Our Alcohol Rehab & Drug Rehab Centres in Toronto and Ontario

Substance Use Disorder is A Serious Problem

We know drug addiction or alcohol addiction is a serious problem.

You cannot wait another day to live with your or your loved one’s substance abuse.

This makes the addiction recovery one of the most urgent things.

But in many rehab facilities (especially the ones OHIP covers) there are long waitlists.

So if you don’t want to wait for another six months or more, you should consider private rehab options.

Especially the ones which are famous with their concurrent disorder treatment approaches.

Fortunately, Trafalgar is one of them.

The Radio Talk About Our Rehab Centres (Summary)

Section 1

In the first section of the show, Kinga talks about how Trafalgar treats addictions and concurrent disorders together.

It is important to treat the person as a whole for a long-lasting recovery and this evidence-based treatment approach includes addressing the underlying mental health issues fuelling the addiction.

Later on, Kinga mentions the locations of Trafalgar’s drug and alcohol rehab treatment centers.

These top-rated rehab centres are located strategically to cover the GTA and highly populated Ontario region.

Trafalgar Residential Rehab Centre, located in Erin, ON serves the area of Guelph, Kitchener, Burlington, Hamilton, Cambridge, Oakville, Mississauga, Brampton, Orangeville and, of course, Toronto.

Trafalgar Outpatient Addiction Counselling Centre is located in midtown Toronto to serve all Toronto GTA.

The Radio Talk About Our Rehab Centres (Summary Continued)

Section 2

Scott, our Community Liaison, mentions how Trafalgar has become one of the top-rated alcohol rehab centers by creating a unique approach to addiction treatment.

He also talks about the fact that success rate should not be used for sales purposes since recovery is a lifelong process, and unlike many facilities, Trafalgar always stays away from this positioning as it is misleading.

Trafalgar takes every precaution to make sure they support their clients with a comprehensive aftercare treatment plan, while they cope with the triggers in their daily life after the rehabilitation.

Section 3

In the last part, Kinga explains the easy admission processand the absence of the wait lists compared to OHIP covered treatment facilities and health services.

Scott mentions the Continuation of Care and a Trafalgar exclusive ContinUCare, provided as a part of Aftercare programming for substance and behavioural addiction treatment.

Full Transcription of The Radio Show

Bryan Stevens: And we got great people like the two guests that we have in here, so how are you guys, ready to go?

All right. From the Trafalgar Addiction Treatment Centres, they’ve been here before, but they’re back. We had to drag them back, but now they voluntarily came. Mr. Scott Jones and Kinga Burjan. Good morning.

Kinga Burjan: Good morning. Thanks for having us back.

Bryan Stevens: Thank you for being here. So just let people know what you guys are all about. Just maybe give us a little bit of history about yourselves and about Trafalgar for those that don’t know.

Kinga Burjan: Thanks for having us again. So Trafalgar Addiction Treatment Centres has been around for about six years and we specialize in treating people with addictions and mental health, so concurrent disorders. Well, it makes our program very unique, is that we specialize in trauma. We specialize in addressing the underlying mental health issues. And we have a program that is designed by our clinical psychologist, Dr. Corbasson, on who where we use evidence-based therapies in our groups as well as our therapy.

Bryan Stevens: Wow, impressive. And for those people that don’t know, Now, your head office is in?

Kinga Burjan: It’s in Toronto.

Bryan Stevens: Right. But you have locations where?

Kinga Burjan: We have two residential facilities, one in Erin, Ontario, just about 30 minutes north of Guelph, as well as in Port Hope. So those are residential and our Toronto location actually has an intensive outpatient program. So this is a good next step for those that want more support after they completed the residential treatment or for those people where an outpatient facility might be better fitting for their lifestyle, where they can still function and go home to their nightly routine and then during the day, work on themselves through the programs and through therapy.

