– It becomes a little easier to talk about difficult things and feel emotions, and then I can’t run away from the situation. That’s what Monika Mikalsen says, who is out for a walk with her psychotherapist Lena Endresen. Side by side in scenic surroundings, they have delved into difficult topics of conversation. An entire adult life of heavy drugs and emotions blocked by the harsh lifestyle has been processed. This is how Monika got her life in order and cleared her mind. WANT TO SHARE: Monika Mikalsen hopes her story can help others. Photo: Hanne Høyland / news Unique in Stavanger This is part of a completely new treatment plan she has been using for the past three years. The treatment is called mentalisation-based therapy and is offered to people in drug-assisted rehabilitation (LAR). LAR in Helse Stavanger are the only ones in the country that offer mentalization-based therapy to their users. This is LAR Drug-assisted rehabilitation, also called LAR, is a nationwide treatment program for people who are addicted to opioids, most often heroin. The aim of the treatment is to increase the quality of life of the users and reduce the number of overdoses. The patients undergoing rehabilitation receive morphine-like drugs, either methadone or buprenorphine. Through LAR, the patients will also receive financial guidance and help to find a place to live. There are 8,198 patients in LAR as of 2021. Source: FHI/SERAF/Helse Stavanger It has been five years since Monika was last intoxicated. She managed to become drug-free completely on her own. But it was demanding to start a new everyday life with blank pages without working on the inside. – I saw many others who managed it, and I also wanted a better life, she says. Learning to regulate her own emotions When the offer to participate in the new treatment came, she decided to give it a try. – I agreed, even though I thought it sounded very scary at first. It was about working with emotions and learning to understand myself and others a little better, explains Monika. Now she is the first in the country to have completed the unique offer to LAR. The treatment is a combination of group therapy and close individual follow-up. – It’s about getting to know yourself better, learning to understand your own emotions and, not least, to regulate your emotions, says Lena Endresen, psychotherapist at Helse Stavanger. KLOKKERTRO: Lena Endresen believes that several parts of the country should test mentalization-based therapy on their LAR patients. Photo: Hanne Høyland / news – Startling development Sverre Nesvåg is a drug researcher at Stavanger University Hospital. – This is a success story, he states. The drug researcher believes this is an example of a major change in attitude that has taken place in LAR Helse Stavanger. He has seen LAR go from an offer that was previously characterized by mutual distrust between patients and staff to one of mutual trust. – How they have managed to turn things around in a few years is sensational, says Nesvåg. He believes that several of the country’s LAR offers should see a change in attitude. – In many ways you can say that LAR has been revolutionized. Willing to give the LAR patient a face Monika believes she would not be where she is today without this help. Therefore, it is also important for her to come forward with her story to inspire others in similar situations. – The R (rehabilitation, journal note) in LAR works. It is an offer that is more than just medicine. And there is no one who sees or hears from us who is doing very well, she says. She also wants to show people how a LAR user can look and function. Today she is on a carefully selected dose of methadone. It does not give her any intoxication, but helps her to function normally. She has a small position in the Church’s Bymission aftercare service called Enter fritid and is a course leader at Jæren recovery college. In Enter fritid, Monika gets out in the fresh air. She is also fond of mountain walks. Photo: PRIVAT Part of the LAR treatment was art therapy, and it was precisely art therapy that opened up the opportunity in Jæren recovery college. But when meeting new people, they are often surprised that she is in LAR. – They burst out: Oh! You don’t look like you’re in LAR. Then I answer: But what should those in LAR look like, then? she asks. From user to colleague Tom Erik Eltervåg, who runs the sales of Gatemagasinet Asfalt in Stavanger, has followed Monika from one side of the counter as an Asphalt seller to the other side as a colleague in the Church’s Bymission. – This story gives me goosebumps. It’s not that often we experience this down here, he says, clearly proud of his colleague. IMPRESSED: Tom Erik Eltervåg has seen Monika’s journey from drug addict to colleague. Photo: Hanne Høyland / news When the treatment started four years ago, Monika had four A4 pages full of topics she had to work on. It is no longer like that. – For each year there was one less sheet. For the past few months there have only been a couple of lines. When I look back at everything I’ve done, I’m very proud of the work I’ve done. A chapter is about to be closed. After three years in therapy, Monika is fully treated and ready for the world. – After the therapy, I feel much freer and safer. I feel that I have been given a completely new life, says Monika. And there will be no problem, her psychotherapist believes. – The security she now has in relation to moving out into the world and being part of what she wants to be part of. I think it’s fantastic to see how well she feels about herself, says Endresen.
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New unique treatment offer for LAR patients in Helse Stavanger. Monika feels like new – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
