Feb15 issue by The Sober World,LLC

SUPPORTING OURSELVES IN RECOVERY INTERVIEW WITH THE CO-DISCOVERER OF THE ADDICTION/REWARD GENE EVOLVING TREATMENT FOR CHEMICAL DEPENDENCY OVERUSING ELECTRONICS IS IT REALLY AN ADDICTION? IT HAPPENS TO BOYS, TOO: IT’S OUR PREROGATIVE TO HELP THEM SPEAK ABOUT SEXUAL ABUSE CODEPENDENCY: AN OFTEN MISUNDERSTOOD ADDICTION

PROUD TO BE A SINNER OUR CHILDREN ARE DYING A CHANGE; IT IS A COMING… RECOVERY AND THE INNER CHILD COGNITIVE THERAPY FOR ADOLESCENTS WITH SUBSTANCE USE AND CORRESPONDING PROBLEMS BREAKING THE TRAUMA CODE TO HELP BEAT ADDICTION RAPE: IS HEALING POSSIBLE?

A LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHER Dear Readers, I welcome you to The Sober World magazine. The Sober World is an informative award winning national magazine that’s designed to help parents and families who have loved ones struggling with addiction. We are a FREE printed publication, as well as an online e-magazine reaching people globally in their search for information about Drug and Alcohol Abuse.

one (under the age of 18 yrs. old) and bring them to the facility you have chosen. There are long term Residential Programs (sometimes a year and longer) as well as short term programs (30-90 days), there are Therapeutic Boarding Schools, Wilderness programs, Extended Living and there are Sober Living Housing where they can work, go to meetings and be accountable for staying clean.

We directly mail our printed magazine each month to whoever has been arrested for drugs or alcohol in Palm Beach County as well as distributing locally to the schools, colleges, drug court, coffee houses, meeting halls, doctor offices and more throughout Palm Beach and Broward County. We also directly mail to rehabs throughout the country and have a presence at conferences nationally.

Many times a Criminal Attorney will try to work out a deal with the court to allow your child or loved one to seek treatment as an alternative to jail. I know how overwhelming this period can be for you and I urge every parent or relative of an addict to get some help for yourself. There are many groups that can help you. There is Al-Anon, Alateen (for teenagers), Families Anonymous, Nar-Anon and more. This is a disease that affects the whole family, not just the parents.

Our monthly magazine is available for free on our website at www.thesoberworld.com. If you would like to receive an E-version monthly of the magazine, please send your e-mail address to patricia@thesoberworld.com Drug addiction has reached epidemic proportions throughout the country and is steadily increasing. It is being described as “the biggest manmade epidemic” in the United States. More people are dying from drug overdoses than from any other cause of injury death, including traffic accidents, falls or guns. Many Petty thefts are drug related, as the addicts need for drugs causes them to take desperate measures in order to have the ability to buy their drugs. The availability of prescription narcotics is overwhelming; as parents our hands are tied. Purdue Pharma, the company that manufactures Oxycontin generated $3.1 BILLION in revenue in 2010? Scary isn’t it? Addiction is a disease but there is a terrible stigma attached to it. As family members affected by this disease, we are often too ashamed to speak to anyone about our loved ones addiction, feeling that we will be judged. We try to pass it off as a passing phase in their lives, and some people hide their head in the sand until it becomes very apparent such as through an arrest, getting thrown out of school or even worse an overdose, that we realize the true extent of their addiction. I know that many of you who are reading this now are frantic that their loved one has been arrested. No parent ever wants to see his or her child arrested or put in jail, but this may be your opportunity to save your child or loved one’s life. They are more apt to listen to you now than they were before, when whatever you said may have fallen on deaf ears. This is the point where you know your loved one needs help, but you don’t know where to begin. I have compiled this informative magazine to try to take that fear and anxiety away from you and let you know there are many options to choose from. There are Psychologists and Psychiatrists that specialize in treating people with addictions. There are Education Consultants that will work with you to figure out what your loved ones needs are and come up with the best plan for them. There are Interventionists who will hold an intervention and try to convince your loved one that they need help. There are detox centers that provide medical supervision to help them through the withdrawal process, There are Transport Services that will scoop up your resistant loved To Advertise, Call 561-910-1943

