Continuing Care. Longer-term participation is also available.
- QUESTHOUSE stands behind its program with a unique Guest Plus Assurance plan, which provides further care at its expense should a guest relapse within sixty days from the date of arrival.
- QUESTHOUSE is Kentucky’s premier licensed recovery program.
- QUESTHOUSE’s therapists have counseled over 5,000 people, producing many clean and sober men and women, and that is the best reason to recommend or use QUESTHOUSE.
OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
Through the use of a concept called Managed Care, insurance providers have become very effective in blocking or limiting coverage for addiction. In most cases, help is limited to only a few days. Even when help is provided, people are often left with bills for thousands of dollars.
QUESTHOUSE offers affordable care where guests receive help without insurance company involvement. No insurance hassles, no unexpected discharges, and guests get the help they need.
A single fee, payable upon arrival, provides for twenty-eight days of stay plus weekly Continuing Care Meetings for sixteen weeks at no additional charge. And in the case of a relapse, guests are offered our unique Guest Plus Assurance plan for further relapse prevention.
QUESTHOUSE is not a treatment program in the traditional sense and does not provide medical attention to those experiencing withdrawal symptoms. Guests are asked to seek detoxification services from their personal physician or a medical facility before admission. Guests undergoing detoxification at another facility are asked to bring a statement from their physician stating that they are (1) free of sedative type medications, illegal drugs, and alcohol for a minimum of five days and (2) capable of participating in the recovery process.
Guests must also exhibit a degree of physical stability before coming. While we recognize that alcohol and other drugs often are contributing factors to the development of a variety of mental illnesses, these issues are not addressed during a guest’s stay.
SOME IMPORTANT INFORMATION
OBJECTIVE – Total abstinence from alcohol and other drugs of addiction with the ability to recognize and manage symptoms before relapse, and improvement in the level of functioning, especially in the area of interpersonal relationships.
MODEL OF CARE – We use the Questhouse Model of Care and the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous with a special emphasis on the sobriety-based issues and symptoms that make sobriety so difficult.
STAFF – Mentors are Kentucky Certified Alcohol Counselors and/or Masters level counselors who maintain a long-term personal recovery program and thus serve as role models for guests.
LENGTH OF STAY – Guests stay twenty-eight days. Longer treatment stays may also be arranged. Guests are expected to continue their recovery in weekly Continuing Care Meetings for sixteen weeks. Professionals are expected to participate in fifty-two weeks of Continuing Care Meetings.
ARRIVAL – Arrival is by appointment Monday through Thursday at 1:14 p.m.
ALCOHOL & DRUG FREE – Guests will be asked to provide a urine sample to test for recent drug use. Guests are asked to be off all addictive substances three to five days prior to admission.
COST – A single fee is payable upon admission with no refunds after the first five days. There is no additional charge for Continuing Care or for the Family/Friend Guest Program. Visa® and MasterCard® credit cards are accepted.
RESTRICTIONS – Guests must be ambulatory and able to care for their personal needs. Reading materials, outside food, sports equipment, weapons, knives, entertainment systems, or personal items with alcohol in them are not permitted. Telephone calls are limited for the first five days of stay.
WHAT OTHERS SAY ABOUT THE QUESTHOUSE MODEL OF CARE
The QUESTHOUSE model of care is based on Russell A. Hopper’s book QUESTHOUSE: A Gentle Spiritual Retreat for Recovery from Alcoholism.
"QUESTHOUSE is a remarkable combination of the wisdom of Alcoholics Anonymous with the best of the scientific and recovery center literature that has grown up around recovering alcoholics. Compiled by a therapist with long-term sobriety himself, this series of forty-seven pamphlets is specifically designed for alcoholics in early recovery, and it may be useful to many others as well."
— Alan A., Recovering Alcoholic
"QUESTHOUSE: A Gentle Spiritual Retreat for Recovery from Alcoholism is a powerful collection of tools for those struggling with alcoholism. The information, inspiration and spiritual advice woven through the pages of these pamphlets can help all of those affected by this disease— alcoholics, family members, treatment providers, and counselors— in the step-by-step process of recovery."
— Joseph A. Califano, Jr., Chairman and President, National Center on Addiction & Substance Abuse at Columbia University, and former Secretary of U.S. Department of Health, Education & Welfare
"Thanks for the opportunity to review QUESTHOUSE. There are many useful texts on the market for recovering alcoholics, but I know of few that are as candid, charming and heart-warming as QUESTHOUSE. Anytime you can touch the heart of a suffering being that therapy is good. You [Russ Hopper] have that touch."
— Stanley E. Gitlow, M.D., Clinical Professor of Medicine, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine
"To the new professionals entering the field of addiction treatment. To new persons entering the amazing adventure called recovery. To the old guard, that can use a constant reminder . . . . Russ Hopper has given us a gift—268 pages of collective wisdom on how recovery works. Thanks, Russ."
