Addiction Treatment for Teens in Rancho Mirage

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Addiction Therapeutic Services Tailors Program for Addiction Treatment for Teens

As most of us can recall, we thought we were invincible back when we were teenagers.  Taking stupid risks while thinking we were immortal, we look back with relief that we survived our teen years.  Usually, parents had no idea the kinds of risk-seeking behaviors we might have been engaging in.

When an adolescent develops a substance use problem it may come as a complete shock to family and friends who didn’t see it coming.  Often a teen’s experimentation with drugs and alcohol is a passing phase that renders little lasting harm.  However, countless examples of a young person’s life becoming consumed and destroyed through the use of drugs are all too common.

When seeking help for an adolescent struggling with drug or alcohol abuse or addiction it is imperative to enlist treatment from a provider that specializes in teen substance disorders.  There are important differences in effective addiction treatment methods for teens versus adults.

Teen Brains are Different than Adult Brains

There are distinct differences in the brain of an adolescent compared with an adult brain.  Research from Yale University has shown that the brain releases chemicals, such as dopamine, in response to new experiences, resulting in a desire to repeat them.  Dr. R. Andrew Chambers of the Yale School of Medicine, headed up the study that showed how drugs become addictive as a result of stimulating parts of the brain that are still evolving during adolescence. ”You have a situation where the motivational brain areas are particularly active,” Dr. Chambers said, ”and the part of the brain that is supposed to inhibit impulses is not working well, because it is sort of under construction.”

So a teen who engages in recreational drug use may find his or her brain reinforcing that behavior, and that can culminate in a substance abuse problem.  This chemical response to trying novel experiences in the brain is more pronounced in teens than in adults, making them more prone to repeating dangerous behaviors.

In addition, the teen brain is still in the process of developing its executive functions.  The executive brain functions involve processing risks, planning, working memory, and impulse control.  Because the process of brain development is ongoing during the teen years, brain function hasn’t fully matured, which can lead to increased risk-taking and novelty-seeking behaviors.  Combine that with heightened emotions and impulsivity, it is clear why teens can wind up with a substance use disorder.

Addiction Treatment for Teens

With drugs and alcohol readily available to a teen motivated to experiment, it comes as no surprise that some will become addicted.  When drug or alcohol treatment is needed, a program that is tailored for young people is going to be more effective.  There are important differences that should be taken into account for treating a teen with a drug or alcohol addiction, such as:

  • Teens require more external controls and clearly delineated boundaries, so a teen recovery program should provide these constructs.
  • The teen brain will not process information like an adult brain, so recovery needs to connect emotionally for the teen, not just logically.
  • Engaging the family in the treatment process is critical, as the teen is dependent on them for financial support, transportation, and basic needs.
  • Understanding that the family dynamic may be a factor in a teen’s development of a drug or alcohol addiction if there has been abuse, trauma, family dysfunction, divorce, or neglect.
  • Peer pressure can be a factor, so helping the teen to understand the importance of distancing themselves from other teens with drug-seeking and using behaviors is crucial.

Providing a safe and supportive space to share life issues and emotional problems will enhance the addiction treatment program for teens.

Addiction Treatment for Teens in Rancho Mirage

Serving Coachella Valley, Addiction Therapeutic Services (ATS) offers adolescent treatment services specifically designed for teens with drug or alcohol use disorders.  Located at the foot of the San Jacinto Mountains in Rancho Mirage, California near Palm Desert, Indio, Cathedral City, Bermuda Dunes, and Palm Springs. ATS provides an intensive outpatient program (IOP) to help teens and their families heal in a serene and therapeutic setting.  An IOP allows for the teens to continue with their schooling while receiving the care and support needed for healing.  ATS teaches teens how to identify positive choices, how to take on life’s challenges, and how to build their self-esteem—all to aid in changing destructive patterns of behavior.  They will be counseled on how to discover meaning and purpose in their lives, how to deal with family issues such as divorce, and how to manage feelings of fear and anger.  For more information about our addiction treatment for teens, call (760) 349-7007 today.

