Answer Addiction

Tag: addiction treatment approach

  • Gratitude Activities for Addiction: A Meditation on Abundance and Gratitude

    Gratitude Activities for Addiction: A Meditation on Abundance and Gratitude

    Reflecting on Past Experience

    As I contemplate my seventy second year, I recall the many lives I have lived, the trials and tribulations, the loves, losses, the successes and failures I have experienced. I know that I have brought joy to some and consternation to others.

    Since I have moved, I have stepped up the number of 12 step meetings I am going to and have been working on my character defects as well as making amends to those I have harmed knowing full well their responses are in god’s hands, not mine. For me, the first step is so important because I surrender to being powerless over people, places, thoughts, feelings and actions.

    Today, I am privileged to work with folks all over the globe, helping them rise to their best selves and often in the process I forget to take care of myself.

    So, How Do You Manifest Abundance?

    My understanding for the key to manifesting abundance is focusing and giving all your attention to the things you want. Then, you give zero energy to the things you do not want. 

    That is the key.

    To manifest even further goodness, you need to be grateful for the things that you have. Then, you keep being grateful as the things you have will just get better and better because you are focusing on all that goodness. That goodness grows exponentially and that’s a big part of how you shift your energy.

    How It Looks in Practice

    Today, I want to share ways in which I am working to manifest abundance in my life. In other words, I am working hard on discovering things about myself and not letting distractions (rumblings in my head, social media getting the best of me, etc.) get in the way.

    This morning, I realized I wanted to create a morning meditation which helps focus on manifesting what I want and what I am thankful for. I share it here with you as a way that you can carry a similar practice into your life.

     A Meditation on Abundance and Gratitude

    REPEAT TO YOURSELF: May I always believe something wonderful is about to happen.

    That is one I have to truly concentrate on to manifest. Growing up in a home full of confusion and tragedy, my natural inclination is to see the world through dark lenses, so I must consciously and vigilantly believe something wonderful is going to happen and look beneath, inside and above  the surface to unearth it.

    REPEAT TO YOURSELF: May I discover what I want in this next decade of life.

    As the 12-Step teaches, act courageously one day at a time. For today I am kind, honest, working a program, transparent and manifesting abundance for myself and others.

    REPEAT TO YOURSELF: May I manifest and practice gratitude daily by writing down each morning what I am grateful for.

    These are just a few things I’m grateful for:

    • Traveling up high and seeing the desert from 8900 feet
    • My husband John for always creating magical moments
    • Seeing the Big Dipper
    • Learning new ways of being
    • Hearing from friends far and near
    • My clients, who are my teachers
    • Crying and laughing

    REPEAT TO YOURSELF: May I manifest good health and exercise.

    Moving to a new city has switched my daily routine so today I am vigilant in finding new ways to move my body.

    REPEAT TO YOURSELF: May I manifest kindness and gentleness with myself and others.

    Be kind to everyone you meet, for everyone is fighting some sort of battle.

    REPEAT TO YOURSELF: May I manifest big ideas – so big that they grow wings.

    Concentrate on where I want to go not what I fear. For instance, I want to speak with Oprah. I want to do a TED Talk. I want to climb Machu Picchu and I want to take my husband to Norway. I want to be of service to others. I want to write with purpose.

    REPEAT TO YOURSELF: May I manifest money and work. “I love money, I love work. Work and money love me.”

    Other Ways You Can Call on Abundance

    Here are some other ways that I call on abundance. I repeat:

    May I watch my grandchildren grow and soar. May I laugh and take them to places near and far, to even Chuck-E-Cheese and play with them.

    May I laugh, love, work, be of service to others, forgive myself if I have harmed another, and embrace those who are my enemies and those who are my friends.

    May I be gentle with my soul, meaning strive to not live in a dark lonely place of “you’re not good enough” – rather, that I am enough. Always.

    May my phone ring with work and clients that I can serve. May I train and learn from others.

    May I love more and worry less. I want to do the next right thing. I don’t always know what results may come from my actions, but if I do nothing there will be no result.

    May I embrace the epic changes that I have made for GREAT OPPORTUNITIES ARE ALWAYS worth the risk.

    May I have the courage TO DIG DEEP, to look inside and out and find grace.

    MAY I BE PROUD OF THE WORK I DO, THE PERSON I AM, AND THE DIFFERENCE I MAKE IN THIS WORLD.

    May I learn to recognize all the dazzling important things that my eyes cannot see.

    May I have the patience and courage to do what is right.

    May I find laughter, silliness and play for I am often way too serious.

    May I cultivate deep gratitude for all that life offers me.

    MAY I REALIZE I AM RESILIENT. “WHEN THERE IS NO ENEMY WITHIN THE ENEMIES OUTSIDE CANNOT HURT YOU “AFRICAN PROVERB

    May my difficulties only serve to help me discover who I am.

