Earth House Makes the Family a Part Of the Care Team
It is critical that family members understand how they can cooperate in the recovery to the best advantage of the student. In an orientation session, Earth House provides materials to explain the program and the importance of our rules. Additional materials are provided to make sure that home visits are successful. Three or four times a year, Earth House gives a family workshop to discuss techniques for supporting wellness, transitional strategies, dealing with setbacks, and other relevant topics.
Earth House Insists On Good Nutrition
Nutrients are supplied in regulated amounts to recreate biochemical balance, just as supplements are given in any condition where a normal diet cannot accommodate the body's needs. Good overall nutrition is crucial to developing biochemical balance. Earth House provides a diet designed to promote good health and fosters sound dietary habits. The food is delicious and attractive, as well as healthful, and students learn that healthful eating can be satisfying by sharing attractive family-style meals around one big table three times a day.
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Fresh fruits and vegetables, fish, fowl, and whole grains are the staples of the diet. The diet avoids all stimulants, such as caffeine and all junk foods, because they contain additives, refined flours and sugars, and are highly processed. Hypoallergenic foods such as wheat, soy, and eggs are used on a rotation basis to ensure that students being treated for cerebral allergies can avoid foods to which they are sensitive.
Earth House Requires Supervised Daily Exercise
The Earth House philosophy is that exercise is beneficial to body, mind, and spirit. In the past decade, as scientists have been able to understand the biochemistry of exercise as well as the mechanics, it has become clear that exercise is especially important for the mentally ill. At Earth House, we have 12 hours of compulsory exercise each week in addition to recreational sports and games.
Classes provide variety and balance. Variety is used to maintain interest and increase attention span. While some exercises are for cardiovascular fitness and others are for relaxation, all reduce stress, detoxify the body and increase body awareness.
Through such activities as swimming, volleyball, jogging, and other games and sports, the required therapeutic regimen is enhanced by the social dimension of teamwork and play for the fun of it.