Sources:

http://io9.gizmodo.com/the-neuroscience-of-why-teenagers-behave-the-way-they-d-1474948786

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/24/health/drug-addiction-as-a-developmental-disorder.html

Leading Addiction Rehab in Rancho Mirage, CA

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Addiction Therapeutic Services Offers Quality Addiction Rehab in Rancho Mirage, CA

Just as the education community has discovered there are seven distinct styles of learning—some kids learn visually, some are auditory learners, some are physical learners, etc.—the same type of distinction can be made for how people respond differently to various forms of addiction treatment.  Humans have very individualized wiring; affecting our beliefs and preferences and distinctly impacting what stimuli we will respond to.

Trends in addiction treatment have led it to become rote and mechanical, the exact opposite of how treatment for drug and alcohol dependency should be designed.  There shouldn’t be any preconceived boxes for the person seeking treatment to fit in to!  At Addiction Therapeutic Services (ATS), a leading addiction rehab in Rancho Mirage, California, our entire program is customized to the individual.  ATS offers Intensive Outpatient Programs (IOP), which allow the client to continue to work, attend school, and actively parent when appropriate, offering a sound alternative to inpatient treatment rehabs.

At ATS we believe that a person’s potential for real, sustained change lies in the program’s ability to identify unique personal traits in our clients, and then match those with the appropriate treatment plan and therapeutic modality.  By taking the time to do a deep assessment of the prospective client, ATS can customize its treatment program to align with all aspects of their mental, physical, and spiritual well-being.  As a result, our clients are responsive to their therapy instead of resentful of it.  This allows the client to feel a sense of ownership of his or her recovery, leading to a successful outcome.

A Holistic Approach to Recovery

ATS addiction rehab in Rancho Mirage serves people who are suffering from drug or alcohol addiction, as well as co-occurring conditions such as depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues.  At ATS we offer a smorgasbord of different types of therapy, each with its own clinical focus.  Based on the Living in Balance (LIB) Curriculum, an approach oriented for group settings, our program techniques are drawn from cognitive, behavioral, and experiential treatment aspects, with an important emphasis on relapse prevention.

Topics addressed in the LIB program cover the gamut, but all are pertinent to a recovering addict’s life.  Some of these include:

  • Attitudes and beliefs
  • Negative emotions
  • Nutrition
  • Sleep disturbances
  • Anger and communication
  • Sexuality
  • Spirituality
  • Money management
  • Grief and loss
  • Education and vocational development

Throughout the program, clients learn how to monitor their feelings and behavior, and how to use relaxation and visualization techniques.  Clients are taught how to conduct self-assessments and to actively implement effective coping and relapse prevention skills.

By offering classes that teach life skills, mindfulness, dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), and even art and music therapy, our diverse and eclectic program offers many different avenues that all lead to the ultimate destination: lifelong recovery from addiction.

ATS Family Program

Most people live their lives within some form of a family unit.  Addiction can wreak havoc on families, causing serious breaches of trust and pushing the family dynamic into stress and turmoil.  The family unit is our safe harbor, so ATS places a great deal of emphasis on its Family Program in order to mend the damage that addiction has caused within the family, helping it to begin the healing process.

The ATS Family Program offers several tools for the family to access during the recovery journey with their loved one.  Topics include:

  • Understanding the disease of addiction
  • The faces of addiction
  • Relapse prevention
  • Communication
  • Forgiveness
  • Co-dependency
  • Roles in dysfunctional families

The Family Program offers solace to members of the families who learn that they are not alone as they discover how much they have in common with each other.  ATS encourages families to bond with each other, where a common camaraderie elicits a sense of comfort and support.  Family Program is conveniently schedule on weekends to accommodate the busy lives of our client’s families.

Addiction Therapeutic Services is Here to Help

Addiction Therapeutic Services is a leading Addiction Rehab in Rancho Mirage which is located in the beautiful foothills of the San Jacinto Mountains.  In this soothing space of safety and serenity, real recovery from addiction or dual diagnosis is able to begin.  ATS is CARF (Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities) accredited, meaning that it provides internationally recognized high standards within the addiction treatment field.  For a high quality IOP that features holistic, individualized treatment care, contact ATS today at (760) 349-7007

How the Family System Affects Addiction Treatment

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Family Addiction Treatment

The idea of the family being a system comes from Dr. Murray Bowen who developed the Bowen family systems theory in the 1950s. He also is credited for defining the field of family therapy. The reason this advent is particularly important to treatment providers and those seeking long-lasting recovery is because much of the research that came about in the decades to follow demonstrated that the strong ties between family members deeply affect recovery.