    May I find a home for my talents in this world.

    May I surround myself with people who help me grow and be a better me.

    May I find a world that is kinder than I knew and often on my side.

    “May I live the kind of life I imagine for myself – for this is my one time to be me. I want to experience ever good things.” -Maya Angelou

    May I thank outside the box, thank people who least expect a thank you. Those that may have fired me or turned away. Or thank the grocery clerk, the mail person, etc.

    May I show myself deep kindness for the world and, hence, deep kindness for myself.

    May I always remember: “Gratitude can transform a common day into Thanksgiving, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.” -William Arthur Ward

    What Do You Do to Cultivate Gratitude?

    Let’s keep the conversation going.

    Please share your thoughts in the comments section below. We’ll do our best to respond to you personally and promptly.

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  • Can I Plan an Intervention on My Own or Do I Need Help?

    Can I Plan an Intervention on My Own or Do I Need Help?

    ARTICLE SUMMARY: This article reviews why most families need expert help during an intervention…and what planning is required. Your questions are welcomed at the end.

    ESTIMATED READING TIME: 10 minutes

    TABLE OF CONTENTS:

    Most Families Need an Expert

    Most families need outside help to get a loved one into rehab. I didn’t know this until I started working with expert, Dr. Louise Stanger on the book we wrote together, “The Definitive Guide to Addiction Interventions.” I learned that interventions are highly stylized conversations that require clinical skill.

    Why do most families need an expert?

    Simply, because it’s difficult.

    Trying to convince someone to get help for a drinking or drug problem requires experience and an understanding of common objections. Interventions can be potentially explosive, even if the person knows what’s coming. And you don’t know what’s going to happen. This is where experience can really help.

    Plus, loved ones who are using psychoactive substances are often in denial that s/he needs help. Denial is like a wall…with the right words, it can come tumbling down. But are you ready to talk with your loved one calmly, objectively, and rationally about addiction issues? If you’re honest with yourself…probably not.

    Additionally, we know that one form of addiction bleeds into another: co-occurring mental health disorders such as depression, anxiety, personality disorders, juxtapose with medical problems such as chronic pain, legal or school issues. The complexity of what’s really going on is a mystery to most families.

    Finally, consider this: Most people do not want to change.

    Creating movement and shifts within a family dynamic require thoughtful expertise. And while you might need to dish out anywhere from a few thousand dollars to many thousands…training, specialization, and experience are worth the money! In fact, moving someone to the point where they’re willing to change takes more than just the simple formula you’ll see on other blogs online: Write a letter – Speak the facts – Your loved one goes to rehab. It just doesn’t happen like that.

    Working with an interventionist can often get your loved one into treatment quicker and more efficiently than if you try to intervene on your own.

    Do You Need Help, or Not?

    So, are you at a point where you need a professional? Take a look at the following questions. You and your family might want to hire a professional addiction interventionist if:
    • You support (consciously or unconsciously) a loved one who is using mind-altering substances. This includes financial support or emotional support.
    • You have difficulty setting healthy boundaries or even knowing what boundaries are.
    • You experience somatic symptoms, lack of sleep, rage, endless tears, repeated illness, stomach aches, migraines, etc.
    • You have been unsuccessful in addressing a loved one’s substance abuse, mental health disorder, chronic pain, co-occurring disorder, legal trouble, or school and professional failures.
    • You have been unsuccessful convincing your loved one that s/he needs help.
    • You have a history of complex trauma, substance abuse, or co-occurring disorders in your family of origin.
    • You cannot function daily due to your fear of doing/not doing something different to change your loved one.
    • You think constantly about your loved one. Or, you have gotten to a point of disconnecting from the world around you; looking at the situation is too painful.

    What Does an Interventionist Do?

    An interventionist works with you, your family group, and the identified loved one (the person drinking or using drugs) to help that person accept medical treatment for addiction. In order to get to “Yes”, an interventionist should be able facilitate and guide the following:
    •   Team Formation
    •   Family Mapping
    •   Retrospective Bio-Psycho-Social Analysis
    •   Case Strategy
    •   Treatment planning and placement
    •   Aftercare recommendations
    •   Family engagement in the healing process

    Further, communication skills are essential to interventions. Interviewing skills and solution focused skills are critical. Throughout the process, the interventionist manages all team and third party communication. S/He serves as a liaison. For example, individual phone interviews with prospective team members may be required. Or, an interventionist may need to provide safe escort or transport to the selected treatment center.

    Case management is also required for the evidence-based interventionist. Treatment center matching and referrals are necessary. Likewise, follow-up and regular case management with treatment centers while clients attend rehabilitation programs is critical. Finally, consultation and coordination of aftercare as well as Solution-Focused Family Recovery Coaching for all team members ensures lasting change.

