Next Level Program
by Rob Leach, Recovery Café Member
Next Level exemplifies how much Reclaiming Lives cares about the development and wellbeing of their members. The power weekend was exactly what I needed to evolve to a higher level of understanding of myself. It provided a more intimate connection with my peers and has given me the tools and opportunities to be self-reflective in all my future endeavors and emotional states of mind.
Our group consisted of those of us in long-term recovery, and a few “normie’s,” Johnny B. and Stephanie and Tony Mendenhall, who filled essential roles in this personal growth process. The dynamic of clinical science, its practical use combined with lived experience and unconditional love became the manna that thrived throughout this workshop.
I walked away with a renewed view of myself, and I’ve taken away a true understanding of validation for my life and accomplishments. The seeds of doubt were washed away and replaced with seeds of hope. For me, long-term recovery is not the number of clean days, rather it’s the consciousness and awareness of my emotional state of mind and the responsive actions to those emotions. The negative responses get the most attention, but they’re not always the problem. And this is where I am using the tools taught from Next Level. It’s a truthful inventory of how I act out on my emotional states of mind and the ability to identify my intent while aligning with good actions.
This two-day long workshop of cognitive behavioral and internal family systems is a genius combination of therapies that helped me understand the “why’s” and “how’s” of the things I do. This one weekend will forever remain in my memories, and I am thankful for it.