The way that individual family members are often looked at, in this day and age, is in isolation to one another. This is best highlighted by interventions. Many of us have been exposed to interventions for addiction on television, in films and in our real lives. Being that we live in a highly individualistic society, the ambush intervention style seems effective at first glance. A whole family gets together and ambushes the addicted individual in order to get them into treatment. The addicted individual is seen as the problem. While this style does work for some people, it’s not necessarily effective for a lot of people who need help. Some will either resist the ambush entirely or find that when they return home after addiction treatment, they have no idea how to cope with an unhealthy home environment. What that means is that the individual is at higher risk for relapse.

One of the problems with dealing with addiction in this way, as we’ve come to find, is because of the lack of understanding of the family unit being ONE emotional unit. Starting with the Bowen family systems theory may help us to build our understanding. First, the theory tells us that the family is one emotional unit rather than just a sum of its parts. The Bowen Center’s website also says that “Families so profoundly affect their member’s thoughts, feelings, and actions that it often seems as if people are living under the same ‘emotional skin.’”

Since the development of this theory, many experts have taken a magnifying glass to parent-child and other family relationships. For example, Dr. Rosemary Ellsworth Brown has written about controlling parenting styles being intimately tied to addiction. Bill Woodbury has presented the idea of “enable-ism” to the world through his book. And, Susan Jackson has expounded on the work of William L. White to show how whole families can heal together and support each other’s recovery, or conversely cause harm to one another without even realizing it. In such situations, some would say it is best to treat whole families rather than individuals in isolation.

In order to learn more about family systems, check out Dr. Jessica Rodriguez’s presentation at the Rancho Mirage Network Luncheon wherein she discusses strategies and interventions.

Addiction Therapeutic Services is a leading treatment facility in Rancho Mirage not only because of our highly experienced clinical staff, but also because we involve the families of addicted individuals as much as we possible can. We host family weekends where we offer Family Addiction Treatment where the entire family can receive psychoeducation and get to know more about their loved one’s struggles. We also host community education programs that are free of charge for the public. If you’ve been in the dark about your loved one’s addiction and want to learn more, give us a call at 760-322-1777.

C-Suite Conference for Recovery Industry Begins the Dialogue About Parity and Other Insurance-related Issues

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C-Suite Conference

C-Suite Executive eventRecoveryView.com, an online journal, kicked off National Recovery Month with the C-Suite Executive Symposium, subtitled “Strategies for Behavioral Healthcare and Substance Abuse Treatment in the New Insurance Economy. RecoveryView.com.” The topics covered were a matter of great import for treatment centers and individual practitioners. Most of all, each of the issues discussed directly bears on the decisions insurance companies make with regard to claims filed by treatment centers. Client-care is at risk when insurance companies don’t pay out, so it was inspiring and comforting for many in the industry to see the huge number of professionals come together to sort out the issues at hand.

Renee Popovits, J.D. then shared her insights and expertise in “Corporate compliance” making it clear that every facility must have a code of ethics.

Sharon Rain, a marketer for Addiction Therapeutic Services says she “really enjoyed the attorneys as well as hearing from Cigna.” That is Cigna’s Chief Medical Officer, Douglas Nemecek, M.D., M.B.A. Rain appreciated the opportunity to cultivate a better understanding of what has been happening in the insurance industry. “I didn’t know the details before. There has been anxiety about what has been happening with the insurance companies.”  While Rain felt some unsettled vibes in the room, she feels that “with everybody working together, there is no doubt things are going to get better.”

Tony Marquez, consultant, called the symposium “very informative and inspiring.”  To deal with the drug epidemic as an individual or as a business is one thing, but to begin addressing these issues from an insurance perspective, is something that Marquez found inspiring.

“We need to keep up this dialogue,” said Marquez. “Also, it was very courageous of the Cigna person today to open up a dialogue that brings up points on opposite sides of the road.”

Sheila Mason, a nurse who has worked in behavioral health care for over 30 years said

“the presentations were so detailed and eye-catching.”  She particularly loved the presentation by Dr. Louise Stanger on “Standard of Care and Ethical Issues. “Dr. Stanger was animated and engaging, said Mason. Mason was also intrigued by Stampp Corbin’s, MBA, presentation on “Mental Health Parity: Your Business, Your Rights, Your Bottom Line.”  She was surprised that mental health centers could ask for an external review in the case of a denial by an insurance company.