    Not all interventionists have these skills. You can download our Checklist for Hiring an Interventionist to learn what criteria are best as you choose the right person for your family.

    Logistics

    There are a few things that an interventionist should coordinate both before and during the intervention. This includes:
    • Set date and times for meetings.
    • Select a neutral, safe venue(s) for the Pre-intervention and Intervention Meeting.
    • Book the venue in advance.
    • Identify who will be present.
    • If someone is not present, decide how you will include them (by Skype, phone, or letter).
    • Communicate the time, date, and location to all accountability team members.
    • Arrange for food to be present at the venue.
    • Review entrances and exits to venue.
    • Identify pets, if any, and care for them during the Intervention.
    • Make sure there are enough seats available (round tables if using are better than rectangles).
    • At homes, pull chairs and couches around to create a safe setting.
    • Identify other places where one may go and speak with the identified loved one in a less formal setting.
    • Arrange for photographs to be present. What photographs might be helpful? For example, if the ILO had a close relationship with a grandparent that has died, one might put a photograph in an empty chair or have to share to help move someone to change.
    • Work with a lawyer, medical professional, counselor, medical nurse, or treatment center representatives when necessary.

    Security

    • Make sure you have access to a phone always, even in remote locations.
    • Hire same gender transport professional(s), when needed.
    • Hire a medical nurse to accompany the identified loved one to the treatment center in cases of extreme drug dependence to prevent withdrawal.
    • Complete a full security check upon arrival at the venue.
    • Lock down (under lock and key) any firearms, weapons, or knives, etc.
    • Gather home keys, car keys, IDs, and phone from the identified loved one upon arrival.
    • Gather keys of interior and exterior areas of the home from the family.
    • Call in the help of executive protection professionals, when needed.

    Travel

    • Make sure that tickets are open and flexible.
    • Book tickets to the treatment facility on a “loose” return itinerary to allow for missed flights.
    • Make sure that if using safe transport services that escorts are gender specific or if you use two people for transport one has to be same gender.

    Review

    • Review entire plan with team mate and other outside professionals.
    • Review plan with the accountability team.
    • Review who you want to give invitation to attend meeting.

    Q: What happens when you go one-on-one with someone in active addiction?

    A: You lose!

    Adding an interventionist to your team can help ensure success and get your loved one into treatment quicker and more efficiently than if you were to try to intervene on your own.

    To learn more about addiction intervention, please give us a call. Or, leave us a question in the comments section below. The telephone number listed on this page will connect you to a helpline answered by American Addiction Centers (AAC). The helpline is offered at no cost and with no obligation to enter treatment. Caring admissions consultants are standing by to discuss your treatment options, which can include family intervention specialists.

    If you’re ready for help, pick up the phone.

    You don’t need to hold an intervention on your own.

    Reference Sources: The Definitive Guide to Addiction Interventions, A Collective Strategy
    Available via Routledge Press or on Amazon.

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  • How to Find an Interventionist Near You

    How to Find an Interventionist Near You

    ARTICLE SUMMARY: A guide to finding a professional interventionist in your city or state. We also review how you can broaden your search to include out-of-state experts.

    ESTIMATED READING TIME: Less than 10 minutes.

    TABLE OF CONTENTS:

    Not Everyone is a Good Interventionist

    So, you’re ready to hire a professional interventionist?

    This person can and should help you get a loved one into alcohol or drug rehab.

    First, we’d like to acknowledge the difficulty in making this decision. The upfront costs might seem high. However, the Association of Intervention Specialists states that the numbers suggest up to 90% of professionally guided interventions succeed at getting the person into treatment. So, not only are you increasing the chances your loved one will attend rehab…you can also have hope that they’ll get their life back on track. How much is that worth to you?
    In fact, an intervention might be the most important thing you do for your family! However, please be advised:

    Not everyone is a good interventionist.

    No matter who they are – whether Ph.D., MD, social worker, a marriage and family therapist, or have only a ‘hard knocks’ degree – training is necessary. Taking a weekend course or joining a supervision group does not make a person effective as an interventionist. Further still, even if the person is in addiction recovery…that does not mean that s/he is a clinician or knows about addiction treatment, nor does it mean that they know how to conduct an intervention.

    Interventions require training, ongoing supervision, and experience!

    Experience is Necessary

    Q: So, what should you be looking for when you spend $3,000+ on a professional intervention?
    A: A professional interventionist must know what they’re doing and have the experience to back it up.

    In fact, credentials are not a prerequisite. Experience matters. Regardless of the interventionist’s academic background, you need to figure out:

    •  What they know.
    •  What skills they have.
    •  Who’s trained them.
    •  What mentoring they’ve had.