Addiction knows no race or religion; it affects the wealthy as well as the poor, the highly educated, old, young-IT MAKES NO DIFFERENCE. This magazine is dedicated to my son Steven who graduated with top honors from University of Central Florida. He graduated with a degree in Psychology, and was going for his Masters in Applied Behavioral Therapy. He was a highly intelligent, sensitive young man who helped many people get their lives on the right course. He could have accomplished whatever he set his mind out to do. Unfortunately, after graduating from college he tried a drug that was offered to him not realizing how addictive it was and the power it would have over him. My son was 7 months clean when he relapsed and died of a drug overdose. I hope this magazine helps you find the right treatment for your loved one. They have a disease and like all diseases, you try to find the best care suited for their needs. They need help. Deaths from prescription drug overdose have been called the “silent epidemic” for years. There is approximately one American dying every 17 minutes from an accidental prescription drug overdose. Please don’t allow your loved one to become a statistic. I hope you have found this magazine helpful. You may also visit us on the web at www.thesoberworld.com. We are on Face Book at www.facebook.com/pages/The-Sober- World/445857548800036 or www.facebook.com/steven.soberworld, Twitter at www.twitter.com/thesoberworld, and LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/pub/patricia-rosen/51/210/955/. I want to wish everyone a Happy Valentines Day. Sincerely,

Patricia

Publisher Patricia@TheSoberWorld.com For Advertising opportunities in our magazine, on our website or to submit articles, please contact Patricia at 561-910-1943 or patricia@thesoberworld.com.

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INTERVIEW WITH THE CO-DISCOVERER OF THE ADDICTION/REWARD GENE By Patricia Rosen

Recently I had the pleasure of interviewing two of the world’s leading authorities on addiction and its treatment. Dr. Kenneth Blum is the editor-in-chief of The Journal of Reward Deficiency Syndrome, where John J Giordano is a Subject Editor. Dr. Kenneth Blum In the early nineties Dr. Kenneth Blum and Dr. Ernest Noble made global headlines with their discovery of the reward gene – also known as the addiction gene. With their discovery published in the peer reviewed Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) came a completely new understanding of addiction and a fresh direction in the way it should be treated. In 1995 Dr. Blum coined the phrase ‘Reward Deficiency Syndrome’ or RDS to describe a condition unique to people with this specific genotype. Dr Blum is launching the Journal of Reward Deficiency Syndrome (JRDS), a new peer-reviewed quarterly published journal that covers the experimental, clinical and epidemiological areas of research which involves the gene associations (including environmental epigenetics) especially the genes involved in brain reward circuitry. Patricia: What is Reward Deficiency Syndrome (RDS)? Dr. Blum: In general terms, RDS is a condition where an individual with a specific genotype experiences muted reward and pleasure from their daily pursuits and activities as compared to others who don’t carry the genotype. Most often, people with this condition will seek outside stimuli such as drugs, alcohol, gambling, eating, sex, gaming and other risky behavior to help elevate the ‘feel good’ brain chemicals so that they can feel normal and at ease. Patricia: When did you first believe that Dopamine played a role in addiction? Dr. Blum: I went to many conferences on the subject and found that what was being proposed just didn’t add up in my view. I was sitting in a chair outside of one of those conferences and reasoned it was Dopamine that was responsible for the feeling of reward, or in the case of addiction, the lack of reward, and then I set out to prove my theory. Patricia: You’d mentioned you spent over a decade researching before your paper was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Please tell us what your work revealed. Dr. Blum: What we were able to determine was that people with the DRD2-A1 genotype don’t feel reward the way others do. Their responses are blunted. We were also able to determine that this is a direct result of fewer Dopamine receptors. Patricia: How does this affect someone’s behavior? Dr. Blum: Dopamine has many functions, but for this conversation we need to look upon it as the primary communicator (neurotransmitter) of reward and pleasure. Its job is to transmit calmness and ease to the rest of the brain. Imagine for a moment a basketball game where the ball goes through the net and the fans cheer. The basketball (Dopamine) goes in the basket (Receptor) creating joy in the fans’ brains. Now let’s look at the opposite; the ball (Dopamine) hit’s the rim and bounces away from the basket (Receptor) causing a collective uneasiness in the fans. This is a crude representation of how Dopamine works in the brain. However, different from a basketball court, the brain has many (receptors) baskets. It also has many basketballs (Dopamine) in play at the same time, similar to a basketball team warming up before a game. When Dopamine (the ball) doesn’t make it into the receptors (baskets) because there are too few (baskets) available,