— Cardwell C. Nuckols, Ph.D. Internationally Recognized Expert in Behavioral Medicineand Addictions Treatment,Author of Healing an Angry Heart, and Recipient of the Gooderham Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Alcohol and Drug Treatment Field
"I am very impressed with the QUESTHOUSE pamphlets. Not only do they provide vital information in bite-size portions, but they also encourage people to write down their relevant thoughts and feelings. This has a greater impact than just reading. I believe QUESTHOUSE pamphlets are a contribution to recovery."
— Abraham J. Twerski, M.D., Founder and Medical Director Emeritus of Gateway Rehabilitation, and Author of I’d Like to Call for Help But I Don’t Know the Number
UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIAL
The following unsolicited testimonial is from a former guest who was referred by the Kentucky Professionals Recovery Network.
“I continue to observe that your clients that are QUESTHOUSE graduates are far ahead of any of the ninety-day wonders in terms of step-work and progress with the program. This also includes non-medical folks who attended other treatment programs. Some of them seem clueless when it comes to the core of the program. I feel fortunate to have been trained by Russ and his staff. Their philosophy works. Others also seem to have some resentment of the consequences of their actions. It seems that you [the Kentucky Professionals Recovery Network] and the boards in reality ask very little. None of your/Russ Hopper’s clients have the problems with Step One that I see in those trained/supervised by others. I call it as I see it.”
— Mike C., DMD
A MOTHER SAYS
“THANK YOU”
“I am over-whelmed with appreciation because of your help and interest given to my son. I cannot ask for more than for my son to be on the journey he is on at this time. So many good people are in his circle of supporters.
“Thank goodness the QUESTHOUSE was there when our family needed it. May you rejoice in the great work you do!”
— Gratefully, Mary W., Mom
PROFESSIONALS NEED OWN TREATMENT
QUESTHOUSE welcomes everyone and, subject to some restrictions, will admit anyone as a guest. QUESTHOUSE also offers an Impaired Professionals Tract that specializes in the care of professionals such as physicians, pharmacists, nurses, dentists, lawyers, social workers, clergy, veterinarians, accountants, bankers, teachers, therapists, industrial managers, governmental workers, psychologists, and business men and women.
QUESTHOUSE is unique in that it was created by professionals for professionals. It is the only upscale recovery retreat in this area to take an active partnership role with professionals who seek quality recovery for their referrals.
Unlike most alcoholics and other drug dependent people, professionals often need a different kind of rehabilitation—one that emphasizes that although they are successful professionally, they need help in their personal lives.
Recovery approaches have to be individualized because professionals are people who are very bright and creative. While their intellect and independence have served them well in achieving their career goals, these traits are usually a road block to their recovery. After all, it was their thinking that got them into their mess in the first place. They have terminal uniqueness.
Professionals have to be told that while their goals are noble, the means they turned to as self-medication were not helpful. They need to find spirituality and goodness to help them cope. Healthcare professionals must be challenged to give up control of their lives—to become patients themselves.
Executives and other professionals are different from other alcoholics and drug addicted people because these high-ranking people are more secret.
They do not sit in a bar and drink. They will drink in isolation. They will get into porn on the Internet because they can hide it. They are so caught up in their professional life that they mask what is really going on. That is the hollowness of their life.
Professionals will often let every other area of their life deteriorate before experiencing career difficulties. Their marriage may be in shambles, they may be unable to sleep, they may suffer from depression or other health problems, and they may encounter problems with finances or the legal system.
By being able to continue to function in their careers, professionals often continue to deny problems with alcohol or other drugs. They may only seek help with addiction after their illness has reached the chronic stage. Professionals are often intervened upon and sent to treatment because they begin to exhibit behavior that another professional may notice. More of these disruptive types are being seen in the health-care and dot-com companies because the stressful times those industries go through are catalysts for addiction.
Many times professionals seek help because their state licensing board mandates their participation in a recovery program.
To treat professional people, it must be understood what formed them in the first place. Specifically, it begins in childhood, with the youngster who “wants to be something.”
But in order to achieve, there is a trade-off. They have less playtime; they do not have many friends; they want more to be the family hero or heroine so that they can go through college; they become more and more self-sufficient; and they take pride in being that way.
While that self-reliance leads to professional success, it also leads to narcissistic tendencies that keep these high-achievers away from forming close personal relationships. Still, the driven professional often does not think of this as a problem—until he or she begins handling stress with too much drinking, stealing from the company, or buying cocaine instead of turning to personal relationships for support.
At the same time, it is that driven, focused personality that makes professionals good candidates for “professional renewal” and rehabilitation.
Those who have the most to lose and are in positions of trust are often those that benefit the most from intervention and have the best prognosis.
FEES & LIVING ACCOMMODATIONS
Alcoholism and other drug dependencies are illnesses of isolation and the distractions from every day life can interfere with focusing on the early stage recovery tasks. In addition to the possibility of a significant other using alcohol or some other drug, many guests may not have transportation. Accordingly, guests are asked to reside together in healthy, stable alcohol/drug free condominiums operated by an unaffiliated nonprofit corporation. This arrangement allows guests the opportunity to attend Twelve Step recovery meetings as a group; complete recovery plans by avoiding outside distractions; avoid old playmates, playgrounds, and play things; and integrate into a healthy, supportive recovery environment.