“I’ve done appeals for over ten years…” she said. But had never heard of this external review option.

A trend in the industry is to see businesses not as competitors but as partners in a joint effort toward better ethics and more power in the dialogue with large insurance companies. Scott Kiloby, J.D., Addiction Treatment Advocacy Coalition Board member, said that it’s important to share information. He also pointed out that there is a two-pronged approach that consists of standing up to the insurance companies and remaining compliant. Other presenters on the Executive Panel with Kiloby were Lori Phelps, Ph.D., Pete Nielson, Sherry Daley, and Rebecca Flood, MHS, LCDC, CADCII, BRI II.  The panel was moderated by Joan Borsten who has become well known for fighting against certain insurance company decisions that have impacted individuals and professionals across the Recovery Industry.

The C-Suite event was sponsored by several treatment centers and others in the recovery industry. It also featured exhibitors. Those present were Addiction Therapeutic Services, Hope by the Sea, Addiction Treatment Coalition, A&M Symposium, Benchmark Transitions, Dynamic, Hired Power, Millennium, Milestones Ranch Malibu, Catalyst Group and His House Treatment Centers.

Josie Herndon of Addiction Therapeutic Services is glad that “the conversation in the industry has started.” She pointed out that national associations are now working together and talking about future collaborations.

While there is quite a ways to go, the C-Suite conversations demonstrated that quality of care, efficiency and the best ethics on both sides of the conversation will be essential to making sure that clients and treatment centers come out as winners.

As Marvin Ventrell, J.D. of National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers put it,
“The transformation of a human being must be our guiding objective.”

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation: A New Answer to the Antidepressant Quandary?

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Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)

A normal brain lights up like a hearth in a PET scan whereas a depressed brain is usually dark, with only a only few glowing embers. A brain scan seems like quite a work of art and in some ways represents the light and darkness in a person’s life experience. But speaking scientifically, a PET scan shows doctors the levels of activity in different parts of the brain. A medical professional who uses such scans to apply the newest treatment models in Treatment Resistant Depression is Dr. Manish Sheth, a desert area psychiatrist.

He recently spoke at the Rancho Mirage Network Luncheon hosted by Addiction Therapeutic Services and works frequently with those suffering from substance abuse as well. Some have just accepted relapse as a part of recovery. But Dr. Sheth is one of the many doctors who decided to “look through the fog” to find out why relapses happen, and how the medical community can help stop them. At the luncheon, he offered up a wealth of research that could revolutionize treatment. It may even revolutionize the way that individuals and insurance companies support treatment for depression!

The new advances in neuromodulation are extraordinary according to double-blind studies for both surface and deep Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation as well as studies for other neuromodulation devices. The new processes help specialists to target an individual’s brain directly without dangerous side effects and without the typical compliance issues (that is non-compliance when it comes to a pharmacological regimen) that patients of depression and substance abuse tend to exhibit.

According to the International Neuromodulation Society (INS), neuromodulation can be defined as “a technology that acts directly upon nerves. It is the alteration—or modulation—of nerve activity by delivering electrical or pharmaceutical agents directly to a target area.” That basically means direct brain stimulation by a technological device.

Before the current devices were developed, some treatment programs included Electroconvulsive Therapy because research had demonstrated that nerve function controls depression. ECT was an effective way to stimulate nerve conduction, but needless to say, no one was a fan of electric shocks being delivered to an individual’s brain. There were also invasive treatments that involved a doctor cutting into the brain as well as Vagal Nerve Stimulation which required a doctor to open up tissue in the neck and insert a pacemaker-like device that delivered electrodes to the patient’s Vagus Nerve.

Transcranial Nerve Stimulation (TMS Depression Therapy) on the other hand does not require anything invasive to happen. Neither does it require anesthesia, nor does it involve radiation or electric shocks of any kind. It also does not threaten lapses in memory or disturbances in sleep cycles like some of the previous treatment models. Surface, or superficial, TMS proved effective back when studies were conducted 8 years ago. However, in 2013, when doctors found that the efficacy of deep TMS to be significantly higher, the field completely changed.

