9Seeds: when recovery needs depth
If you're reading this, chances are you've already tried. Maybe the 12 steps. Maybe cognitive behavioral therapy. Maybe sheer willpower. Maybe all of the above, more than once. And something changed, perhaps for a while, but the root remained intact.
It's not that those approaches don't work. It's that for many people, they're not enough. Not because they're flawed, but because they address addiction as the central problem when it's actually the symptom. Addiction is the answer you found to a question no one helped you formulate.
9Seeds was born from that conviction: that recovery needs depth. Not just abstinence. Not just behavior management. A nine-week process where the person continues with daily life while learning to inhabit themselves rather than flee from who they are. No confinement, no punishment, no judgment.
Why traditional models don't always work
For decades, most treatments for problematic substance use have rested on two pillars: forced abstinence and isolation from one's environment. Many programs offer confinement spaces where the person is separated from their life, hoping that time and discipline will break the cycle. Sometimes they stabilize a crisis. But they rarely resolve the root: emotional disconnection and lack of meaning.
Twelve-step programs have saved millions of lives. There's no irony in that statement. Alcoholics Anonymous and its offshoots created a structure of surrender, community, and practical spirituality that remains the most accessible resource for early recovery. That deserves respect. Cognitive behavioral therapy has solid evidence for stabilization. None of these approaches deserve to be dismissed.
But there's a shared limitation. When the person returns to daily life, they face the same emotional conflicts that led them to substance use in the first place. Without self-awareness tools, without understanding the personality structure that sustains the pattern, relapses aren't failure: they're the natural consequence of treating the symptom without touching the structure.
The harm reduction model, endorsed by UNAIDS and recognized internationally, proposes a fundamental shift: not imposing abstinence as a condition but offering it as an option. Not punishing use but accompanying with progressive awareness. Not moralizing but respecting the person's autonomy and right to choose (Riley & O'Hare, 2000). In parallel, the Transtheoretical Model of Change by Prochaska and DiClemente (1982) demonstrated that change is not a single event but a circular process in stages, and that forcing premature intervention proves counterproductive.
At the Dynamis Healing Studio, we work from this premise: change is cultivated, not imposed. And each person arrives at their own moment in the process.
What 9Seeds really is
9Seeds is not confinement or clinical detox. It's an outpatient therapeutic process spanning nine weeks where the person continues with daily life while developing tools for self-awareness, emotional regulation, and a sense of purpose.
The name reflects a core philosophy: each of the nine Enneagram types contains a seed of transformation within its pattern of suffering. The same structure that generates compulsion contains, inverted, the key to liberation. Nine weeks. Nine seeds. Nine dimensions of inner work.
The fundamental proposition of 9Seeds is not quitting a substance. It's learning to inhabit yourself. When a person begins to recognize themselves, take responsibility for their story, and look honestly at their own pain, the real healing process begins. Not through punishment. Through awareness.
Each week has four components: a guide session exploring the corresponding seed, daily micro-practices for consciously documenting patterns and triggers, a process of tracking and self-observation, and a closing with preparation for the next stage. All of this happens while the person continues with their life, so that every everyday context becomes part of awareness training.
The program is not limited to substance addiction. It also addresses behavioral addictive patterns: workaholism, relationship addiction, control, approval-seeking, success as a way to avoid emptiness. The compulsive pattern takes many forms, and the structure sustaining it is approached the same way: through self-knowledge.
The starting point is always the same. Each participant begins with the 144-question Enneagram test, which serves as an initial compass to identify personality structure and the challenges that accompany their way of being in the world. It's not a diagnosis: it's a starting point for the journey.
The nine seeds: a spiral of awareness
The 9Seeds journey is organized as an ascending spiral, not a straight line. Each seed represents an inner force that activates at the precise moment in the therapeutic path. They are movements of the soul, not labels. The nine seeds dialogue with the energies of the nine Enneagram types, understanding that each person travels the process from their own starting point.