As a courtesy to our guests and their family, QUESTHOUSE includes the cost of its therapy services ($3,300), accommodations ($320), meals ($240), and a weekend entertainment fee ($40) in the amount collected ($3,900) at the time of admission.
This policy is provided as a service to guests to ensure that they have a place to stay. It is also provided as assurance to the nonprofit corporation providing living accommodations that funds are available when reservations are made.
The cost of accommodations, entertainment, and food gift cards will be made available to the nonprofit corporation. Due to having to make advance reservations on behalf of guests, the cost of accommodations, entertainment, and food gift cards will not be refunded. Five-hundred dollars of the cost for services provided by QUESTHOUSE is for its comprehensive assessment process and is not refundable. The remaining therapy fee ($2,800) is not refundable to any guest leaving against therapeutic advice. In the event a guest is discharged for therapeutic reasons, a designee recipient will be reimbursed at the rate of $100 per day remaining in a guest’s treatment.
THE QUESTHOUSE CAMPUS
To quote the famous monk Thomas Merton, “The contemplative life [recovery life] must provide an area, a space of liberty, of silence, in which possibilities are allowed to surface and new choices—beyond routine choice—become manifest. It should create a new experience of time . . . One’s own time. But not dominated by one’s own ego and its demands. Hence open to others—compassionate time, rooted in the sense of common illusion and in criticism of it.”
Accordingly, QUESTHOUSE does not merely consist of a physical milieu of bricks and mortar. It is meant to be a secret place apart from the physical world to entertain silence in the heart and a place to listen to the voice of God—a place for its guests to discover his or her own recovery.
QUESTHOUSE’s 3,600 square feet state-of-the-art therapeutic offices were constructed in 2006.
Guests reside in one of six of QUESTHOUSE’s 1,500 square feet condominiums that were constructed in 2007. Each condominium is gender separate, provides an atmosphere conducive to home living, and provides a quite place for guests to work on their treatment plans.
HOW TO GET HELP
We can help you or someone you care about. For more information or for a confidential assessment,
DIRECTIONS TO QUESTHOUSE
QUESTHOUSE is located at 2349 Russellville Road, Bowling Green, Kentucky 42101. From I-65 in Bowling Green, take Exit 20 (Bowling Green to Owensboro/William H. Natcher Parkway). Go northwest approximately 4.5 miles to Exit 5 (Highway 68 – Russellville/Bowling Green). Take off-ramp at Highway 68. Take right and go northeast on Highway 68 for approximately 1 mile through 4 traffic lights including off-ramp light (Hardees Restaurant is on the right). Go approximately one-tenths of a mile past Hardees. QUESTHOUSE is on the left side of Highway 68. Enter drive at office with red shutters and a green mailbox. Go to the Admissions Office.
WHAT TO PACK
QUESTHOUSE is comfortable and unpretentious. Bring clothing that are easily laundered and need little or no ironing. Please bring casual clothing, sleepwear, robe, underclothing, socks, alcohol-free toilet articles, non-aerosol pump sprays, postage stamps, stationery, envelopes, and twenty to thirty dollars per week for cigarettes, soft drinks, and other sundry wants. Do not forget seasonal outerwear, comfortable walking shoes, and an umbrella.
QUESTHOUSE provides bed linens, pillows, blankets, alarm clocks, towels, and an iron and ironing board.
Do not bring valuables such as jewelry, cameras, cell telephones, computers, or large sums of money. Do not bring any reading materials or work that will distract you from giving full attention to your recovery program.
NON-DISCRIMINATION POLICY
It has been and continues to be the policy of QUESTHOUSE to promote equal opportunity and non-discrimination for employment and for providing and receiving services.
Therefore, QUESTHOUSE complies with the provisions of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the Kentucky Civil Rights Act of 1966, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Act. The EEO Act prohibits discrimination of the basis of race, color, creed, ancestry, religion, national origin, age, sex, sexual preference, or qualifying related handicap or disability, which includes the use of a guide or support animal because of blindness, deafness, or handicap of any individuals, AIDS, HIV infection, or AIDS-related conditions, except where age, sex, or disability constitute a bona fide occupational qualification.
It is the policy of QUESTHOUSE to comply with these acts in all areas of providing services, treatment, facilities to any person, without regard to race, color, sex, religious creed, ancestry, national origin, or handicap or disability, or use of a guide or support animal because of the blindness, deafness, or physical handicap of the user or because the user is a handler or trainer of support or guide animals. No person shall be excluded from participation in, or be denied benefits of, or otherwise be subjected to discrimination in the provisions of any care service.
Employees and other QUESTHOUSE workers are expected to implement and abide by its policy of non-discrimination in services and employment opportunity.
May the Rest of Your Life Be the Best of Your Life!
– Russ Hopper, Founder and Executive Director –
