RESOURCES - 12-STEP / AA / NA MEETINGS
ALCOHOL, DRUG and SMOKING WITHDRAWAL, ALTERNATIVE HEALING MODALITIES and
REHAB CENTERS / SOURCES
Someone on one of the CR Message Boards requested the info on Recovery Programs and being the information gatherer/junkie I am and loving to share my findings of related resources so here is a list of Addiction related services available in Costa Rica. I believe most of these programs are in English.
Here's the MOST CURRENT Resource (mine has some other things like other healing sources so that's what makes it different):
http://www.CostaRicaAA.com - THE MOST Detailed & Accurate Site!!!
NEWS!!!
March 20-22 (Thurs.-Sat.) - 8am-4pm
33rd Annual AA CENTRAL AMERICAN CONVENTION - SAN JOSE (Desamparados) - Sat. night Dance
COST: $6
(I'm in the process of verifying this info again so check back and double check with it before going to something)
12-STEP PROGRAMS:
ESCAZU ("Zoo Group")
MEETINGS: Mon.-noon - Big Book Study Group
Wed.-noon - 12 and 12 Study
Sat.-9am - AA Discussion Group
LOCATION: International Baptist Church - IBC
From Escazu: From Calle Vieja/Paco Plaza, head North (at first like going to MultiPlaza) toward Guachipelin, pass under the tunnel for the Pista/highway and at the first street take a right. Go about 300 meters at the top of the hill and on the left side is the church.
From Mulitiplaza: Go West on the Pista/highway toward Santa Ana and Cuidad Colon. Take the exit at Guachipelin (the one after MultiPlaza). Turn Right, then IMMEDIATELY turn Right up the dirt road. Go about 300 meters at the top of the hill and on the left side is the church.
CONTACTS: Mia - 293-4322 (I've also seen Dennis - 385-4035)
SAN JOSE ("Anchor Club") - 222-1880
MEETINGS: I've seen: Mon.-Sat. - noon and Sun. 9:15am
PLUS I've seen: Mon – Fri 8am (3rd floor Serenity House)
Mon – Fri noon (2nd floor AA room)
Sat 10:30am (2nd floor AA room)
Sun 9:15am (2nd floor AA room)
LOCATION: SAN JOSE-Downtown - Avenida 6 y Calle 1 - 2nd floor - just outside of Central San Jose within walking distance of most central area hotels. When walking down Calle 1 from Central San Jose, turn Right on Avenida 6 and the Anchor Club is the second door on the Right just past the juice stand.
CONTACTS: Dennis G. (229-2486 / 385-4035)
Bill LF (280-6569 / bill@highsierrasoftware.com)
Bill L. (234-6473 / wmlilly@yahoo.com)
Leo H. (291-3831 / leo_hopffnor@hotmail.com)
Paul C. (378-4487 / pwconrad@yahoo.com)
Tim B. (836-2942 / tm688@msn.com)
NARCOTIC ANONYMOUS (NA) - Nightly 7pm - 365 days-La Sabana
ALANON ("Vigilance Club")
MEETINGS:
Fri. 10am - 12-Step
Fri. 11am - Open
LOCATION: Sabana Sur - I have 2 different directions - #1 - 150 meters south of the Controlleria (next door to Salad in a Box). From the SouthEast corner of Sabana Park (where McDonald's is), walk West along the park 2 blocks (I also heard it was 5-8 blocks) to Calle Del Golf, the second street on the left. Turn left and go past the first street (on the right only) to Salad in a Box on the left.
CONTACTS: Sandy W 266-1493 / 876-3838
GENERAL SERVICE OFFICE
Avenida 2 and Calle 3 - Next to the McDonald's on Calle 3 in the "Herdocia" building (with a glass door). Walk up flights to the 2nd floor, turn Right and a couple doors down on the Right is the AA General Service Office. "Cerca de McDonald's en el edificio Herdocia, 2 Pso"
CONTACT: 255-4108
HOURS: Mon.-Fri. 1-6pm, Sat. 10am-1pm
SPANISH ONLY
ATENAS
MEETING: Wed. 7pm - Open, Reading 12/12, Discussion
LOCATION: Kay's Gringo Postres (next to the San Jose/Alajuela bus stop)
CONTACT: Tom C. 373-3629-c / 446-4136-h / Badlander9@yahoo.com
DOMINICAL
MEETINGS: Sun. - noon
LOCATION: Pacific Plaza - far Right corner outside under the gazebo
CONTACT: Marguerite - 770-2705 / marg8cr@yahoo.com
HEREDIA
MEETINGS: Tuesday 11:30am
Thursday 11:30am
Saturday 10am
LOCATION: Hogar Salvando al Alcoholico - Avenida 10 between Calle 8 and 10.
