Hi everyone, it's been entirely too long.
I've spent the time in the last few months that I haven't been blogging doing lots of interesting things. I've attended a bunch of conferences (NAATP, West Coast Symposium on Addictive Disorders, and the Moment of Change Conference, to name three), visited a number of treatment centers, and met a lot of new professionals in the field. I've gotten to see a new addiction news and culture website launch (www.thefix.com) and another of my favorites (www.allaboutaddiction.com, run by Dr. Adi Jaffe) gain some steam as a solid research-based blog.
Mostly, I've spent my time thinking about the future of the field of addictive services. At all of these conferences, the number of clinicians and administrators in the addiction field under 35 is frighteningly low. Personally, I'm concerned about this, and at the West Coast Symposium (mentioned above) there was a concerted effort to bring together the wisdom of the current leaders to the newer members of the field. A mentoring lunch was held, with tables featuring such leaders as Rob Waggener, CEO of Foundations Recovery Network and Dr. Andrea Barthwell, former Deputy Director for Demand Reduction at the Office of National Drug Control Policy and currently the owner and director of Two Dreams Outer Banks, as well as other researchers and clinicians.
In my experience, this has been the first true effort by the addiction treatment community to spread their thought leadership to the next generation of treatment providers. A good idea all around, as the field needs that wisdom to continue moving the work forward. As a young leader in the field, I almost feel partially responsible for helping this message get to my generation of addiction professionals. Thanks to C4 Recovery Services for taking the bull by the horns and helping to get the process started. If anyone has any ideas on how to continue our work, suggestions are welcome.
For something funny, check this out:
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Showing posts with label addiction and codependency. Show all posts
Showing posts with label addiction and codependency. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
The Bridge To Recovery
For those of you who are avid readers, I apologize for the lack of posting for the last couple of weeks. I've been on the road for work and haven't had access to wireless internet. Here's the first of a few updates.
I spent a long weekend in Bowling Green, KY doing a referent weekend at The Bridge to Recovery, a residential treatment center with a focus on codependency. With tracks starting a 14 days and going up through 90, The Bridge can do treatment like I've never seen, focusing almost solely on family members of addicts as well as addicts themselves. Carol Cannon, one of the founders and a pioneer in the field of codependence (and published a couple of books, most notably "Hooked on Unhappiness") provided one of the best definitions of codependence I've ever heard:
“Codependence is the pain in adulthood that comes from being wounded in childhood, which leads to a high probability of relationship problems and addictive disorders in later life.”
With a huge focus on trauma and codependency, I was really impressed with The Bridge. This was also an amazing weekend to be there, as it was both the 35th anniversary of The Bridge AND the retirement celebration for the founders, Paul and Carol Cannon. I got the opportunity to meet and speak with alumni from all the back in the late 80s, and really got a feel for the work that they were doing. In addition, Dr. Stephen Grinstead of Addiction Free Pain Management , who also works with Terry Gorski doing Relapse Prevention training, told his story and lead a workshop on "Identifying and Managing the Inner Saboteur." He took the clients through his workshop, as well as the visitors (like myself), staff, and alumni. A really powerful experience to do some difficult group work and look at how denial manifests in our daily lives. Also got the opportunity to hear stories from Josie Ramirez-Herndon and Dr. Jeff Seat over the weekend, a truly great experience.
Overall, a fantastic visit. I wouldn't hesitate to send a family member to treatment at the Bridge, and I'm looking forward to doing some work with them in the future. Such a diamond in the rough; it's weird to think that they've been around for 35 years and yet are not really known about on the West Coast. Hopefully we can spread the word; long term treatment for family members of addicts can only provide a healthier, more supportive network for people trying to maintain their recovery.
Here's a video about The Bridge to Recovery:
In the next blog: my trip to Nashville.
Here's something funny, Will Ferrell's video about health insurance.
As always, follow me on Twitter and connect with me on LinkedIn. Become a fan of the blog on Facebook. And see you tomorrow.
I spent a long weekend in Bowling Green, KY doing a referent weekend at The Bridge to Recovery, a residential treatment center with a focus on codependency. With tracks starting a 14 days and going up through 90, The Bridge can do treatment like I've never seen, focusing almost solely on family members of addicts as well as addicts themselves. Carol Cannon, one of the founders and a pioneer in the field of codependence (and published a couple of books, most notably "Hooked on Unhappiness") provided one of the best definitions of codependence I've ever heard:
“Codependence is the pain in adulthood that comes from being wounded in childhood, which leads to a high probability of relationship problems and addictive disorders in later life.”
With a huge focus on trauma and codependency, I was really impressed with The Bridge. This was also an amazing weekend to be there, as it was both the 35th anniversary of The Bridge AND the retirement celebration for the founders, Paul and Carol Cannon. I got the opportunity to meet and speak with alumni from all the back in the late 80s, and really got a feel for the work that they were doing. In addition, Dr. Stephen Grinstead of Addiction Free Pain Management , who also works with Terry Gorski doing Relapse Prevention training, told his story and lead a workshop on "Identifying and Managing the Inner Saboteur." He took the clients through his workshop, as well as the visitors (like myself), staff, and alumni. A really powerful experience to do some difficult group work and look at how denial manifests in our daily lives. Also got the opportunity to hear stories from Josie Ramirez-Herndon and Dr. Jeff Seat over the weekend, a truly great experience.
Overall, a fantastic visit. I wouldn't hesitate to send a family member to treatment at the Bridge, and I'm looking forward to doing some work with them in the future. Such a diamond in the rough; it's weird to think that they've been around for 35 years and yet are not really known about on the West Coast. Hopefully we can spread the word; long term treatment for family members of addicts can only provide a healthier, more supportive network for people trying to maintain their recovery.
Here's a video about The Bridge to Recovery:
In the next blog: my trip to Nashville.
Here's something funny, Will Ferrell's video about health insurance.
As always, follow me on Twitter and connect with me on LinkedIn. Become a fan of the blog on Facebook. And see you tomorrow.
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