the message of calm and ease is not communicated; leaving that person feeling edgy, jumpy, apprehensive and restless. As a consequence, most people with this genotype – the reward/ addiction gene – will engage in the risky behavior I’d mentioned earlier because it will stimulate the release of Dopamine. Inevitably the additional Dopamine (basketballs) will find their way into the receptors (baskets) in greater numbers, thus communicating the feeling of calm and ease throughout the brain. Patricia: You’ve just launched the peer reviewed Journal of Reward Deficiency Syndrome. Please tell us about it. Dr. Blum: RDS touches all of us, either directly or indirectly, every single day. The realization and understanding of RDS is emerging but not at a pace commensurate with the influence this condition has on our everyday lives. My colleagues and I felt it was time to focus mainly on the research of Reward Deficiency Syndrome as a way to foster a better understanding of the condition and encourage new study. The Journal will provide a platform for understanding of the commonality of brain function in substance and non-substance addictive behaviors. John J Giordano DHL, MAC John Giordano is a pioneer in alternative medicine. He was one of the leaders to usher holistic protocols into the mainstream of addiction treatment. Mr. Giordano is the founder and former president of G & G Holistic Addiction Treatment Center – a 62 bed in/out patient JCAHO accredited facility in North Miami Beach, Florida – and the founder and current president of the National Institute for Holistic Addiction Studies (NIFHAS). The addiction treatment programs he developed at G & G have been proven to consistently out-perform industry standards. Giordano has worked closely with Dr. Blum on several genetic research projects and is a Subject Editor with the Journal of Reward Deficiency Syndrome. Patricia: John, you are a thirty-year veteran of addiction treatment. What does the face of RDS look like? Giordano: That is a very good question. Most people associate the ugly image of a person whose abused drugs for years with RDS. But that is simply not the case. RDS has no unique physical features by which it can be identified. It could be anybody, the person you sit next to at work or the person handing you your dry cleaning. It could be your doctor or your boss. You simply can’t tell by their looks, but you can by their actions. Someone with RDS is going to feel uncomfortable in their own skin. They have trouble sitting still and paying attention. They might scratch their head or other areas of their body incessantly. The outward signs of discomfort are often the tell tale cues that lead me to look deeper. Keep in mind that RDS is a group of disorders such as impulsive and compulsive disorders, substance abuse and some personality disorders that all share a common trait. Patricia: And that common trait would be the feeling of, in this case, the lack reward? Giordano: Right. The common denominator here is Dopamine, one of the primary ‘feel good’ brain chemicals. When we do something good or accomplish a goal, our brain releases dopamine. Subsequently, we experience reward, pleasure and just feel good all over. On a subconscious level we take from this experience and learn that if we repeat the process we can feel good again. Unfortunately, people with Reward Deficiency Syndrome don’t derive pleasure from their experiences at the level of others. For the person with RDS to experience that same level reward and Continued on page 38

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EVOLVING TREATMENT FOR CHEMICAL DEPENDENCY By Fred Von Stieff, MD, AAFP, ABAM, CSAM, ASAM