    You can be sure to vet the person correctly by downloading and printing this Checklist for Hiring an Addiction Interventionist.

    For even more advice, you can check out The Definitive Guide to Addiction Interventions, a book that synthesizes the 30+ years of clinical work of Dr. Louise Stanger that has been edited by Addiction Blog Editor, Lee Weber.

    How to Find an Interventionist

    An intervention can change everything. It can give you hope. It can restore a sense of harmony to your family. And, the person struggling with an alcohol or drug addiction can finally get the medical attention that they need. How can you find the right person?

    There are a few ways you can identify the best person for your family.

    1. Search professional associations.

    It is important to find someone with experience, the appropriate licenses/certifications for your needs, and a strong code of ethics. Two professional organizations exist that collect this information: The Network of Independent Interventionists (NII) and the Association of Intervention Specialists (AIS). These organizations list members’ credentials, licenses, and certifications. You can search member listings here:

    •  The NII website, the Network of Independent Interventionists.
    •  The AIS website, the Association of Intervention Specialists.

    2. Seek a reference from a mental health professional.

    The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD) exists as the nation’s premier advocacy group for addiction treatment. This NGO recommends that you seek help from the following professionals for intervention services:

    •  An alcohol and addictions counselor
    •  An addiction treatment center
    •  Psychiatrist
    •  Psychologist
    •  Social Worker

    Some of these professionals may have experience in interventions themselves. Other times, a mental health professional can refer you to a colleague or someone with a good reputation in the field. The organization also suggests that you reach out to NCADD Affiliates to be connected to referrals.

    3. Call us for help.

    The telephone number listed on this page will connect you to a helpline answered by American Addiction Centers (AAC). The helpline is offered at no cost and with no obligation to enter treatment. Caring admissions consultants are standing by to discuss your treatment options, which can include family intervention specialists. So, if you are ready to get help for you or a family member, reach out and pick up the phone.

    My Area or Out of State?

    So, should you be looking locally….or should you consider someone who’s out of state?

    Contrary to popular belief, a good interventionist is NOT LIMITED TO REGION. The right person is ready and able to travel…and has experience working with families of all types. In fact, their fees may not be incredibly different from someone who is local. Further, an out-of-state interventionist may have a broader outlook than someone who is near you. Here are some of the PROs and CONs of each.

    A local interventionist may:

    •  Be able to travel quickly to you or meet frequently.
    •  Be connected to local behavioral and mental health care providers.
    •  Be connected to local city/state agencies, including social services.
    •  Be limited in their referrals for treatment.
    •  Refer to local rehabs or treatment centers.

    An out-of-state interventionist may:

    •  Be available 24-7 on the phone or via email.
    •  Be connected to national behavioral and mental health care providers.
    •  Bill for travel expenses.
    •  Bring a fresh perspective to the situation.
    •  Have a broader network of referral sources.

    Local Search Tips

    If you’re looking for an alcohol or drug addiction interventionist near you, it can help to search for the right person via referral. Start with your family doctor and work your way out to other connections. For example, you can seek referrals from:

    While you may be concerned about anonymity, also know that Americans are increasingly destigmatizing addiction, especially through advocacy groups like Facing Addiction. In fact, an estimated one in three American families experiences addiction through one close family member. So, your friends and family can also be a source of help.

    National Search Tips

    If you’re interested in hiring someone who may have a wider view of the addiction treatment landscape, it can help to search nationwide databases for references to resources. Non-government organizations are especially helpful. Again, you’ll want to refern to the NII website, the Network of Independent Interventionists, and the AIS website, the Association of Intervention Specialists.

    Otherwise, we recommend that you look for an interventionist using the following websites:

     Clinical Qualities to Look For

    Again, not all interventionists offer the same level of expertise. For this reason, we suggest a quality check before hiring someone. You’ll want the person to demonstrate the following qualities outlined in part of Chapter 10 of The Definitive Guide to Addiction Interventions:

    1. Boundaries.

    A good interventionist will establish clinical boundaries between themselves and clients. These boundaries address the length of a counseling relationship, self-disclosure by a counselor, giving of gifts, and the limits of touch or personal communication between counselor and client. A boundary will also define or limit personal benefit of money or services that the interventionist receives. The emotional or dependency needs of a counselor should also be in check.

    NOTE HERE: Hiring an interventionist is like working with a contractor. So, it is helpful to vet the person you want to work with via a Google search or by talking with colleagues about her/his reputation. Also, ask for a very clear contract and terms of service at the beginning of your contractual relationship.

    2. Competence.

    A good interventionist will be able to reference achievements of professional competence. S/He should also exhibit cultural competence when working with specific groups…but not overstep abilities.

    NOTE HERE: You can ask for all professional qualifications before you sign a contract with an interventionist. You might ask for a resume, a CV, or for 2-3 professional references.

