We want to talk about alcohol and its effect on our health, lives, and relationships. Undoubtedly, most people are aware that alcohol can cause stress and conflict in relationships. However, the general public may not understand the extent. Often, being close to alcoholics can change the relationship dynamic, and it’s essential to know how that…
BASIC IOP REQUIREMENTS The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) Counselor’s Treatment Manual outlines a sample schedule that gives an idea of what you can expect if you or someone you know begins treatment at an IOP. This is only a sample, and your program may differ depending on your needs. Weeks 1-4 Weeks 5-16…
Celebrating Father’s Day after Addiction Treatment Maybe you weren’t expecting your father to be here for another Father’s Day. Maybe you have never had the opportunity to spend a Father’s Day together in the past. Drug addiction is a debilitating condition which takes the lives of many, and ruins relationships in the process. For that…
It’s prohibitively difficult to access mental-health services in rural America. That’s because, relative to urban areas, rural counties have so few mental-health professionals. The majority of nonmetropolitan counties in the U.S. don’t have a psychiatrist, and almost half lack a psychologist. The paucity has resulted in a public-health crisis—rural Americans suffering from a psychiatric condition…
Positivity is crucial to recovery from addiction to alcohol and other drugs. But what is it? First, it’s a quality of hope, that maybe I can live a substance-free life. Maybe I can make it through a day without drinking or drugging. Just entertaining that hope takes a lot of courage. After all, by the…
Xanax Overdose Causes and Symptoms Xanax® is the trade name of the drug alprazolam. It’s a type of benzodiazepine, a class of tranquilizers. Most often prescribed to help treat panic and anxiety disorders, alprazolam is a central nervous system depressant. Overdose is not common but definitely a possibility, and the xanax detox process can be…
One of the best ways to understand addiction is to read about it. In psychology this is called bibliotherapy. It is a therapeutic technique whereby you read books about the disorder you are dealing with, in this case addiction. Bibliotherapy is helpful for people who are hoping to recovery from addiction as well as people…
This is a story about a young woman with a heroin addiction. I shall call her Claire. Claire had two small children and a husband whom she was very close with. At the time I worked with her she was around thirty years old. She came to me for two reasons, she was highly addicted…
Alcoholics Anonymous and other twelve step programs sometimes get a bad rap from people in recovery, so much so that many centers and organizations have come up with alternatives to the twelve steps. It isn’t so much that the steps are or the program of recovery is drastically different than when the original members created…
How Long Does it Take to Get Addicted to Alcohol? It is often hard to measure exactly how long it takes for addiction to occur. Let’s start by looking at a few of the complicating factors. For one, how will we define addiction? Some studies define addiction as physical dependence, others as psychological dependence, and…