Deep TMS stimulates “deeper” structures in the brain that control dopamine pathways and seem to help to control the cycle of relapse. This part encompasses the addiction center of the brain. While the threshold of stimulation is different for each patient, Dr. Sheth says that patients at his outpatient clinic have an attrition rate of less than 2%. That means 98% of patients complete treatment. Doctors use cortical mapping to helps them to understand which angle they should place the stimulation helmet. They then set the correct threshold, and soon enough, depression is history!

When patients are undergoing TMS treatment, there is no restriction on diet and according to Dr. Sheth, patients have not reported problems with driving or sleeping. Patients come to the the clinic for TMS sessions 5 days a week for 6 weeks and most report feeling better in the first couple of weeks. Dr. Sheth adds that “they are self-motivating and take more ownership of their treatments,” which itself is a sign of depression symptoms clearing away. He also believes that TMS improves participation in treatment programs for substance abuse and that patients feel significantly better after four weeks of sessions. Where the normal remission rate for depression is 35%, TMS patients have experienced a 42% remission rate. Pregnant women and those facing depression in their postpartum period have also sought out TMS treatments and found them to be beneficial.

At this time, there is data both supporting the efficacy of TMS as well as showing that its results can and often do last up to a year. As research continues, we hope to find out whether the benefits of TMS can last beyond one one year. If you have any TMS anecdotes, please send them our way!

Addiction Therapeutic Services’ Clinical Director Shares Insights From A Musical Journey

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Insights from a Musical Journey

Musical JourneyThe creative arts are a powerful way to understand and explore life experiences. In fact, addiction recovery and the deeper search behind the recovery process are often best understood without words. So how does the lifelong musical journey of a Psychologist affect his own life and the life of those in recovery?

Dr. Ray Montella, Addiction Therapeutic Services’ Clinical Director, has been playing bass since he was 13 years old and has some valuable insights on this.  

“I just turned 63 so if my math is correct that would be half a century,” he says.

Dr. Ray’s friends started a band. One was a drummer and another a guitar player. The eldest played piano.  Dr. Ray wanted to be in this band… and the only missing instrument was the bass!

Playing bass was such an integral part of Dr. Montella’s life that even when he was pushed out of the noisy rock band – because he aligned more with the musical stylings of artists like Crosby Still & Nash – he kept on playing.  He joined the school band where he learned to read and write music.  From there he progressed to concerts and performances.

“I played for shows back then… for people that kids won’t remember, like Rita Moreno. She was Maria in the movie West Side Story,” he says. “ I played for Jerry Lewis and many others that are no longer with us. Did some Broadway shows and theater as well but my real love is jazz, Motown and Funk.”

Dr. Ray posits that music is a combination of math, science, physics, patterns and creativity.

“There is an architecture to making it all work but sound effortless. Therapy is no different to me. A person’s life is also a combination of those things, we sometimes call it the mind, body, soul connection.  Definably, there is a science to observing patterns and a discipline to putting together the building blocks to one’s life. The variation in one’s experiences from another’s are endless as are the possible combinations of music. Life, like music, has dissonance and harmony depending on the combinations of vibrations or frequencies,” he says. “ It takes a skilled, talented and practiced musician to learn how to navigate and interpret the instrument and then transpose it into a sound.”

When asked how his personal, musical background affects his clients, he says “A bass player needs to understand the intent and pattern of the drummer’s rhythms, and the melody and harmony from the other instruments in order to find the link that connects them. That is the skill I use when looking at a person’s life to see, in essence, what music they have composed that created the harmony or dissonance…and then help them compose a song they want to sing.”

Many treatment centers, like ATS, have included Creative Expression as a part of their Intensive Outpatient group schedules.  ATS’s Creative Expression curriculum includes Poetry in Motion, Arts and Crafts, Intentional Collaging, Creative Rituals and many more classes that are set to specially curated musical soundtracks. Each of the classes invite clients to bring their artistic knowledge, musical knowledge included, to enrich the experience with new layers of beauty and understanding .  The visual, auditory and tactile experiences are often insightful and even profound.
Dr. Ray likes to encourage clients to find whatever expression gives them a creative outlet and feels that music not much different than therapy. To compare therapy to music…you have to learn and develop your theory and scales first so you can execute the music. In therapy we are putting together the scales, therapy and techniques so one can then go play and know how to be proficient in the expression and performance of their life. Playing music is the end product of the hours put into practice and understanding.”
He ends by saying, “When it’s time for the performance…it’s time to stop analyzing and just feel the fruits of the hard labor of your practice.”