    3. Confidentiality.

    Keeping private information private is the hallmark of a therapeutic relationship. HIPPA Forms attempt to clarify the confidential nature of the work of addiction interventionist. However, strict confidentiality should be from the first phone call. The principle of confidentiality should govern record keeping, accounting, informal and formal conversations, treatment decisions, and the person’s progress notes. The right person will also be familiar with state laws about confidentiality and have necessary consent forms, signed, and on file. Mandated reporting, the “Duty to Warn” laws, and exceptions to confidentiality law (drug court, federally assisted treatment programs, confidentiality and minors, age of consent) vary by state.

    NOTE HERE: Ask potential interventionists to provide you with a statement describing the extent to which confidentiality of records will be maintained, including an explanation on limits of confidentiality, plus who to contact in emergency in my official documentation.

    4. Avoid brokers or unethical referral services.

    Treatment centers have been known to pay bounties to for referrals. This leads to a practice called “patient brokering.” In return for referring a patient to a drug treatment facility, the broker receives a generous compensation of $500 to $5000. Brokers will offer to share this money with patients or entice them with drugs to leave an existing facility and qualify for another because they have relapsed, leading to a revolving door syndrome.

    Additionally, federal laws such as the Anti-Kick Back Statute make is a criminal offense for anyone to give a kickback with the intent of influencing referral of patients. Some examples include trips, hotels, or gifts. Further, the Stark Law tries to prevent physician’s self-referral, or when a physician refers a patient to a facility s/he owns or family has financial interest.

    NOTE HERE: Ask an interventionist directly about monetary relationships s/he has with treatment centers. If the person works for the treatment center, this is not necessarily a bad thing. However,know whether you’ll be contracting with the center or the individual directly.

    5. Informed consent.

    You need to officially grant an interventionist permission to carry out an intervention, in full knowledge of the possible consequences, risks, and benefits. An informed content should include a description of any reasonable foreseeable risks or discomforts (consequences of early withdrawal), a description of any benefits to the subject or others, as well as disclosure of any alternative treatments, including medications.

    NOTE HERE: Ask to sign consent forms at the beginning of your relationship with an interventionist to manage your expectations and set the guidelines for the clinical help you’ll receive.

    Your Questions

     We hope to have given you a good, solid place to start looking for help.

    We also understand that you may still have questions. Please leave your questions in the comments section below. We try to respond to all questions with a personal and prompt reply.

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  • Change is Strange: Coping with Change in Addiction Recovery

    Change is Strange: Coping with Change in Addiction Recovery

    What Are “Changes”?

    For the past several months I have been experiencing a lot of change. But what does that mean? I’ve been asking some questions:

    • What do we mean by change?
    • How do we view change?
    • What does change do to us?

    Simply defined, change is, “the act of making or becoming different.”

    Those are small words for such an often series of tumultuous acts. Change can be sudden and unexpected, or it can be thought out and planned. But no matter how much we plan for change, it can throw us in a loop. We can feel lost. Anxiety and fear can take over. In sum, change is strange.

    Change is Strange: A First Hand Account

    Take for instance how I have spent my life’s work working in the behavioral health care field, most notably in the addiction and mental health arena. I’ve spent decades either teaching on the university level or helping others to change. I have worked with thousands of students as well as hundreds of families whose loved ones experience the maladies of abuse. This has included:

    • Chronic pain
    • Disordered eating
    • Disordered shopping
    • Compulsive gambling

    … other process disorders coupled with anxiety and depression. All the while, the name of the game is to motivate, facilitate, inspire them to change their behaviors. The goal is to fool those neuro tags and change the way one responds to life.

    Well, let me tell you first hand, “Change is strange”. I travel for work. Over the last few months, I have worked in London, New York, Fargo, Clovis, Mountainside, Long Beach and Malibu. I have changed some of the work I do from consulting at one place to consulting at a few others. Consulting means you go into a center with essentially clean eyes and knowledge about the subject matter you are asked to look at. As such, one becomes a partial part of something.

    As a consultant, one’s job is well defined. In my case, most of the time it centers around developing curriculum, training and working with others. As such, you must learn all about the entities and perspectives in the workplace. In other words, you must put yourself in their shoes. You must identity with and try to understand all the nuances of a treatment environment, even though you are not present all the time.

    Looking at Attachment

    This is a tightrope walk. I honor the professionals, the work they are doing, and their processes for accomplishing their goals. Nonetheless, in doing so, I find that I become attached to the people, places, and things I encounter.

    When a consulting job ends, there is a little hole inside of me that misses that place, that staff, those people.

    And so, faces and places change. I found this experience to be bittersweet, having learned tons about a new subject matter. Hence, whether it’s abrupt or planned, saying goodbye is difficult. Change is strange!