Bryan Stevens: And it’s very exciting. I haven’t been to the Toronto location, but I’ve been to Port Hope. The Port Hope and Rice Lake and I’ll tell you, not that you want to go there, but when you know, it is like anything in this world that if people don’t understand what’s there, what do they know about it? Right. It’s like when I used to fly into the hospital for sick children hospital all the time, I think it’s the most incredible place in Canada. A little biased, but I mean a wonderful place. Let’s hope you never have to go there. And I mean that in a nice way about you guys as well. It’s a wonderful place. I hope you don’t have to go there.

Kinga Burjan: Absolutely. And thank you for that, because us being here today helps spread that awareness that there are other facilities out there, especially ones that feel more like home. Yeah, right. When you’re there and you don’t feel like you’re in an institution or you’re a number. It’s because of our small sizes and our residential feel. People do feel like part of the family there. So thank you.

Bryan Stevens: Yeah. And your Erin location is a pretty special place. Like that was the former home of…

Kinga Burjan: Rumored to be the former home. One of the homes of Gordon Lightfoot. Rumoured. Someone can correct me if I am wrong.

Bryan Stevens: But now it’s a great location. It’s a very warm and inviting all. You know, you guys do a very specific job. So when people come there, there’s work to be done. But…

Kinga Burjan: Absolutely.

Bryan Stevens: You know, there’s work to be done and there are needs to be structured to the day or structured to what you’re doing. But at the same time, those that are there get that warm and inviting feeling that this is somewhat just like home, you know, where they can just do their thing.

Kinga Burjan: Yes.

Bryan Stevens: Yeah, exactly. So, Scott, what’s your background?

Scott Jones: So, I’ve had the privilege of working in substance abuse in the mental health addiction treatment field for a little over 25 years now.

Bryan Stevens: Woah!

Scott Jones: I know, I’m older than I look.

Bryan Stevens: You look good.

Scott Jones: Thank you!

Bryan Stevens: Got a new haircut.

Scott Jones: If people could see me now.

Bryan Stevens: Yeah, exactly. Exactly.

Scott Jones: But I joined Trafalgar Addiction Treatment Centres a little almost a year ago. And one of the things that really impressed me about Trafalgar was the exceptional level of care, personalized care that we offer. But also how hard the staff work at each location and in our treatment centres to create that therapeutic environment that is somewhat laid back. But they mean business, you know, and people get their needs met when they go there. And so I guess in that way, I think Trafalgar Addiction Treatment Centres is a little bit unique and different than most of the other treatment facilities out there.

Bryan Stevens: Ok. No, it’s like I said it. And that’s why I wanted, you know, for those people that I can imagine like it. It’s got structured to it. This is we have a certain amount of time with you here. And within that time frame, there are certain things that have to be milestones that have to be met, goals that have to be met. But at the same time, you take a structured environment and add a little bit of humanity to it, a little bit of just a relaxed atmosphere. And it’s a pretty special place. Yeah. Very good. So you have 30, 45, 60, 90-day or longer in-house programs.

Kinga Burjan: That’s correct.

Bryan Stevens: Yeah. So people come on their own or are like how does…

Kinga Burjan: So there are different avenues for people to come in. And one reason we’re here today too is to promote our Local Heroes Support Program.

Bryan Stevens: We’re going to talk about that.

Kinga Burjan: So that’s one avenue. It is a private facility. We’re not OHIP funded. So some people do use their private funds to go. A lot of people do utilize their private insurance benefits, as well. Or WSIB to come to our facility.

Bryan Stevens: So you get a WSIB referral. Come in and see you guys and start the program. And I’m sure I don’t think I need to ask this, but I’ll just throw it out for everybody. I’m sure that you have close to 100% success rate and treating people with their…

Scott Jones: So that’s a really good question. And how I typically respond is, I think Trafalgar does an excellent job at keeping the folks who come to us throughout the duration of their treatment stay, we have very, very few people, discharging early from our programs. And that’s really key. You know, if they leave, we can’t treat them. And of course, for those who participate in our extensive aftercare program, they have a better chance at being successful in their recovery. That’s not to say that there are folks who have completed their program with us. They return back home and we never hear from them again. And they could very well be doing excellent in their recovery. Each and every day is a success for folks who stay clean and sober. And that’s, that’s the key. So in terms of our success rate, you know, what’s the percentage and so on and so forth, we try to stay away from that.

