Vinny Kenitzer has been sober for a year and a half. However, it wasn’t an easy task to get here.
“Started drinking when I was probably 15 or 16, just occasional drinking but in the last probably four or five years it really got bad,” said Kenitzer.
He will admit there have been many ups and downs. He first started seeking treatment with Avera several years ago.
“I first met Vinny about 15 years ago when he first came into treatment. He was struggling with alcohol use, he had had some trouble related to his job and so he came into treatment for the first time then and I was his counselor. Through the years he had come back through our program a few different times,” said clinical supervisor at the Avera Addiction Care Center in Aberdeen, Jodi Hepperle.
Seeking Help for Addiction
But it was different the last time he went through the program. He participated in a four week outpatient program which involved group work and individual sessions.
“The group sessions focus on education, we talk about the 12 steps, we talk about different emotions, we talk about different coping skills, so they are led by counselors and then they also have individual sessions with their primary counselor at least once a week,” said Hepperle.
“I liked it, it kept me busy all day and they teach you what drinking does to you and if you want to drink, how to work so you don’t have to have a drink. They call it tools, your toolbox, like calling a counselor or talking to people at the hospital,” said Kenitzer.
Plus, it was recommended that he try a sober living home, which Vinny says has played a big role in his success in maintaining sobriety.
“They said let’s go to Redfield to the Reflections Center and I think that was the key because before I’d get out of the hospital and I could drink, but here at Reflections you can’t drink and I think that is what saved me,” said Kenitzer.
Finding Success with Treatment
“We can give them tools in treatment but when they get out of treatment that’s where they really need to make sure they can implement those tools. So he got down to Redfield and has turned things around,” said Hepperle.
Hepperle says addiction care staff will look at a person’s needs to help determine what level of care will be most beneficial to a patient.
“We want to make sure that we are meeting their needs. Some individuals can be very successful in a lower level of care, they may only need to come to groups in the evenings, three nights a week. Some individuals need to go to an inpatient program for 30 days, some people need a longer term program than that,” said Hepperle.
And in Vinny’s case, he found the proper tools to lead him to a path of success.
“One day at a time, that’s the way to do it, and that’s what I’ve been doing, and that’s what they teach you at Avera, one day at a time,” said Kenitzer.
Learn more about addiction and recovery options at Avera.