    Moving to a New Home Shakes Things Up

    Recently, my husband, dogs, and all our things were picked up and moved. The process has shaken up the molecules of knowing where everything is in its rightful place. It’s difficult to know where things are: from where silverware sits to where the best grocery store is to wondering, “Where did I put this or that?”.. to not knowing exactly where to go, what to do, or who to meet.

    My sense of direction, belonging, and trajectory have all been thrown into a clothes dryer and the dial turned up to maximum spin. I don’t know where I’m going to fall when the tumble dry finishes. Indeed, change is strange.

    Many of you know we have relocated to the desert. Mr. Wadas – my husband – as I affectionately call him, is happy as a clam after spending months making a new home. He can walk out onto our back patio and look up at the stars every night, see the harvest moon, and can play golf for a cheap ticket at the best clubs.

    As a former athletic director, moves are a way of life for him. He changed university colors many a time. As an athlete, he learned that there is always another game to play. If you lose one you get up the next day, dust yourself off, learn from the plays, train harder, and go back out. His mantra is:

    “Preparation plus opportunity equals success.”

    He rolls with the punches, another way of dealing with the emotional highs and lows of transition.

    How Being an ACOA Informs My Response to Change

    For me, the adult child of an alcoholic and the daughter of a Loretta Young-type mother who vacationed and moved constantly, change doesn’t settle well in my bones. In addition to this, I’m a woman who experienced many sudden deaths of close family.

    I don’t move.

    In WeHo, my previous residence, I only moved two doors down from our condo to a home. I fell in love with the city, learned, laughed, walked everywhere in the neighborhood feel of WeHo, met so many new people, volunteered at the Sheriff’s station, tripped in disbelief over a growing homeless population, protested the marijuana stores, made friends with the doormen at Sunset Marquis, experienced the vastness of the treatment and recovery industry, hiked up to Soul Cycle every morning, riding alongside artists, designers, celebrities, etc., and felt a strong sense of community. I felt energized, activated and secure with the sounds of La Cienega roaring in the background.

    And then life took some turns and we chose to move.

    I have been coming to the desert for more than 35 years. I know the streets, have a few professional friends here, and can find my way around. Still, I don’t know all the places. There is a flood of new faces. Yet, there is a familiarity in unfamiliarity.

    I Turn to the Tools of Recovery

    What I do have that I embrace are the tools of recovery for any environment in the world. As such, this means that:

    • I try six meetings and try six more.
    • I try six spinning studios and try six more instructors.
    • I use the telephone (I don’t know my landline number even that was switched).
    • I reach out to new and old friends, suiting up and showing up.
    • I trade Melrose Place for Lowes (really!)

    More than anything, it means feeling my feelings.

    I grieve the changes and welcome new beginnings. I shed some tears, write an article about FOMO (the fear of missing out), as I am missing all the L.A. events and its robust treatment community. It means facetiming with grandchildren instead of hugging in person.

    And in the process, I am finding my groove.

    This morning, as I see the desert sky come up… I am grateful. Grateful that I got to learn so much about chronic pain and how to work with families in that arena. I’m grateful for the synergy of the city, for learning about life in the fast lane, for traveling near and far in the pursuit of wellness, for learning from such great folks along the way from Sean Firtel to Brad Lamm, Jonathan Rauch, Jeffrey Merrick, James Flowers to Cole Rucker, Heather Hayes and Eve Ruff, Judith Landau, Denise Klein, Charlene Short Majors, Monica Phillips Priya Chaudri, Ed and Mary Ann Spatola, Dawn Hedgepath.

    There are so many more!

    How to Get Through Periods of Change

    So, now I am here in the desert, being gentle with myself. I realize that I am in the process of becoming. “Be gentle with your soul,” I say to others. Now I am saying that to myself.

    In this new chapter, the tools of recovery are important. Here they are:

    • Empathy
    • Establishing new rituals
    • Exercise
    • Feeling one’s feelings
    • Meetings
    • Nutrition
    • Peer Support
    • Professional consultation
    • Telephone calls

    So, if you are in the midst of doing something different – taking something out of your daily routine or adding something in – please remember it takes 60-90 days to change just one behavior. When you are trying to adjust, adapt, or learn about so many new things… let those neurons fire off and remember you are attaching to new ways of being.

    You will be OK.

    Change is strange! As John West, Co- Owner of The Guest House . hared on Facebook:

    “A shark in a fish tank will grow eight inches but in the ocean it will grow eight feet or more. The shark will never grow out of its environment. The same is true with you. Many times we are around small thinking so we don’t grow. Change your environment and watch yourself grow.”

    How are you growing today?

    How are you addressing change?

    Let me know and I will compile your wisdom and share with everyone.