De la Iglesia Los Angeles 100m al sur, 150m oeste mano derecha. Take a bus or taxi or drive to Los Angeles Park Avenida 6 and Calle 9. Go South past the park and one block past the church to Avenida 10. Go right on Avenida 10 to the block between Calle 8 and Calle 10 (the streets here are numbered every other even number, 2,4,6,8,10 etc.). About 2/3 of the way from Calle 8 to Calle 10, on the right, is the Hogar Salvando al Alcoholico and there is a sign with the AA logo.
CONTACTS: Brian 269-6716 or Dennis 385-4035
JACO
MEETINGS: Tues., Thurs. and Sat. - 10am. Wed. - 5:30pm. NA - Daily - 8pm
LOCATION: Upstairs in the building next to/on the East side of El Lagar on the "Pops" road in Jaco Center. I've also seen - Next to the Frucas Tica Grocery Store - 2nd floor and across the street from the Taco Bar
CONTACT: Nancy - 637-8824 / rockman@racsa.co.cr
MANUEL ANTONIO / QUEPOS – Mono Azul Hotel
MEETINGS: Daily - 10am
LOCATION: Mono Azul Hotel's Tiki Hut
CONTACT: Chip and Jennifer (jennifer@KidsSavingTheRainforest.org) - 777-2572 / MonoAzul@racsa.co.cr / http://www.HotelMonoAzul.com
Wed. & Sat. - 6pm
LOCATION: Hotel Casa Mia/Escaula de Amor - across from Mono Azul
OA - a week at Mono Azul Hotel's Tiki Hut at 8am
MEN'S CO-DEPENDENCY - Mon. - 6pm - Escuela D'Amore
There are 15 AA Meetings in the area in Spanish only
NOSARA
MEETINGS: Impromptu
CONTACT: Paul - 288-1157 / 899-8000
OJOCHAL
MEETINGS: Thurs. - noon
LOCATION: Gringo Mike's Pizza
CONTACT: Marguerite - 770-2705 / marg8cr@yahoo.com
PLAYA FLAMINGO
MEETINGS:
Tuesday 5:30pm
Friday 5:30pm
LOCATION: Rincon Largo Sales office located on the road to Flamingo at the Potrero crossroad.
CONTACT: Don (in Playa Flamingo) - 654-4902 / CostaRicaDon@yahoo.com OR David - 654-9120
PUERTO VIEJO ("Lion Group")
MEETINGS: Mon, Wed. & Fri. - 5:30pm
LOCATION: Pro Nino building in Puerto Viejo Center - adjacent to the soccer field goalposts.
CONTACT: Eddie - 750-0080 / 811-3448 / info@lacostadepapito.com OR Colin 750-0212 / 351-4582 / colin@colinsito.com
SANTA ANA
TAMARINDO ("Wave of Sobriety Group")
MEETINGS: Thurs 6:30pm - Open. Sat - 9am - Women’s. Sat 10:30am - Open
LOCATION: Clubhouse next to Fiesta del Mar Restaurant
CONTACTS: Ellen - 653-0897 / 867-2197 / EllenZoe@aol.com OR Don (in Playa Flamingo) - 654-4902 / CostaRicaDon@yahoo.com
UVITA
MEETINGS: Tues. - 11:30am
LOCATION: Coastal Christian Fellowship
CONTACT: Marguerite - 770-2705 / marg8cr@yahoo.com
ZANCUDO ("White Horse Group")
MEETINGS: Sun. 4pm and Impromptu
LOCATION: At Cabinas Los Cocos (http://www.LosCocos.com) - Drive South on the Pan American Highway to Rio Claro. Turn Right to Golfito. Just BEFORE Golfito, take a Left at Bar Rodeo. Continue to the water ferry. After the ferry, the road is dirt. Continue taking Right turns at every intersection and you'll end up in Zancudo.
CONTACTS: Susan or Andrew - 776-0012 / loscocos@racsa.co.cr / loscocos@loscocos.com
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SPECIAL AA RELATED EVENTS IN COSTA RICA
AA ROUND-UP - Jan. 9, '08
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ALTERNATIVE WAYS OF DEALING WITH "ICTIONS"
A HUGELY SUCCESSFUL resource I have found MANY people getting REALLY GOOD results from for getting rid of and staying off our "ictions" (and you do not live there):
Eugene "Gene" McDonald's AURICULOTHERAPHY!!