ATS Employee Fosters Recovery and Builds Bridges Through Community Involvement

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ATS Fosters Community Involvement

Community InvolementATS is proud of the quality of services it provides as well as its amazing staff. This month, we are highlighting Mark Worthington, counselor extraordinaire!  We asked him about his involvement in a wonderful organization called The North American Gay Amateur Athletic Alliance (NAGAAA) and how his participation affects his work as a counselor in recovery.  Here’s what he had to share:

I am involved in PSGSL is a Non-Profit 501(c)3 Corporation.  We are a slow pitch softball league, established primarily for GLBTQ persons in the Rancho Mirage area, but open to all interested players.

I was originally introduced to the PSGSL by a friend in early recovery. This friend was a young father struggling with addiction who had been drafted by a major league baseball team only to suffer a career ending injury.  Playing together on the team opened the opportunity for healing, not only for one’s self but also for the family and community.

The Rancho Mirage Gay Softball League (PSGSL) was originally organized in 2004, by our Founding Fathers Tommie Douglas and Jim Hurst. The league began with 4 teams and approximately 50 participants. Today PSGSL has grown to 14 teams with 200+ participants.

The purpose of the PSGSL is to foster local, regional, national and international sports competition predominately for gays and lesbians.  We are dedicated to the promotion of the amateur athletic experience for persons of all skill levels and abilities, regardless of sexual orientation, gender, race, creed, religion or national origin. The primary focus of the PSGSL is to provide venues for adult slow-pitch softball competition. Additionally, the organization endeavors to develop people of all abilities and experience to participate in sports competitions.

As an addictions specialist, understanding the struggle of people from all aspects of life, it occurred to me that engaging with this community could offer me the opportunity for not only personal growth but recovery and community growth as well.

The Rancho Mirage Roadrunnerz softball team of which I play for was founded in 2010 and is sponsored by the Desert Eye Care Center (DECC). We are organized within the guidelines of NAGAAA and PSGSL.

Playing softball is a great avenue to exercise, socialize and be a part of something that is bigger than one’s self. Playing softball within the NAGAAA guidelines allows players of different skills and athletic ability to be rated into equally competitive groupings so that play is not only safe but fun. The atmosphere at games and tournaments is one that is conducive to family and friends alike. There is nothing like playing with the support of family and friends cheering you on. Softball in this league offers great opportunity to travel to different venues both locally and abroad.  We have participated in tournaments in Huntington Beach, San Diego, Phoenix and Las Vegas just to name a few on the circuit.  After the softball is over, my family takes time to explore the community, visiting beaches, zoo’s, parks and local food fair.

Recovery from addictions should include a balanced program. Engaging in healthy activities is essential to having balance in recovery. For me the physical awareness created through practice and play of this sport enhances my health. Playing softball also offers me the opportunity to connect with a portion of the local community and share that connection with my peers and colleagues.

I believe that playing as part of team brings the same concept to my employment, utilizing strengths of individuals to create a stronger whole unit.

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PSGSL teams are sponsored by local gay and gay friendly businesses throughout the Coachella Valley.  2016 Team Sponsors include: Contour Dermatology, George’s Alibi Azul, Hunters Bar, Café Palette Restaurant and Bar, Bean Counters Bookkeeping, Desert Eye Care Center, Street Bar, Chill Bar, Tropicale,, Coachella Valley Independent, Bongo Johnny’s and Leo’s Auto Repair. PSGSL games are played at Big League Dreams in Cathedral City on Sunday afternoon at 2pm, in both the Spring and Fall seasons.

League Council Meetings are held on the first Tuesday of each month at Hunter’s starting at 6:00 PM. psgsl.org.
Formed in 1977, NAGAAA is a 501c(3) international sports organization comprised of men and women dedicated to providing opportunity and access for the LGBT community to participate in organized softball competition in safe environments. Currently, more than 13,000 players from 43 cities across Canada and the United States participate in member leagues, and the best of these teams converge once a year for head-to-head competition at the annual Gay Softball World Series.