    View the original article at

  • Horse Riding as Therapy in Addiction Treatment

    Horse Riding as Therapy in Addiction Treatment

    Equine Therapy: Does It Help Address Addiction?

    Yes, equine therapy be used to help address issues related to addiction. It helps us shift emotional and mental patterns, and discover new ways of being. While relatively new, this type of therapy has been shown to have many widespread benefits for both mental and emotional health.

    How?

    Well, to begin, addiction is a complicated disease. It affects the mind, body, and soul…so overcoming cravings and patterns to use drug or alcohol can be constant struggle, one that requires effort. This why we have to be active in our sobriety, not passive, even when we rack up some time in recovery.

    Getting there initially can be the hardest part of the journey. The pull towards drugs or alcohol can be powerful, and it isn’t uncommon that people face many false starts on the road to recovery. Relapses are almost expected, as drug or alcohol use has an allure when we first quit. What that means may be poorly understood by those around the sufferer.

    Even those in the scientific community are learning more about the recovery process every day.

    When a relapse occurs, or when we’re first trying to get sober, we may feel helpless and hopeless. The guilt, both of the addiction itself and the things we have done while in the throes of it, can make the urge to self-medicate all the more tempting.

    Sometimes, talk therapy can feel theoretical. Equine therapy forces you to step into the moment. You change your focus from yourself to another living creature.

    That is why utilizing multiple therapeutic approaches to addiction recovery are so effective. While going to voluntary, “peer-supported” meetings are an awesome way to hold yourself accountable and find acceptance among others who know your struggles, sometimes a 12-step approach isn’t quite enough.

    Dealing with the intense emotional core of addiction takes a professional, and you have many options to choose from. Therapy, counselor-led support groups, psychologist/psychiatrist combos, inpatient treatments, outpatient treatments—they are all proven to be excellent choices. A more experimental—but still highly praised—option to consider is equine therapy.

    What Is Equine Therapy?

    Equine therapy is riding and caring for horses in a therapeutic setting as part of a larger mental health program. During your time in equine therapy, you will bond with a horse, help care for their needs, feed them, brush them, saddle them, clean their stall, ride them and otherwise become connected to the animal on a deeper level.

    How does this help you recover from an addiction? It all starts with an external focus.

    Addiction is a selfish disease. It eats away at you from the inside, making you self-obsessed. So much of your life becomes about the addiction itself, whether it is when you can get your next fix, or how you will hide behavior from those around you.

    When you are coming off of drugs or alcohol, you have that same internal obsession. You are trying not to think about using. You are trying to put forward a certain attitude and appearance. You are stuck in your own head as you battle with the demons that kept you using for so long.

    Equine therapy forces you to move your focus to another living creature. Other animal forms of therapy that exist for addicts are the use of companion animals/support animals, such as cats and dogs. In addition to being larger than us, horses are highly feeling, intelligent animals. Their riders can become very attached to them and able to connect on many levels. Trust is built during both riding and caring for a horse, on both sides.

    Equine Therapy For Other Disorders

    Horse therapy has been used for other disorders as well, including in the treatment of mental health issues in children and teens. Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), ADD/ADHD, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, depression, anxiety, personality disorders and more can all benefit from time spent in equine therapy.

    As addiction can often overlap with the above other conditions, making this an effective form of therapeutic intervention that can be added to additional treatments being received by the sufferer.

    What You Will Get From Equine Therapy

    Equine therapy provides its own set of benefits. It is fun and enjoyable. It can be highly relaxing. It gives the mind something to focus on. It heals the body and helps build strength. It offers immediate emotional feedback from the horse, a highly empathetic creature.

    The rider will also learn things about themselves they never knew. They will find discipline and consistency in their activities. They will have time to sort out their own thoughts and emotions in a safe space, on their own time. They will even be able to learn to create and maintain healthy, trusting relationships in an environment meant to help them grow emotionally.

    How To Find Equine Therapy In My Area

    Many stables offer the ability to ride horses that they keep. However, those are not the programs that are catered directly to those needing assistance with addiction or mental health issues and should be a secondary source of interaction with horses.

    PATH International is a great, official source for information and finding an equine therapy program in your area. They are a network of licensed and trained mental health providers who use equine therapy as part of their overall treatment recommendations.

    Once you have found a provider that works for you, it is wise to speak to them about how their program works. Some will offer a staff of therapists in different specialties that work with you alongside the equine therapy.

    Others will have you continue treatment for your addiction and mental health with your own therapist or doctor, in addition to your equine therapy. This combination is a great option for those who have already established a relationship with a provider and want to continue working with them while adding equine therapy to their treatment plan.

    Equine therapy is an amazing, if somewhat experimental, method of treating addiction. It has been shown to have many widespread benefits for mental and emotional health. If you have been struggling with your path to sobriety, maybe equine therapy is the missing puzzle piece.

