Blogs

  • The role of nurses at SANCA Wedge Gardens Treatment Centre

    The role of nurses at SANCA Wedge Gardens Treatment Centre

    Posted On

    Nurses play a vital role in helping patients undergoing drug or alcohol rehabilitation. At SANCA Wedge Gardens Treatment Centre, in Whitney Gardens, nurses care for patients during detox, treatment and at the halfway house. From day one, the nurses are there to ensure patients are safe, comfortable and supported. For patients taking the first steps… Read more

  • A story of hope: Drug addict turns his life around

    A story of hope: Drug addict turns his life around

    Posted On

    Randburg resident Jean-Pierre Devilliers Anderson (33), fondly known as JP, has been clean and sober for over 18 months, thanks to his full commitment to taking his life back and SANCA Wedge Gardens Treatment Centre’s Full Circle Recovery Programme. JP, who grew up in Thabazimbi, Florida and Roodepoort, says while he had a normal childhood,… Read more

  • SANCA Wedge Gardens welcomes OT Caryn Berman

    SANCA Wedge Gardens welcomes OT Caryn Berman

    Posted On

    Glenhazel resident Caryn Berman joined SANCA Wedge Gardens Treatment Centre as a part-time occupational therapist in February 2021. Berman, who works at SANCA Wedge Gardens four mornings a week, believes that occupational therapy (OT) has a huge role to play in substance use disorder rehabilitation. She works with men at the rehab centre who are… Read more

  • Karen says farewell to Wedge Gardens

    Karen says farewell to Wedge Gardens

    Posted On

    Social worker and Edenvale resident Karen Griessel has bid farewell to Wedge Gardens after being part of the therapeutic team at the rehab centre for over six years. “I started at Wedge Gardens in 2015, doing my practical work there during the last year of my social work studies. I was blessed enough to start… Read more

  • The dangers of ketamine

    The dangers of ketamine

    Posted On

    Ketamine is primarily used by medical practitioners and veterinarians as an anaesthetic but is abused by users as an hallucinogenic dissociative drug. According to Karen Griessel, a social worker at SANCA Wedge Gardens substance abuse treatment centre, ketamine is usually sold on the street as a bitter tasting, grainy, white powder. Users usually swallow, snort… Read more

  • The dangers of khat addiction

    The dangers of khat addiction

    Posted On

    Khat refers to the leaves and shoots of Catha edulis, a flowering evergreen shrub that grows in East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. It is used by chewing the plant’s fresh leaves, which have the most potent effect, and by smoking it, making Arabian tea from it or sprinkling it on food. Although some users… Read more

  • CAT addiction treatment at SANCA Wedge Gardens

    CAT addiction treatment at SANCA Wedge Gardens

    Posted On

    CAT, also known as Methcathinone, is a stimulant drug that speeds up the messages travelling between the brain and the rest of the body. According to Karen Griessel, a social worker at SANCA Wedge Gardens, CAT is synthetically created in laboratories from chemicals and comes in different forms, including white powder, crystals, capsules and pills.… Read more

  • Beware of the addictive herbal supplement kratom

    Beware of the addictive herbal supplement kratom

    Posted On

    Beware of the addictive herbal supplement kratom Read more

  • Alcoholism is a disease

    Alcoholism is a disease

    Posted On

    The banning of alcohol sales in South Africa for the second time, as a means to curb the spread of the Coronavirus, has again highlighted the dangers of alcoholism. Alcoholism is a chronic disease characterised by uncontrolled drinking and a preoccupation with alcohol. Alcoholics are not able to control their drinking due to both a… Read more

  • 2021 – HOPE is essential

    2021 – HOPE is essential

    Posted On

    Hope is needed for our mental and physical health, for survival of our communities and life in general. This is the opinion of Wedge Garden rehab centre social worker Karen Griessel. “The definition of hope will have different meanings depending on the person. In the spiritual context, it means believing good things will happen with… Read more