The seed of order opens the path in week one: recognizing the need for structure, observing impulses, establishing an ethical foundation that provides security at the start of change. Discipline isn't punishment; it's care. In week two, the seed of love teaches turning toward oneself the empathy previously projected onto others. The heart opens to recognizing one's own needs.
Week three brings the seed of valuation: real self-esteem, decisions without depending on external approval, the value of being rather than doing. The fourth, the seed of depth, invites exploring the emotional world without dramatizing or fleeing. It's work of honesty and shadow, where pain transforms into creative power.
At the midpoint, the seed of knowledge expands the process toward rational understanding: neurobiological mechanisms of craving, reward pathways, practical prevention strategies. Knowledge as applied care. Week six awakens the seed of courage: moving forward despite fear, strengthening the support network, recognizing that real security comes from within.
The seed of joy in week seven invites rediscovering the pleasure of living without escape. Sustained enjoyment, not dependent on intensity or substance. Week eight integrates everything prior into action with the seed of power: personal leadership, healthy boundaries, conscious autonomy. And closure arrives with the seed of peace: integration of everything lived, coherence between thought, emotion, and action, and a conscious maintenance plan.
"The spiral reflects the non-linear nature of change. Sometimes you move forward, sometimes you step back, but each turn of the spiral expands understanding and strengthens awareness. Learning happens within experience, not outside of it."
The scientific roots of the model
9Seeds is not a closed theoretical model. It's a living synthesis of science, existential philosophy, and therapeutic experience. Each current is integrated not as dogma but as a tool in service of the process.
Viktor Frankl's logotherapy functions as a compass: the search for meaning is an essential component of mental health. Existential emptiness is frequently the root of substance use. Frankl (1946) demonstrated that people can endure almost any suffering if they have a sufficiently powerful "why." Recovery without meaning is empty abstinence. Recovery with meaning is transformation.
The harm reduction model defines the program's ethical stance: not judging use, not imposing immediate abstinence, favoring progressive awareness and autonomy. Abstinence is an option, never a condition for starting the process. Prochaska and DiClemente's (1982) Transtheoretical Model of Change complements this stance: change occurs in stages and relapse is a normal part of the process, not failure. The stage where the person currently stands is respected.
Jungian psychology contributes shadow work and archetypal exploration. The denied parts of identity feed compulsion. Dialogue with the unconscious becomes a source of integration. From neuropsychology, the program addresses brain mechanisms of craving, dopaminergic circuits, and stress regulation. Understanding how substances work in the brain empowers the person to self-regulate.
The human brain learns through repetition and reward. Psychoactive substances alter the natural balance of neurotransmitters. 9Seeds works on this neurobiological foundation with progressive strategies designed to restore the autonomic nervous system's equilibrium. Each week trains small doses of self-regulation that, when repeated, modify activation and reward patterns. The goal isn't suppressing the impulse but learning to read it, regulate it, and transform it into awareness.
The somatic approach addresses what conversation cannot reach: bodily self-regulation, rhythmic breathing, grounding, sensory anchors. Addiction lives in the body as much as in the mind. Person-centered psychology (Rogers) defines the therapeutic relationship: the therapist is neither judge nor authority but a conscious mirror whose role is to hold the space where the person can observe themselves clearly. And clinical homeopathy provides a natural microdose component under professional supervision for emotional stabilization and symptom reduction support.
A different kind of accompaniment
9Seeds offers an intimate, flexible therapeutic format that adapts to each case according to personality type and stage of change. The program is available in person or virtually, with personalized accompaniment based on Enneagram results and each person's life moment.
The process draws on the immediate circle: family, partners, friends, or support networks participate as part of the context for change, avoiding dynamics that reinforce dependency. Work doesn't happen on an isolated person but on a person within their real world.