    View the original article at

  • Innovative Discharge Planning for Addiction Treatment Aftercare

    Innovative Discharge Planning for Addiction Treatment Aftercare

    Harold C. Urschell III, MD, MMA – Chief Medical Strategist at Enterhealth

    Successful Solutions to Long-Term Recovery

    Treatment for drug or alcohol addiction isn’t finished when a patient leaves a residential or outpatient treatment program. In reality, life after treatment is when a person’s recovery genuinely begins. After all, this is when the skills learned in recovery are really put to the test.

    At Enterhealth, our individualized programs are designed to teach our patients the skills necessary to stay cognizant of their own behaviors (the good and the bad), better recognize and regulate their emotions and, ultimately, prevent relapses before they occur so that the person can live a healthy, fulfilling and independent life in recovery.
    So, what should an innovative addiction treatment discharge plan include? Ideas here. Then, we invite your feedback or comments at the end.

    When does discharge planning start?

    Discharge planning begins early in the beginning of treatment and is a critical component of a patient’s personalized treatment plan. It’s basically a roadmap for how they are going to live life after inpatient or outpatient treatment, and it includes things such as:

    • Additional or ongoing therapies
    • Ongoing medication management
    • Drug testing
    • Support groups

    …and more. Due to the fact that each patient will have their own individualized treatment plan, Enterhealth’s discharge plans are also unique to each patient.

    But even more, treatment needs to account for a person’s need for physical, emotional, and social support. In this light, some of the more successful lifecare (our version of aftercare) treatment components include:

    Transitional Living or Sober Living

    Transitional housing – also commonly referred to as “step-down housing” or “sober living” – is a type of living arrangement which helps patients (typically those who go through inpatient treatment) slowly ease back into life at home, school and/or work. With staff onsite 24 hours a day, patients are carefully monitored and must adhere to curfews and random drug testing. Transitional living homes also typically provide things such as emotional support, life coaching and other supportive elements and programs. patients are also required to re-engage with society again, whether through employment, volunteer work or education.

    Medication Management

    Many of those in recovery require maintenance doses of anti-addiction medications to help curb and control cravings both during and after treatment. These medications – when taken properly – are safe and effective. We have to remember that addiction is a lifelong disease of the brain, and many people will require medication to keep this disease under control. Others will have the ability to taper off their medication as their brain begins to heal over the course of many months/years.

    Other patients take medications for psychological/behavioral issues such as anxiety, ADHD, insomnia or depression. It is critical that patients are taught the risks and benefits associated with any prescription medication, as well as ways to prevent misuse and abuse.

    12-Step and Support Groups

    In order to develop a robust support system and learn practices to improve and maintain their recovery, 12-step meeting and support groups are extremely helpful. Groups such as these provide a new sober group of peers, encouragement, and help individuals find the motivation to stay in recovery for the long term.

    Some of the more popular 12-step meeting and support groups include Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Celebrate Recovery and SMART Recovery.

    Whenever possible, family involvement should be a major component of a patient’s circle of support. Whether they are involved in family counseling through Enterhealth or another psychiatric treatment provider, or even with groups such as Al-Anon/Alateen and other Al-Anon Family Groups, family support can be a major component to a successful recovery.

    Recovery Coaching and Sponsorship

    Sponsors and recovery coaches are usually individuals who are in recovery themselves. Their primary function is to help people new to recovery transition to life after treatment. Not only are they a friend to lean on in recovery, but they’re also someone to hold the individual accountable and help them make wise choices, attend their outpatient treatment appointments and stay on their recovery plan. It is also common for recovery coaches or sponsors to attend various support meetings with the person they are mentoring in recovery.

    How to Best Approach Discharge Planning

    Enterhealth believes that an evidence-based holistic approach to drug and alcohol addiction treatment is the best way to ensure that patients receive the best care and get the best outcomes for recovery, and this approach extends to our discharge planning as well.

    A successful recovery is most often the result of multiple components working together to treat not just the addiction, but also the underlying psychological issues, physical ailments and real-life stressors which may have shaped the addiction in the first place.

    For this reason, board-certified psychiatrists and therapists should combine their expertise to create treatment and discharge plans that address each patient’s needs from start to finish. They should also try work closely with the family (when possible) to get them involved in the discharge process as soon as possible, as they can be instrumental in keeping a patient on the right track for recovery.

    Your Questions

    We hope to have provoked some thought about critical components of aftercare for addiction treatment. But you may still have questions. Please leave any questions or comments in the section below. We love to hear from our readers! And we’ll try to respond to you personally and promptly.

    To learn more about drug and alcohol addiction treatment or to inquire about using Enterhealth’s services for you or a loved one, please be in touch. We’d love to hear from you.

    View the original article at addictionblog.org