Bryan Stevens: Sure.

Scott Jones: We do follow our folks in our aftercare program and we have a pretty good idea who is doing well and who isn’t. But it’s generally treatment facilities that provide this extremely high success rate that I begin to wonder, OK, well, how are you measuring that? And oftentimes they use it as a sales point. And we would prefer to stay away from that.

Kinga Burjan: Especially since addictions is a lifelong disease is one way to look at it. Right? But at Trafalgar, we look at the multifaceted components of what makes up a person’s life. So if we can support clients in several different areas of their life and give them that agency to continue supporting themselves in conjunction with their aftercare, then they’re more likely to succeed. And that also takes the shame out of if they do have a relapse. We’re still here for them. You know, we’re here to support you. Let’s get back on track. Let’s review your triggers, your supports so that they’re able to maintain it rather than feel like that they failed. And not just accelerates that…

Bryan Stevens: Because really, that’s, that’s life, isn’t it Kinga, Scott? Like I mean, every day is not perfect. We don’t have, every day is not just roses and butterflies. That’s right. You know, we all go through troubles and we face whatever we’re facing. And hopefully, we have this, you know, the successes of getting through what we have. But yeah, every day can be a challenge. As long as you but if you have the tools in your toolbox to face it.

Kinga Burjan: Exactly.

Bryan Stevens: And I think that’s a great point. It’s a really good point that, sure, you may come in and go through the program, deal with whatever you’re dealing with, but you’ve got to stay on track.

Kinga Burjan: Absolutely.

Bryan Stevens: Yeah. So just for people that, you know, people are inquisitive. They want to know. They want to hear all about it. And maybe some of them out there that is struggling, that doesn’t know where to go. Like, can a person just come up to you guys, come up to your doors, bang on the door and then look for some help that way? Or do they have to go through WSIB or do they have to see a therapist? Like how does this all work for them?

Kinga Burjan: We recommend reaching out to us by phone or even have a chat line through our website. Yeah, that would be step number one. And then our intake coordinators can provide more support in your area or how to come into our facility.

Bryan Stevens: And your website is?

Kinga Burjan: trafalgarresidence.com

Bryan Stevens: Okay, because that’s important, right? For those people that are at home, maybe they haven’t got to be brave enough yet to go and see a counsellor or see a therapist. They are just sitting there wondering, well, how do I get a hold of these people? Where do I go? How do I do this? So go to your website. Yeah, check that out and go from there.

Kinga Burjan: We’re also on social media, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, and our contact information is readily available there.

Bryan Stevens: Nice. So, Kinga, what’s your background?

Kinga Burjan: Yeah, I do have an interesting background. So, I am a registered psychotherapist. I do have training and addictions and mental health and specific training and EMDR therapy, which is Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy, which is really effective for reducing symptoms of PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder). So prior to that, going back to school for my second career, I was actually a yoga therapist.

Bryan Stevens: Yes, you were.

Kinga Burjan: And then I think we met around that time, Bryan. And then I actually started my career. Thinking I was going to be a microbiologist. But you know what, life has an interesting way of delivering you to your path. And I feel like I am on the right path right now and that all of my life circumstances led me to this point so that I can be there for those people that need it.

Bryan Stevens: Right. So you’re the manager for the staff over at the Erin location?

Kinga Burjan: I actually am now the clinical director. So well, last time we spoke, I was the clinical manager at the Erin location. I’ve been recently promoted as the clinical director, so I’m overseeing both of the residential facilities.

Bryan Stevens: Wow. Good for you.

Kinga Burjan: Thank you.

Bryan Stevens: And Scott, your background? You’re the community liaison for Trafalgar, is that right?

Scott Jones: That’s right. So, I generally work with various referral sources that will send folks to us for our programming. First responder organizations, whether it be firefighters, law enforcement, correctional officers, various other types of organizations and businesses, insurance companies and WSIB.