Freud and Jung began an investigation into the human mind to discover how this dynamic organ can rapidly produce thoughts, recalling precise bits of data, and yet also encompass the capacity to create new connections. Since then, many have embarked upon that same quest for answers, deciphering not only how the brain works, but also why things go wrong. Advancements in understanding the brain hold the potential to improve the quality of treatment for its diseases. However, to the detriment of patients, not all medical doctors, psychologists, and psychiatrists – people relied on to treat ailments like chemical dependency – keep up with these advancements. Many medical professionals fail to adjust their treatment methods to accommodate the latest discoveries. Though it may be difficult to keep up with all the vast findings, and easier to maintain one’s routine (even if the resultant relapse rate is 50%), to remain stagnant in one’s practice goes in contrast to the Hippocratic Oath. Psychologists, psychiatrists and other doctors owe it to their patients to provide the highest standard of treatment; to do otherwise would be unethical. In an effort by the Government to enhance awareness of the numerous benefits derived from research of the brain, the 1990s were designated as the “Decade of the Brain”. Increased federal and private funding of brain research augmented our knowledge. Among much advancement, we learned that included in the genome, are the instructions for how the brain and its neurochemicals are formed, including the amount of each type of neurotransmitter we inherit. These inherited levels of neurochemicals influence individuals’ mental and behavioral health, even determining one’s susceptibility to substance abuse. Chemical dependency of all sorts has been linked to imbalances or deficiencies in the brain’s neurotransmitters. Optimal treatment involves correcting these imbalances with safe medications, thereby eliminating cravings and making long-term sobriety far easier to maintain. Treatment of alcoholism and opiate addiction have benefited significantly from these advancements. By using these superior methods of neurochemical analysis, I have been afforded the opportunity to see the patients in my unit go from having the national average of a 50% long-term sobriety success rate to a 90% longterm sobriety success rate. Alcoholism Alcohol’s stimulation of six neurotransmitter systems involved in chemical dependency makes it incredibly addictive, especially for those who have an inherited imbalance within one or more of these six systems. The temporary increase in these neurotransmitters makes the drinker feel great or in some cases “finally normal”, after living life with abnormally low levels. A night of heavy drinking leaves an individual with even lower levels of these “feel-good” neurotransmitters the next day, leading them to drink more to drive their neurotransmitter levels up again. This can lead to a cycle of alcohol abuse, which can continue or act as a gateway to other drugs with similar affects on the neurotransmitters, including benzodiazepines and opiate pain-killers. There is another imbalance at play with alcoholism. Most of the neurotransmitter systems rise with every drink and then fall below normal levels after the drinking subsides. One neurotransmitter system continues to rise in the heavy drinker, whether he has the drink in him or not, producing an even graver imbalance as time goes on. That system is called glutamate. High levels of glutamate cause extreme anxiety and can be toxic. Treating alcohol withdrawal symptoms, is largely a matter of countering those high levels of glutamate with high levels of GABA (the calming neurotransmitter system), while the patient detoxifies safely. Once a person detoxifies, it is then up to the treating doctor and/ or psychiatrist to determine what led to the alcoholic’s imbalance of neurotransmitters. More often than not, the root of the problem is a neurochemical deficiency in one or more of the six systems affected by alcohol. An investigation into the patient’s history of drug use

and/or mental health will reveal where the imbalance lies. Doctors can then find non-addictive medications that will safely raise their inherently deficient neurochemicals, in turn eliminating their cravings. Opiate Addiction The majority of doctors have fallen into the habit of prescribing various opiate medications like Suboxone or methadone to get patients off heavy narcotics. They first stimulate the opiate sites and then titrate the system down, while also gradually decreasing any opiate medications already being taken. This approach of tapering off opiates often generates a painstakingly slow withdrawal process, causing the patient to suffer for an extended period of time (weeks, months, or even years). There are new ways to detoxify patients faster without the use of other opiates, eliminating significant withdrawal symptoms. While tapering opiates may work well for someone taking the equivalent of less than five Vicodin per day, in the detoxification unit I oversee, we have completely stopped using Suboxone, Subutex, and any other drug that directly stimulates opiate receptor sites. Instead, patients are more satisfied with the quick and safe four-tofive-day detoxification that results from using GABA and dopaminestimulating drugs. Even in the most extreme cases of opiate abuse, using GABA medications to help the opiate system return to normal levels and counter toxic glutamate levels works every time. When treating opiate withdrawal, doctors must also counter patients’ dropping dopamine levels. That vital neurotransmitter drop evidently leads to strong cravings. The restless leg syndrome results from a Parkinson-like reaction that occurs due to the drop in another type of dopamine responsible for regulating muscle coordination. Proper treatment of opiate withdrawal can be achieved by replacing the two different dopamines with available medications – not using another addictive opiate. Once a detoxification off opiates is complete, a thorough investigation must be done to determine where each patient’s inherent neurochemical imbalance lies. Then a non-addictive corrective medication can be prescribed, thereby correcting the imbalance and eliminating cravings, giving the patient the neurochemical stability necessary to remain sober. Suboxone alone has a 62% relapse rate. Why use it again after patients have relapsed on heroin three times when using suboxone in the past? This is a wakeup call for us to start understanding mechanisms instead of being an automaton in methodology. If more psychiatrists and other prescribing doctors were to put into practice these methods of basing treatment on the proven science of neurochemical interactions and their influence on behavioral and mental health, we would witness a sharp decrease in substance abuse and chemical dependency in this nation. Acclaimed Addictionologist, Dr. Von Stieff has been the Medical Director of hospital-based detoxification units for over two decades. You can learn more about the details of these successful new treatment methods in his book, Brain in Balance: Understanding the Genetics and Neurochemistry behind Addiction and Sobriety, available at www.BrainInBalanceBook.com and Amazon.