(352-0661 / acutherapy0@hotmail.com) in Escazu - Centro
Gene uses a VERY unique machine that I have seen over and over to have AMAZING results!! It is called AuriculoTherapy - like acupuncture but without needles - an electric stim type gizmo that goes around the acupressure points inside your ears which then goes to various organs, etc. (Chinese medicine going back THOUSANDS of years!!).
I had a guest stay with me awhile back that was referred by Gene. This gal was at the point of drinking STRAIGHT rubbing alcohol and had been drinking HEAVILY since she was 8 years old.
As early as 3 days into the 30 day program, the thought of alcohol STILL, over 6 months later, makes her want to throw up. She has managed to stay sober though she has been challenged every day by a boyfriend that still chooses to drinks!!
My perception is that AuriculoTherapy helps tremendously for people to get off the "iction" (though I am a HUGE believer that we ALL must deal with our "stuff" that creates the "izm" that we ALL have and unfortunately AuriculoTherapy does not do that so therapy is REALLY important to do with it I think).
I have seen MANY MANY other people have AMAZING RESULTS in just one or two visits in LOTS of other areas with AuriculoTherapy!!!
I have PERSONALLY known MANY people that have had BIG SUCCESS with Auriculotherapy for things like NECK, SHOULDER, ELBOW and BACK (recently I had a guy at my place that could barely stand. After one visit to Gene he was DANCING!!), SCIATICA (I had a guest that had sciatica for YEARS and got off a plane in INTENSE pain. One visit and over 6 months later - NO sciatica and she was then able to do the zip line/canopy tour she had always dreamed of but did not think she could get up to prior to Gene), PAIN (I have know quite a few people that have gone to him for various pains from surgery related, falls, etc. that had GREAT results!! One person had an injury 30 years before and after one treatment - had FULL range of motion from his treatment. Another had an injury 3 years before and was 80% healed in 1 visit!!), PMS (I have a friend that goes to him for period pains and HORRIBLE PMS with GREAT results and she’d been going to another popular acupuncturist for YEARS!), WHIPLASH, SPORTS INJURIES, CARPAL TUNNEL, FIBROMYALIGIA, SACRO ILIAC, STRESS (I went for this treatment the day before leaving on a trip and my blood pressure was SOARING initially. Afterwards I was 80% calmer after just ONE visit!!), TENSION, HEADACHES, MIGRAINES (I have known quite a few people that have EXCELLENT results with this), DEPRESSION (I had a friend that was literally ready to go OVER the edge that went to Gene and survived and is thriving!!), ADDICTIONS FROM ALCOHOL, SMOKING, DRUGS, FOOD (REALLY GOOD results [though emotional therapy is still a REALLY important enhancement for long term results with this I believe!!!]), ANXIETY, INSOMNIA, FATIGUE, EPILEPSY, FLU-COLD, SINUSITIS, HEMORRHOIDS, TMJ, FACIAL PARALYSIS, APPETITE, VOMITING, ARTHRITIS, KIDNEY STONES, HEMIPLEGIA, ONE-SIDE PARALYSIS, CONSTIPATIONS, DIARRHEA (I know a pregnant gal that could not even hold down water and had horrible diarrhea and had amazing results immediately!!) and LOTS of other things++!!!! Some have even gone to him to get even better results than a Massage!!
Of COURSE I believe YOUR success depends on YOU believing it can help as with ANYTHING in life - your doubt/negativity can override even the most amazing technique!! NOTHING can work if you do not BELIEVE and LANGUAGE that it will!! (I have had people tell me they were "healers" and that tweeked me as I believe that Spirit/God ca not even "heal me" if I am not TRULY desiring to RECEIVE! This type of "belief" is what got me to name my retreat/workshop/holistic wellness space "The House of SELF Empowerment")
Your results/amount of time for healing can also take longer if the injury/illness has been with you for some time and/or is deep.
My wish for you if you go to Gene is that you have at LEAST the success these people did or MORE!!!!
I tell ya, this guy and his Auriculotherapy machine are AMAZING!!!!
INVESTMENT IN YOUR BODY/HEALTH: $30 for the first visit and $25 thereafter (possibly less if it is a quick and easy thing). He will give you a FREE CONSULTATION if you would like.