Achieve a Calmer Mind with Compassion Attentiveness Therapy

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Compassion Attentiveness Therapy

“You need get out of your head!”

You are certain to have heard this emphatic plea from a loved one or a therapist at one or more stages of recovery. But whether you have fully taken it in and understood how to move out of that busy and tortuous head space is a different matter. People often think of self-care as the means to building healthy life patterns and thoughts, but it’s possible that another way to approach this is to care for both oneself and others at the same time.

According to therapist, Saleem Noorali, LCSW, there is a way to step outside of the noisy mind space and achieve multiple layers of mental peace at the same time. Noorali coined and branded Compassion Attentiveness Therapy, a new mode of treatment which promotes a healthy relationship with self, humanity and all living things. While there seems to be step-by-step widening of a lens going from self-compassion toward all living things as a part of this model, Noorali suggests that the steps are more effective when occurring simultaneously.

“When you’re engaged in kindnesses toward others, you’re outside of your thought loops,” he says.

An article called “A Wandering Mind is a Less Caring Mind: Daily Experience Sampling During Compassion Meditation Training,” was published in The Journal of Positive Psychology that reports what happened during a Compassion Cultivation Training that lasted 9-weeks. In the program, people engaged in compassion meditations twice a day for the length of the experiment. The results showed that compassion meditation was associated with reduced mind wandering for unpleasant thoughts and increased mind wandering to pleasant thoughts, and that both were associated with increased caring behavior for oneself and others.”

On May 26, 2016, Noorali presented at the Addiction Therapeutic Services Luncheon where he expounded on his own Compassion Attentiveness model. “Compassion Attentiveness Therapy isn’t just a therapeutic model, it’s a way of life that needs to be understood and applied by both client and therapist alike.”

While some might argue that compassion attentiveness could cause compassion fatigue, Noorali relies on ancient wisdom to say that “Compassion fatigue is not as a result of too much compassion, but as a result of incomplete compassion.” Self-care and self-love are essential for the therapist and the client equally. Where there is incomplete compassion due to a therapist not taking steps toward a compassionate life, services to clients will inevitably suffer.

In addition to talking generally about the importance of the new model, the May Luncheon presentation also placed a magnifying glass on daily rituals. While people have heard about rituals and often use them to create good habits, few have delved deep into the broader concept of the ritual. The similarities between group rituals, such as ones often seen in AA meetings, and the micro-rituals performed in the solitude of one’s own home on an ordinary morning are astounding once understood in closer detail and can even help people become more calm and mindful. A ritual demonstration was led by Samira R. Noorali, a multi-disciplinary artist, and involved components of music, poetry, movement and community participation.

Noorali has put forth several articles that help both therapist and client to understand how compassionate acts can shatter faulty perceptions and how new compassionate behaviors can lead both parties to flourish exponentially. Read them at RecoveryView.com!

Click Here to Watch the presentation by Saleem Noorali, M.A., L.C.S.W. and Samira R. Noorali, J.D. on “Compassion Attentive Therapy”

Simulation Experiences: Traditional Psycho-Education and Beyond

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Simulation Experiences

We’ve all heard treatment centers use “client-centered care” in their marketing taglines, but have you wondered what that really means?  At the University of Southern California C-Suite Invitational last week, Dr. Eric Coleman invited professionals from all over the healthcare industry to reflect on what those words mean. The Professor of Medicine and Head of the Division of Health Care Policy and Research at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus noted, that it goes beyond the genuine desire of business leaders to run “patient-centered” facilities, and enters the realm of helping clients to learn how to self-support.  For those in recovery, that means going beyond psychoeducation and integrating simulation activities into the treatment experience.

Client-centered care involves educating clients on their addiction and other afflictions but goes beyond traditional classroom work to include real-life simulation experiences.  Clients must form a close relationship with their recovery, beyond learning facts about addiction, in order to embody their goals.

It is important to note that enrolling in a psycheducation program is essential because it lays the foundation that is required to enlist long-term commitment to recovery.  In these classes, or “groups,” clients are often offered information regarding the medical aspects of addiction, life skills, and sometimes even co-occurring mental disorders.  In these sessions led by facilitators, counselors or therapists, clients come to understand why long-term dedication to abstinence and recovery is required, and why periodic drug usage or other stressors to the mind and body could be harmful or even fatal.

