Detaching With Love – A Mother’s Story

Margaret Searle is a mother; a mother whose son, David, developed the disease of addiction. In the last month of David’s life, he became a missing person, walking out of his home and out of the lives of all who loved him. Devastated – fighting for his life against those in society who should have…

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How to Feel Better About Another Stint in Rehab

family members have slips and relapses too

Seriously? Feel better about another stint in rehab – impossible! I agree – it is impossible – UNLESS you have a solid understanding of some key facts about addiction (whether to drugs or alcohol) discovered in the past 10-15 years. These discoveries are the result of advances in imaging technologies (SPECT, fMRI, PET, as examples)…

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New Addiction Treatment Model

One thing is certain in the world of addiction treatment, there is no one, nor ‘right’, way to “do it.” The following is a guest post by Jonathan “Todd” Barlow, MS, about his new addiction treatment model. Todd has spent the last 25 years working in the field of addiction treatment as clinician, clinical supervisor,…

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Sober Living Homes | a Soft Place to Land or??

Taking advantage of sober living homes (also known as SLEs or Recovery Residences or Transition Homes or Halfway Houses) as a transitional step after rehab can be a huge help to a person in early recovery. The concept behind them is to provide an alcohol and drug-free housing environment in which a person can live…

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Do You Have to Call Yourself an Alcoholic

Do you have to call yourself an alcoholic to get sober? One of the biggest stumbling blocks for people wanting to stop or cut down on their drinking is the belief that doing so makes them an “alcoholic.” [It’s a similar stumbling block for their family members, who are experiencing secondhand drinking (the impacts on…

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Effective Dual Diagnosis Treatment | Relapse Prevention

What does it mean to have a co-occurring disorder (a dual diagnosis)? What constitutes effective dual diagnosis treatment? What does effective dual diagnosis treatment have to do with preventing addiction relapse? In simple terms, a dual diagnosis means to be diagnosed as having two brain diseases (aka disorders): an addiction and a mental illness. This…

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Help For Recovery – Give Lists a Try

I am a died-in-the-wool list maker. They have been my “Hansel and Gretel, crumb-dropping pathway” through my secondhand drinking recovery and, well…, I’d have to add – managing my life overall. And when it comes to secondhand drinking or addiction recovery, it’s the managing of one’s life that’s so important in the prevention of relapse.…

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