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SUPPORTING OURSELVES IN RECOVERY By Allen Berger, Ph.D.

I have spent a good portion of my career unpacking the therapeutic forces operating in the recovery experience. One thing that stands out as extremely important in establishing long term, stable recovery, is our ability to support ourselves. What do I mean by supporting ourselves? Supporting ourselves has to do with our ability to endure discomfort and see the things about us that need to be changed - I guess we could refer to this as being honest with ourselves and seeing who we are not. It also involves being able to stand with ourselves and ask for the support we need from others. Another way of thinking about this is that it involves being vulnerable. These components are incredibly important because they will help us hold on to ourselves while we do the “work.” In my recent book, 12 Hidden Rewards of Making Amends” I wrote this about the importance of getting support while working Step 8. The last thing I want to say to you about working this Step is that you shouldn’t do it alone, and you don’t have to. The importance of having an enlightened witness oversee this task cannot be overstated. We need help because it is very easy to fall out of one side of the bed or the other, meaning that we can either minimize our actions or exaggerate them. I don’t want you to understate the damage you have done to others nor do I want you to overstate what you have done. Having help can help us be more objective. We need help in sorting out real culpability from taking responsibility for the things we are not responsible for. We may not be very good at discerning the difference. Our pain may distort reality. Here’s an example from Susanna, a young lady I was seeing in therapy who inappropriately felt responsible for the death of a male friend. About 4 years ago she was attending the Burning Man gathering in Nevada. Before she left for the event she got into a terrible fight with her boyfriend and broke up with him. Their relationship had been on shaky ground for some time. He was a very violent young man who dealt drugs and would often physically or verbally abuse her. He was a member of a very dangerous gang. After she drove to Burning Man alone, she felt sad and wanted to be with someone she knew to hang out with. So she decided to invite an old ﬂing to join her. She had remained good friends with him after their relationship ended five years ago which made her ex-boyfriend very jealous. He was someone she cared about but considered him more of a friend than a love interest. While he was driving up to Burning Man he was run off the road by her ex-boyfriend. He died in the accident. Her ex-boyfriend was convicted of first degree manslaughter. Regardless of his conviction for this crime, she blamed herself for the death of her friend. She took responsibility for something that was not her fault. She didn’t kill that young man; her ex-boyfriend killed him. But she felt guilty. She blamed herself and felt like she had to make amends to his family. But in truth, she was not culpable for what happened to her friend. Her ex was. Guilt may at times be unexpressed pain and resentment. Susanna had a lot of pain over the loss and anger at her ex-boyfriend that needed to be addressed. This is the path we followed to help her sort out what she was responsible for. Today she knows that it was not her fault that her friend was killed. She is still very sad that this terrible thing happened, but she no longer blames herself or feels that she needs to make amends to his family. As I mentioned earlier, making a list of the people we have harmed is a difficult task. If you are thorough in making the list and rigorously honest about what you did, then the best of you is in charge. It’s a paradox that facing the worst in us can bring out the best in us. But by now we are quite familiar with the power of paradox. Remember the paradoxical theory of change, we change when we own who we are rather than try to be someone we are not. Giving ourselves support is as important as getting it from others. Let’s look at what it takes to support ourselves.

The first thing we need to do to support ourselves better is to deal with the part of us that undermines our self-esteem. We have to learn how to manage the side of us that expects us to be perfect or to be better or more than we are. I like to think of this as our Top Dog or the Critic or Perfectionist. We need to learn how to deal with whatever part of us takes this role in our lives. I’ve often told my patients that it’s hard to be on your own side when you are constantly on your backs. The part of us that is on our backs is unforgiving, it’s judgmental, and it’s often quite abusive, perfectionistic, thinks in over generalizations and is relentless. So what makes us listen to this part of ourselves and even worse, to define who we are by the standards set by this bully? The answer is that we mistakenly believe that we need this part of ourselves to drive ourselves towards improvement. We falsely believe if we don’t beat ourselves up, we will accept the unacceptable. This is nonsense. There are much better parts of ourselves to use to motivate us to self-actualize. We don’t need this part of ourselves to want to improve, to grow or to strive to be better. This is hard wired into you and me. This growth force is innate and is constantly active in our lives. It is a part of our basic nature. So put that part of you in its proper place. Let it inform you but not run you. Let it counsel you but not have the authority to run you. Let the best in you guide your life. The desire to self-actualize is a very powerful force in our personal development. What ultimately makes us sick is ignoring our basic nature, not our basic nature per se. It is what is right about us that we ignore which is what makes us sick or addicts, not our basic nature. So what I am trying to say is that you can let go and have faith that you will want to grow along spiritual lines. You don’t have to stand over yourself as a task master to ensure your progress. Having faith in yourself and in your ability to grow is just one of the ways that you can support yourself in recovery. After all, isn’t this what the Ninth Step Promises are telling us? References Berger, A. (2013). 12 Hidden Rewards of Making Amends. Hazelden: MN. Allen Berger, Ph.D. is a talented psychotherapist and clinical psychologist who has written extensively about the experience of recovery, the important topic of emotional sobriety, integrating modern psychotherapy and the 12 Steps, and the psychological forces operating in the Twelve Steps. He is a popular recovery author who has written12 Stupid Things that Mess up Recovery, 12 Smart Things to do When the Booze and Drugs are Gone, 12 Hidden Rewards of Making Amends, and Love - Secrets Revealed. You can learn more about Dr. Berger and his work at www.abphd.com.