Experience shows that when a person learns to self-regulate, to feel safe in their own body, and to give meaning to their story, substance use loses its power. Not because it's forbidden, but because it becomes unnecessary. The micro-decisions of each day (sleeping better, asking for help, choosing a safer environment, recognizing a craving before acting on it) become genuine experiences of transformation.
The immersive option: culminating at Dynamis
For those who wish to close the process with greater depth, 9Seeds offers the possibility of culminating with a 7-day immersion at Dynamis Integrative Retreat, a sacred space in the mountains of Guanacaste, Costa Rica. It's not a requirement. It's added value for those who feel the nine weeks of work call for closure in a protected space, away from everyday noise.
The immersion includes integration in a natural dry tropical forest environment, a closing ceremony and new beginning, meditation and nature connection practices, and the design of a personalized maintenance plan. This is where the private cabins, the sacred ground, and professional accompaniment create the conditions for everything learned to integrate into the body, not just the mind.
Nine weeks build awareness. The days at Dynamis root it. The forest, the silence, and professional accompaniment create the space where transformation stops being a concept and becomes lived experience.
Check our upcoming events and formats or schedule a session to explore whether 9Seeds is right for your moment.
The first step
Addiction is not moral failure. It's a manifestation of suffering and disconnection from oneself. And until that disconnection is addressed at the root, from the personality structure that sustains it, from the void of meaning that feeds it, any solution applied to the symptom will remain provisional.
9Seeds exists to accompany that moment when you decide to stop running and start inhabiting your life. Like a seed finding fertile soil, your transformation process can flourish with the right accompaniment. Nine weeks. Nine seeds. A spiral of awareness that doesn't begin with the substance, but with you.
Sometimes change begins with a simple conversation. A question. A first step.
Explore the 9Seeds program Schedule an orientation session
Frequently asked questions
Is 9Seeds a confinement or detox program?
No. It's a nine-week outpatient process where the person continues with daily life. No isolation, no forced abstinence. It's an educational and therapeutic program based on self-knowledge, harm reduction, and awareness development. Learn more on the program page.
Do I need to stop using before starting?
No. 9Seeds is based on the harm reduction model, which doesn't impose abstinence as a condition but offers it as an option within the process. Your current stage of change is respected. The goal isn't prohibition but accompanying the development of progressive awareness.
Does it only work for substance addiction?
No. 9Seeds also works with behavioral addictive patterns: workaholism, relationship addiction, control, approval-seeking, success addiction. The compulsive pattern takes many forms, and the structure sustaining it is addressed the same way: through the Enneagram, logotherapy, and self-knowledge.
Is it compatible with a 12-step program?
Yes. 9Seeds doesn't replace the 12 steps; it complements them. The 12 steps offer community and a surrender structure. 9Seeds offers understanding of personality structure, existential meaning, and work with the layers that support groups don't reach.
Can I complete just the 9 weeks without the Dynamis immersion?
Yes. The 7-day in-person immersion is completely optional. Many people complete the program in person or virtually without the immersive experience. It's added value for those who want a deeper closure in a protected natural setting. Explore the retreat space.
How do I start?
The first step is completing the Enneagram test to identify your starting point. Then you can request an orientation session to evaluate whether 9Seeds fits your situation and life moment. The consultation is free, confidential, and no-commitment.
References:
Frankl, V. E. (1946). Man's Search for Meaning. Beacon Press.
Prochaska, J. O. & DiClemente, C. C. (1982). Transtheoretical therapy: Toward a more integrative model of change. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research & Practice, 19(3), 276-288.
Riley, D. & O'Hare, P. (2000). Harm reduction: History, definition and practice. In J. Inciardi & L. Harrison (Eds.), Harm Reduction: National and International Perspectives. Sage Publications.
Naranjo, C. (1994). Character and Neurosis: An Integrative View. Gateways/IDHHB.
Rogers, C. R. (1961). On Becoming a Person. Houghton Mifflin.
