Visit to ATCPCC

I spent 3 days last week in Santa Barbara at the Addiction Treatment Centers & Professionals Consortium of California listening to treatment centers from all over the country talk about what they are doing. This conference was pretty interesting; it's always nice to keep a finger on the pulse of what people are doing across the country. A good chunk of providers were there, about 60 from around the country.

I was really impressed with a few people there (and of course I presented and thought I did well, talking about Sober Living By The Sea) and I thought I'd talk about the others doing good work around the country.
Hero House, with homes in Atlanta and San Juan Capistrano, CA, has a specific focus on college students, providing them a safe environment following treatment (like the TEACH program) complete with educational support. Randy Haveson, the founder and executive director, has a great passion for helping students recover and I'm looking forward to doing some work with him.

Jane Eigner Mintz of Real Life Interventions, from the Cleveland area, rolled out her new model of intervention, the Field Model. This is based more on a clinical aspect rather than the Johnson or Systemic model. I'm really looking forward to seeing what this looks like. She also is developing a school for interventionists, which will be helpful in providing families with qualified professionals.

And of course, Jaywalker Lodge was impressive, bringing two of their therapists out from Carbondale, CO. They talked about the men's relapse prevention program, as well as their longer-term outpatient/sober living option. They have a wonderful small town feel and treat the client who is looking to hit the "reset" button and get a fresh start.

There are others out there also doing good work- these three stood out to me. We'll see what pops out in the next year or so.

Here's a video on opioids and the brain from HBO's "Addiction" special:



In other news, if you haven't checked out my favorite sports columnist, Bill Simmons, today is a good day. Here's a link to his ESPN website.

And for something hilarious click here.

As usual, follow me on Twitter and connect with me on LinkedIn. Become a fan of the blog on Facebook. And be sure to support my advertisers! See you this week.

Make sure to check out my podcast on The Afflicted and Affected starting today at 4 PM Pacific, and read my abridged life story on the Equinox Fitness website.

Quick Post

Hey guys,

Just wanted to let everyone know a couple of PR things:

A very short version of my recovery journey is on the Equinox Fitness website as one of their featured "Life Stories," click here to see it!

And on Monday, July 27th, I'll be appearing on the Afflicted and Affected podcast, talking about my personal experience in recovery as well as my experience working in the field. Check it out here.

I'll be at the Santa Barbara Addiction Treatment Consortium this week, stay tuned for details as I'll be live blogging and Twittering from the event.

Here's a good video from the National Geographic Channel on heroin addicts:



As always, follow me on Twitter, connect with me on LinkedIn and become a fan of the blog on Facebook. See you this week.