February SUNDAY

Day of Rest Day of Rest Day of Rest

Day of Rest

MONDAY

Open AA Meeting 7am

TUESDAY

Open AA Meeting 7am

WEDNESDAY

Open AA Meeting 7am

Open AA Meeting 5:30pm

Creative Journaling 10am

Open AA Meeting 12pm

Candlelight Meditation 7pm

Open NA Meeting 6pm

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OVERUSING ELECTRONICS - IS IT REALLY AN ADDICTION? By Nick Mazmanian

A conversation has hit a road block, and whether it’s remembering a movie title or fact checking a history quote, pulling out a phone and punching up the information being requested is perfectly natural these days. And yes, Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated on June 28, 1914. Technology is a powerful and useful tool in the daily lives of millions of people and what it is used for today would have been the stuff of science fiction fifteen years ago. It is in fact so new that social norms haven’t really been able to cope with this change. It isn’t too odd to see a conversation between friends go from lively to dead quiet in a matter of seconds. It’s a scene everyone has witnessed at one point or another; and this behavior has brought about a question that has begun to gain momentum. Are electronics addictive? It’s a thought that many might think a concerned parent would fret over, but it is a concern that has begun to spring up among many different cultural societies around the world. Phil Lavelle, a correspondent with Al-Jazeera America, wrote an article entitled ‘My Digital Addiction’ where he talks about his battle with the electronic demons of his mind: “My journey started in a hotel restaurant in February. As I sat there, minus my laptop (which was charging in my room), I surveyed the table in front of me. There was a smartphone, a tablet, a pair of noise cancelling headphones and a Kindle, not to mention the fitness band on my wrist. It hit me as clear as day: I was an addict, a digital addict.” Lavelle felt that since he was always online, always connected and isolating himself from the world that he was clearly addicted to the devices in his hand and bag. He isn’t alone in thinking that this is an addiction, but throwing that term on this particular problem might be a bit premature. A lot of people don’t actually know what an addiction is when they speak about this subject, and sometimes what is seen as an addiction is really a compulsion. The “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders” is one of the most accredited guides for medical professionals in the field of disorders and diagnosis. It is updated consistently, and with each edition more disorders are added, clarified and categorized. It is this book that is able to inform medical professionals what an addiction is and what a compulsion is. In the latest version of the “DSM,” abusing or overusing electronics has not been specifically labeled as an addiction or a compulsion yet. Many people work late into the night on their car or sit on their couch reading a book, so how is electronic usage any different? Any of these activities can become abusive and destructive toward the life of the person doing it, so when does an activity become an addiction? According to Amanda Zintsmaster, Psy.D: “Once something is inhibiting your social, employment or financial functioning in a significant way, you can ask if it’s impacting your life in a negative way. If it is, then it is an addiction. Take gambling for instance; if a person goes out and gambles a little bit, but it isn’t affecting their family or business life then that isn’t something we see as a clinical problem. If they gamble so much that it is beginning to affect them financially or personally in a negative way, then that is a clinical problem.” Unlike drugs or alcohol, activities are only habit forming when the individual cannot pull themselves away from the action, while drugs like cocaine or heroin are built specifically to be habit forming. Hence why seeing a child playing a game on a tablet isn’t that uncommon nor is it taboo. Only when the device is being used in a negative fashion does society begin to judge those using it.

