"Springboard Day Program"

Recently I completed the 6-week Springboard Day Program. I found it extremely practical and I have learnt a lot about my addiction to alcohol and mental illness. The program looks to get me to reconnect to the community and search for a purpose in life. Giving local skills, knowledge and ideas on how to create a better life free of alcohol and drugs. We were taken to the gym twice a week and had weekly visits by a nutritionist and other agencies that promoted physical and mental health services in Brisbane as well as courses and programs I could attend once Springboard had finished.

The program was well structured and run by two professional facilitators who had a mixture of knowledge and experience but were also fun which made things easier.

I have struggled with alcoholism for the past 10 years and have tried various counselling, group therapy, AA (Alcoholics Anonymous), NA (Narcotics Anonymous) and residential rehabilitation centres. I feel the Springboard Program of outpatient, part-time rehabilitation used in conjunction with support from other agencies I'm already connected to has given me far better results than anything I've tried in the past. We got to go home every day to family, friends, other commitments and put in place what we have learned and report back the following day. I struggled with that in all of my rehab attempts which I found confining and unrealistic.

I highly recommend the Springboard Program to anyone struggling with addiction or mental health issues. I do wish it was five days a week and run for longer plus less if it was run more often but I believe funding is an issue. That is a shame because its such a good program and people really need it.