Definition of Auriculotherapy and Ear Acupuncture
Auriculotherapy is a clinically effective treatment modality utilized for the relief of chronic pain and the alleviation of substance abuse. The external ear has been shown to have a somatotopic organization in an inverted fetus pattern, wherein each part of the auricle corresponds to a specific part of the body. Detection of electrical conductance and tenderness palpation can reveal specific auricular reflex points which can be stimulated to alter pathological reflex patterns in the brain, in internal organs, and in different peripheral regions of the musculoskeletal body.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auriculotherapy OR http://www.auriculotherapy.ne t
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Suzanne Noel is a Certified Recovery Focusing Trainer
I hear AWESOME things about what she does!
Check out what all that entails at: http://www.InnerWisdoms.com/id4.html / inner_wisdoms@yahoo.com
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CIA RICCO
(CiaRicco@gmail.com / cia@live-life.com / micorazon@racsa.co.cr / 518-325-7444 / www.live-life.com) - Cia does all kinds of treatment programs at her place in Nicoya. Beautiful place, wonderful woman. Cia is a well-known, body-centered psychotherapist who divides her time between Costa Rica, New York City, and the East Coast of the US, with workshops in all those locations. She is the author of "Living As If Your Life Depended On It: Twelve Gateways for a Life That Work." Although her methodology is unique and based upon the Twelve Gateways she has developed, her work synthesizes the teachings of Gay and Kathlyn Hendricks, Hakomi, NLP, and Gestalt. She also draws on her 25 years as a Tibetan Buddhist meditator.
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INTERVENTION (World Wide)
Nick with Tropical Oasis travels WHEREVER in the world you need him to do Interventions!
CONTACT: Nick - NickRussi@OasisTropical1.com / 1-415-287-0952-Vonage # that rings to him / 427-9952-Facility / 371-1661-Nick’s cell
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ADDICTION REHAB / RECOVERY CENTERS:
Costa Rica Recovery Treatment for Substance Abuse Disorders
http://www.CostaRicaRecovery.net / Jim@CostaRicaRecovery.net
290-7634 / 346-7120 / 1-866-804-1793
Rohrmoser (about 1km from U.S. Embassy)
OWNER: Jim Dopp
Tropical Oasis
http://www.OasisTropical1.com / NickRussi@OasisTropical1.com
(1-415-287-0952-Vonage # that rings to them / 427-9952-Facility / 371-1661-Nick’s cell)
Nick also travels WHEREVER (even abroad) to do Interventions!
LOCATION: Orotina - about mid-way between San Jose and Quepos
COST: $8,400/30 days
OWNERS: Nick and his dad Bob Russi
New Hope
http://www.CostaRicaNewHope.com / info@CostaRicaNewHope.com / 1-866-918-8302 / 506-213-1954
LOCATION: We are located in the mountains above Heredia,30 minutes from Juan Santamaria (SJO) International Airport.
OWNERS: Bill and Dakmare Bayless
COST: $7,500/month for a single diagnosis and single occupancy until June 2008
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1st INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM OF ADDICTION MEDICINE - February 28 and 29, 2008 - Asociación Centro de Rehabilitación para el Adicto - Escazu, San Jose, Costa Rica http://www.acerpa.org / http://www.simposio-acerpa.com/eng.htm / info@acerpa.org / (506) 276-9032
On February 28 and 29, the 1st International Symposium of Addiction Medicine, Neurobiology of Drug Addiction, will be held in Escazú, Costa Rica.
The subject will be "The Neurobiology of Addiction to Alcohol and Other Drugs." All presentations will be simultaneously translated in English and Spanish. The Symposium is a collaborative project between the University of Virginia, Universidad de Ciencias Médicas (UCIMED) and Asociación Centro de Rehabilitacion para el Adicto (ACERPA), as an answer to a growing concern in the health system and in society, about the prevalence of abuse and addiction to alcohol and other drugs. The main goal of this Symposium is to transfer first line information and obtain treatment techniques for the disease of addiction, given by medical and psychology experts from the University of Virginia, University of Texas at Houston, Wake Forest University, NIDA, and NIAAA. We will have lectures on the results of the latest research in neurobiology of alcohol and drug addiction, genetics of nicotine addiction, pharmacology and psychosocial treatment techniques based on scientific evidence. Also, on the second day, we will have practical workshops to train the delegates on the latest treatment techniques developed and proved by experts in the addiction field.
(info from http://www.jointogether.org/news/yourturn/announcements/2008/first-int-symposium.html)
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Vicki
The Fountains Guesthouse - Escazu
http://www.FountainsGuesthouse.com