Bryan Stevens:  Ok. You go out there and just make sure that they’re aware of Trafalgar, what it’s all about, what you guys have to offer.

Scott Jones: Well, not only that but we, again, keeping with, you know, are indeed individualized, specialized care. That follows through every component of Trafalgar and from the front end through admissions, where if any of the referral sources have an individual, they’d like to set referred to Trafalgar, they would give them my name and telephone number. And I will sort of arrange for the admission, you know, schedule, admission date and do some assessments with them prior to admission, just so that the clinical teams at the treatment centres know who they’re getting. And then, you know, throughout the program, they do receive a lot of individualized care with their psychotherapist. And then even in our aftercare program, our aftercare counsellor reaches out to them individually. I should say weekly, you know, for up to two months and then afterwards, once a month for another 10 months.

Bryan Stevens: Wow.

Scott Jones: So, that’s really key. Yeah. And that’s really important to us at Trafalgar that individualized care that we want…

Bryan Stevens: And I think it’s, you know, for those people out there that are brave enough to come forward in the first part and go through the program, you know, far too often I think what happens out there that these people go through these various programs. And then for lack of a better word here, the balls just dropped and then they’re standing there going, “well, now what do I do?” So they don’t have that follow up. You know, the likelihood of them relapsing, I don’t know what the percentages would be like, but I think it’s safe to say that is probably pretty high that they retraumatize or, you know, go back in of the addictive behaviour that they did prior to if they didn’t have somebody to fall on top of them. And then, hey, how are you doing?

Kinga Burjan: Yeah.

Bryan Stevens: Exactly. So at your location, well, I think I said, I’ve been to Erin and to Port Hope Rice Lake. But yeah, so they have their individual rooms or they are sharing a room with somebody else?

Kinga Burjan: The rooms are shared accommodation. There can be an upgrade to a private room meaning you have the room to yourself. And all the programming at our Erin location, the programming happens and the living happens all in one facility. And that includes 12 therapy sessions with your therapist for the 30 days plus two, one and a half hour family or couple therapy sessions. Our east location is slightly different. So we actually have a day campus where the clients are transferred from a residential facility to our day campus with an executive shuttle. Monday to Friday, just like they’re getting up to go to work. So it’s really helpful for those people that need that extra motivation or reintegration or even people with ADHD find that extra movement to the day campus and that change in setting is really helpful for them.

Bryan Stevens: Yeah. Like I said, wonderful location, breakout rooms for one on one counselling and group therapy sessions. And time for them just to reflect on their own as well. And yeah, no, like I said, I hope you don’t have to go there, but it’s a wonderful place. Yeah, absolutely.

Bryan Stevens: And you guys are unfortunately busy?

Kinga Burjan: We are, yes.

Bryan Stevens: Both locations?

Kinga Burjan: Yes. And the fact that we’re not OHIP funded at the moment does give us more wiggle room. So one of the challenges a lot of people experience in getting treatment is the waitlists. So these OHIP beds can take sometimes six months or more sure to get in. But because we’re private, we almost always have an open bed available. So that takes a big hurdle off of getting help because when someone needs help, they need help when they reach out. That is when you need to help them.

Bryan Stevens: Well, like when they dial 911. I don’t need them to come tomorrow.

Kinga Burjan: Yeah. Or six months later.

Bryan Stevens: Call them to come here today. So, I’m sure when they get ahold of you guys are like I need to come now.

Kinga Burjan: Yeah. Yeah. And our intake coordinators are really adept at helping people get in very smoothly and quickly.

Bryan Stevens: And you have space for how many at each location?

Kinga Burjan: At the Erin location, we have space for 21. And at East, I believe it’s about 24. I might be off a couple of beds. But again, we’re generally at 70-80% capacity.

Bryan Stevens: Not taking anything away from the Erin location, but the Rice Lake, right on the water there, it’s a beautiful location.

Kinga Burjan: It’s lovely.

Bryan Stevens: Yeah, it really is awesome.

End of the first part of the radio show. You can listen to the second part of the show here.