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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.”

Celebrating Our 3rd Anniversary!

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ATS 3rd AnniversaryRecovery, happiness and ice cream filled the offices, reception area and halls of Addiction Therapeutic Services last Friday.  Pondering our third anniversary brought so much joy to our hearts that we couldn’t wait to celebrate the achievement and blessings with others in the recovery community.  The event turned out to be more than just a get together… it was a time for friends in the recovery field to talk about their art, their passions and their future plans.

Sometimes our line of work can make our hearts heavy, but our Ice Cream Social allowed several of us recovery professionals to think about the best aspects of recovery – like living life to the fullest! Present at this lovely event were talented and passionate marketers, counselors and owners of treatment centers and sober livings.  In candid and friendly discussions over our Coldstone favorites, we all shared aspects of our lives we normally don’t talk about at work.  A therapist shared beautiful artwork, a fine art photographer shared details about one of his most recent projects and a couple of committed recovery industry marketers discussed exciting travel plans that seemed more like spiritual escapades!

This celebratory event gave us a chance to bring the joys of life to the forefront and replenished us. We at ATS are certain that joy and gratitude help us to bring more positive energy and higher quality treatment to our clients.  And, we are grateful for all we’ve been able to offer to individuals seeking outpatient and intensive outpatient treatment for the last three years.  We look forward to many more opportunities to serve the community we love!

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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.

Positive Psychology in Addiction Treatment

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Have you heard the buzz about the power of positivity? It’s hard to avoid if you have access to YouTube videos, a bookstore or a friends that have been swept up by one of the many  positive-thinking movements in pop culture. Are you telling yourself that changing your viewpoint can’t possibly change your reality? Are you not quite buying into the idea that changing your perspective or being more grateful for positive can change your life? Well, consider that there is a whole academic discipline devoted to studying how people can be happier and more fulfilled through positive thinking.  The research conducted by Positive Psychologists over almost two decades is ridiculously compelling and may just pull all of you skeptics over to the other side of the fence – the side of optimism.

What’s amazing about positive psychology is not just the subject matter studied (i.e. strengths, well-being and optimal functioning of an individual), but the fact that “positivity” sometimes forms the basis for research itself.  In Amy R. Krentzman’s article entitled, “Review of the Application of Positive Psychology to Substance Use, Addiction, and Recovery Research,” she says:

“The Hoxmark poster and the theoretical and empirical work described in this review suggest that positive psychology has begun to be applied to theory, research, and intervention in substance use disorders. Although positive psychology and the recovery movement share similar interests and emphases, they differ in important ways that frame the current discussion. Within the field of addiction, the recovery movement is a multi-faceted grassroots effort led by individuals who are themselves in recovery from substance use disorders. The movement is built on a recovery-oriented, rather than a pathology-oriented, framework from which addiction and its resolution are understood. Working from an established set of values and goals, participants in the recovery movement work collectively to remove obstacles to treatment, support multiple paths to recovery, and make larger social systems more supportive of recovery lifestyles (White, 2007).”

Conducting research and stating conclusions is a specialty of experts, but having the wisdom to step back and demonstrate awareness of an entire scientific discipline… that’s powerful. It’s also demonstrative of the way individuals may want to look at their lives and heighten their own personal awareness.

Positive psychology challenges the way people see themselves and their tendency to want to take control of “reality” as they understand it.  But, if everything depends upon perspective and perception, then what’s real?  As this question disturbs people whose wellbeing depends on fixing their circumstances into one unchangeable idea of reality, it also opens a gateway into happiness for those who are willing align with a more positive perspective.

When new ideas change the way we think and inspire us, we can’t help but ask, is this new way of researching  the end all, and is it replacing what came before? Certainly not.

Kertmaz herself says: “Because the field is new and has been embraced by popular culture, critical thinking is essential both in assessing positive-psychological research and in building good science, not only on its foundation, but on the foundation of the decades of relevant scholarship that preceded it.”  Positive psychology principles are the basis for self-help movements which are often commercial in nature.  The authors of inspiring books and videos may or may not honor the science behind the principles to a tee when they present their own ideas.  That means you may want to avoid conflating science with what could be called “fluff” in the scientific community.  But, of course, you are free to take in ideas that you like from the popular movements, whether proven or not, in order to enhance the best and most positive parts of your life.

Watch Larry Smith, LAADC, CAS, III presenting on “Positive Psychology, Happiness & Addiction Treatment.”

LGBTQ Treatment With a Focus on Transgender

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LGBTQ Treatment for Drug and Alcohol Addiction

Addiction treatment centers in several states are becoming more keen on growing quality programs for LGBTQ clients, but there is still quite a ways to go.  While many counselors and therapists are being trained on the unique issues faced by those identify as LGBTQ, only few are truly equipped to deal with each of the mini-communities within LGBTQ.  They include Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender, and that’s only to name a few that have come into the light in recent decades.  Of these groups, Transgender may be the most at risk for substance abuse disorders and may also be the most complicated to treat in some instances.

As some in the treatment world are struggling to remember the classifications, others are finding ways to respond to the needs of these individuals.  The treatment community is aware that LGBTQ clients come with unique challenges and that the rates of substance abuse disorders tend to be higher in this population than in those identifying heterosexual. Co-occurring disorders are also far more common in this population, leading to the need for specialized care.

Transgender people may have additional challenges that an experienced therapist can help with.  These challenges deal with body image, stress or trauma related to a transition procedure, lack of understanding from society as a whole, and perhaps feeling alone because there are relatively few people with the same concerns.

Sexual orientation is such a central aspect to the identity of some LGBTQ individuals that they often they use drugs and alcohol in order to “numb or enhance sexual feelings.”  Also, while societal views are changing with regard to sexual orientation, shame and guilt still plague the lives of many LGBTQ people, leaving them feeling isolated or rejected.  With the triple whammy of 1. shame, 2. addiction and 3. other mental disorders, specialized care has become a clear necessity.  On top of that, there is a serious social stigma on all of these levels complicating the matter further.

As the behavioral health world catches up with these concerns, some LGBTQ organizations and allies are using education and principles of inclusion to help to reduce shame.  They are also helping society to be aware of who may need specialized treatment that is sensitive to their situation. For example, these days, some organizations prefer that “LGBTIQ” be used as the standard acronym because it is more inclusive of sexual orientations.  The “I” comes from the term “Intersex,” which according to the Intersex Society of North America, “is a general term used for a variety of conditions in which a person is born with a reproductive or sexual anatomy that doesn’t seem to fit the typical definitions of female or male.” The “Q” stands for “Questioning.”

Receive Help for Drug and Alcohol Addiction at an LGBTQ Treatment Program

Are you or a loved one suffering from addiction but feel like your concerns are unique and require individualized treatment? If so, please call the ATS Admissions Helpline at (760) 322-1777.  We are trained to help LGBTQ clients and focus on Transgender. We are ready to serve this population and are here to help you.