Addiction Consulting

When facing addiction, individuals and loved ones find themselves at the bottom of the steepest mountain with no known path or guidebook. They are at their most vulnerable. People will make desperate decisions when vulnerable and can easily be taken advantage of, may end up in treatment that is not the right fit or at worst a complete sham. In these acute moments I assist individuals and families to assess the level of care most appropriate for themselves or loved ones, and help them navigate getting the very best treatment. and care. Depending on how ill, motivated, and what their resources will allow, I can help my clients understand and choose the best next step. This may consist of:

• Connecting one to Peer to Peer Groups and finding someone the client can connect with even take them to their first meeting. Walking into a SMART Recovery AA, or Alanon Meeting (for a family members) can be terrifying and take incredible courage to go. Having a friendly face, who can prepare an individual for what to expect often increases the likelihood they will go, and continue going. Having a good initial experience with a Peer to Peer Group can be the difference in continuing to drink or not. 

  Assessment of Care: A client may require a higher level of care which could be In-patient rehab, an intensive out-patient program, a wilderness program, or perhaps some of the more unusual treatment options that offer personalized, intensive out-patient programs in a residential setting. Treatment is often exorbitantly expensive, though some providers take insurance and some have scholarship options. Regardless, meeting a client where they need to be is profoundly important.  Understanding and assessing someone’s readiness can save heartache, and lots of money.  It’s important to know that all these facilities have beds to fill and staff to pay, and while many are excellent at what they do, it’s critical to find the right one. Each in-patient facility or program feels a bit different from the others. One should know that many are owned by private equity groups that see them as lucrative investments, but which have made some less personal than they used to be.   Some may draw on the spiritual or nature as important roads to healing. Some cater to patients who have experienced childhood or adult trauma.  It is not one size fits all, and it can be overwhelming. 

  Adding even more stress to the process of getting help when someone is willing, is the need to move quickly. The window of opportunity when someone agrees to seek help often opens only briefly, usually after a bad experience. But after a day or two the individual often feels better, denial and resistance will set in and then they refuse the care so necessary to get better.  People in this business know to move quickly and do, but there can be a lot of moving pieces to get in place.