Frequently Asked Questions

A. We understand that the Saint Jude Country Retreat name could lead people to believe that we are a religious organization offering a religious program, however we are not .

The founders of the Saint Jude Country Retreat are Catholic and have chosen to honor St. Jude Thaddeus by giving the program his name. The Saint Jude Country Retreat was built from the ground up through the hard work, generosity and kindness of others. There were many volunteers who helped to rebuild our houses and financial supporters who kept our doors open through the first several development years. Oftentimes the founders went to St. Jude, the patron of hopeless causes, to ask for his help as they built the program and today they credit St. Jude for helping them to make the Jude Thaddeus Program the most effective substance abuse program nationwide.
With that being said, the Saint Jude Program curriculum is not a religious program, nor do we teach people they must “find God” or spirituality to achieve sobriety as those programs have been shown to have much lower rates of success.

A. We use a social/educational approach instead of the more traditional, yet less effective, medical/psychological/control methodology thereby putting power over a person’s recovery in the hands of the individual rather than a doctor, psychologist, or group. In line with the findings of the majority of independent researchers, our methodology has provided abstinence based success rates 10 to 12 times greater than programs using traditional 12-step treatment methodologies and has remained near or greater than 60% since 1992.

Q. How do you measure your success rate?

A. Statistical surveys and analysis are conducted by an independent research organization. A random sampling of 200 graduates are contacted and surveyed annually. Then a second phone call is made to a corroborating witness for each graduate. This is a person who is close to the former guest, usually a relative or close friend that has direct, first-hand contact with the graduate. Sober statistics are based on abstinence from all substances. Those graduates who have successfully moderated their alcohol and/or drug use fall into the drunk/using category for the purposes of statistical analysis. This is different than almost any other facility’s fabricated results, whereby they add moderated use as a subjective term that adds the patient to the successful category. Although moderation can be attained through the Saint Jude Program, for success rate statistics a binary result is the only objective. Either the graduate is still using alcohol and drugs, or they are not. This makes for an accurate statistical analysis. Our surveys have been conducted on the entire graduate population for over 17 years! No one in the treatment industry comes close to that kind of thorough research. This is just another way that the Jude Thaddeus Program differs from those facilities that are not willing to track their effectiveness because they are fearful of what the results will be. We also publish the independent studies online for your close inspection. We are so confident in the methods we teach that our research policy is to have an open book to the public.

Q. What are your credentials?

A. We are regulated by the NYS Dept. of Health & NYS Attorney General Bureau of Charities. We are a not-for-profit 501(c) (3) organization. Our instructors are New York State Certified Teachers or Teacher’s Assistants and have been provided extensive training by Baldwin Research Institute, Inc. to teach the Saint Jude Program. Our program authors are the founders of Baldwin Research Institute, Inc.; Mr. Gerald Brown, a career researcher, and Mr. Mark Scheeren, Chairman of BRI. Both Mr. Brown and Mr. Scheeren have experience in the treatment industry that is vast. Both co-founders lived with the guests at the first St. Jude Retreat House for a period of ten years developing the program, and having a decades worth of on-site research. This level of dedication to research is unheard of in the industry, and is one more reason why the St. Jude Retreat Houses have expanded while the rest of the industry has declined over the past twenty years. Both co-founders are experts in the 12-step paradigm, and are Alcoholics Anonymous historians. This vast knowledge of what works and what does not work is constantly passed on to our staff, thereby making our staff some of the most knowledgeable people in the industry.

Q. How do you keep the environment drug-free and safe?

A. We have a policy in place that if anyone drinks or uses drugs recreationally while enrolled, they will be expelled from the program with no refund. Random drug tests are conducted throughout the six-week stay.

Replacement therapy medication such as but not limited to: Methadone, Suboxone or Subutex, Buprenorphine, Naltrexone, Revia, and Vivitrol, are not permitted at the Country Retreat.

Q. How much does it cost? And do you accept insurance?

A. As Baldwin Research Institute, Inc. is a not-for-profit research organization, the cost of the Saint Jude Program is 1/3 the cost of most traditional in-patient treatment programs. We also have financing programs available. In our continuing efforts to keep our costs as low as possible we do not work with insurance companies or accept medical insurance. Furthermore our research has shown that people who have received full scholarships or have insurance pay for their stay have much lower rates of success that those who take financial responsibility for the cost of the program by either paying for themselves or raising the funds through their friends, employers and family. When people are ready to change their lives, the more they become personally responsible in effecting this change, the greater the chances that they will be successful.

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Alcohol Rehab Alternative Program with The Saint Jude Retreat House

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