However, psychoeducation may not be enough to guide clients through the nitty gritty of complex life scenarios.  A truly client-centered facility’s psychoeducation program will help a client to implement his or her personal plan for recovery and assist that client in leveraging all of the tools that are available to them at the treatment center and beyond.  That’s where simulation experiences come in.  They allow clients to begin to understand the subtle details of real-life situations.

Simulation exercises bridge a gap that the theories in ordinary psychoeducation classes often leave out.   To begin with, the activities help clients to learn how to implement the tools they have picked up, like communication skills, and put them into action. Simulation also pushes forward positive changes in the brain.  The saying, “practice makes perfect,” is highly applicable to simulation exercises because the activities, when repeated, are likely to change aspects of the neurocircuitry of the brain. Another thing to consider is that the client will have a less stressful environment to practice in. Therefore, practice in a clinical setting prior to discharge can set the stage for better performance after discharge!  While transitioning to sober living or another residential environment post-treatment inevitably comes with challenges, this kind of preparation for self-support is invaluable.

Psychoeducation and simulation go hand-in-hand and can easily be interwoven in a treatment program.  Most importantly, paving a client’s transition using both methods could help him or her to understand how and when to reach for resources, as well as how to self-empower in difficult situations as the journey to healthier states of being carries forward.

Gratitude: Gifts of Recovery from Unlikely Sources

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Spring is upon us.  The season is ripe for learning new lessons, being inspired and becoming more aware of all of the bounties of this existence – even for those feeling the recovery blues. The Gifts of Recovery are numerous and come from both ordinary and surprising sources.  It’s just up to each individual to notice.  The gifts come in many different forms including inspirational films, “aha!” moments, strength, courage, reading material, the support of family and friends, treatment options, and many more.  Sometimes, even a positive thought is that gift that propels a person forward in recovery.

Are you reading this and questioning whether recovery and good feelings are really just a matter of perspective? Well, research spanning a few decades supports that positive thinking and gratitude are powerful sources of good feelings. And, we know that good feelings can push along your recovery and make your struggle more bearable.

McCraty and colleagues conducted a study in 1998 in which they studied people who “cultivated appreciation and other positive emotions.” The results were astounding, demonstrating a “mean 23% reduction in cortisol after the intervention period” as well as other indicators of reduced stress!

If you read one of our previous pieces on stress management and emotional self-regulation, you will know that stress is a part of a vicious cycle.  It can be the cause of addiction, a symptom of an addictive lifestyle and it can also raise the probability of relapse.

The Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley is running a project called Expanding the Science and Practice of Gratitude where researchers are finding that “people who practice gratitude consistently report a host of benefits including stronger immune systems and lower blood pressure; higher levels of positive emotions; more joy, optimism, and happiness; acting with more generosity and compassion; and feeling less lonely and isolated.”

For this valuable and groundbreaking research, UC Berkeley is partnered up with UC Davis, home of Professor Robert Emmons. Dr. Emmons is a leading expert on gratitude and has written many books and papers on the topic.  Emmons’s paper entitled “Why Gratitude Enhances Well-Being: What We Know, What We Need To Know” cites a 1998 study by Rosenberg which demonstrated that “Gratitude has been identified as a trait, emotion, and mood. The grateful disposition can be defined as a stable affective trait that would lower the threshold of experiencing gratitude.  As an emotion, gratitude can be understood as an acute, intense and relatively brief psychophysiological reaction to being the recipient of a benefit another.  Lastly, as a stable mood, gratitude has also been identified to have a subtle, broad and longer-duration impact on consciousness (McCullough, Tsang, & Emmons,2004) […] Gratitude promotes optimal functioning at multiple levels of analysis – biological, experiential, personal, relational, familial, institutional, and even cultural (Emmons & McCullough, 2004).”

Now that you know that gratitude is an attitude, mood and emotion that fuels itself into MORE gratitude… you know what to do! The gifts are boundless through a lens of gratefulness and within your immediate reach.

ATS is a Drug and Alcohol Outpatient Treatment Provider in Rancho Mirage, CA and can be reached at (760) 459-1795.