One of the major tools in addiction diagnosis and treatment is that doctors can actually see the changes in the brain from prolonged use of drugs or alcohol. These external chemicals can actually warp the brain, and this will show up in an MRI or additional tests. Since electronics are simply stimuli, seeing a massive change in the brain would be hard to detect. A theory that has begun to form is that the frontal lobe could still be inhibited by electronics in the same manner as drugs and alcohol. Since it is an area that feeds off of and grows from interactions with individuals and the world at large, having a screen replace that interaction could cause a decrease in growth. Dr. Zintsmaster explains: “The most common time to develop a substance abuse problem is early adolescence, when the frontal lobe is still developing, and when someone is using (drugs or alcohol), that development just stops. Frontal lobe development is no longer progressing appropriately, and this makes their executive function drop right off.” Granted, this is a theory that has begun to sprout up around the academic world, but that doesn’t mean that electronic devices are in the clear. There are studies being held on this very topic because so many people are becoming glued to their screens and monitors. The final call on electronic addiction is still a long ways off, and once more documentation and studies are completed, the medical community can say with greater certainty whether a specific device is addictive or not. For now, the compulsive and even addictive actions, in regards toward electronic devices are going to be on a case-by-case basis for diagnosis and treatment. One of the possible treatment options could be cognitive behavioral therapy, which helps the individual by retraining their brain to perceive their addiction in another light and provide that patient with a healthier way of coping with their emotions. Blanket statements from the medical community saying ‘electronics are bad for you,’ are probably never going to happen because there is no guarantee that using these devices will make you an addict. In short, put down the phone every once in a while, and take a look around because the world itself is set at a much higher resolution than the other in your hand. Nick Mazmanian is a Content Writer for Sovereign Health Group. When he isn’t writing about addiction, mental health and dual diagnosis, he is writing fiction. To learn more about Sovereign’s addiction treatment program, read more of Nick’s work and to read patient reviews, visit www.sovhealth.com.

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IT HAPPENS TO BOYS, TOO: IT’S OUR PREROGATIVE TO HELP THEM SPEAK ABOUT SEXUAL ABUSE By Carol Teitelbaum, LMFT

John, age nine lives with his divorced mom. Mom had enough of dad’s drinking and finally filed for divorce. In the last year, mom started dating Stan, a great guy who was “Johnny” on the spot to take John to school, camping, fishing, bowling or wherever he had to go when mom had to work on the weekend. “Life is good, ‘John thought, one night when Stan came into his bedroom to say good night. Stan sat on the edge of the bed like he did so many nights before but tonight felt different; tonight the hairs on the back of John’s neck were standing straight up. “What was Stan doing with his hand? John was thinking. ‘I don’t think this is supposed to happen”. Will Stan tell mom? Hell no. More often than not we won’t see these incidents reported when the abuse occurs — only later, when as adults, these men come forward after hiding their secrets in shame for many years. Some of these men don’t make it before they have a chance to heal, prone to lifelong depression and spiraling addictive behaviors that end in suicide, shattered relationships, or despondency. What Makes Boys Afraid to Talk about Sexual Abuse? Our society has done a good job of ingraining the instructions on “how to be a man” in our young boys’ mind. Some boys and men have difficulty disclosing sexual abuse or seeking treatment when it does occur because they perceive gender roles that cast males as strong, tough, and not in need of protection. This means many young men grow up feeling like they should be able to protect themselves and handle anything. When someone takes advantage of him, a boy often feels as if he has failed to win the masculine badge. When women are abused they often feel like damaged goods, when men are abused they feel like they are not real men. Sometimes this makes them feel like the abuse is their fault so they sweep it under the rug, pick themselves up by their bootstraps, and simply move on, repressing confusing emotions and shame that turns into rage. Rage is very costly to our society; road rage, domestic violence, child physical abuse and self-harm- all as a result of repressing painful feelings. Gender confusion may play a part in the silence as well. If a young boy is molested by a woman, he may feel like no one will believe him or worse, that if he complains about being the warped object of a woman’s touch, he may be seen as less than a man for not liking it. If another man molests a young boy, he may worry that he is gay or that others will think he is if he tells. Ninety-three percent of cases involving child abuse are committed by someone familiar to the child.Often the abuser is a family member. A child will think about disrupting or losing their family, hurting their parent, or even losing the benefits they receive. Because our current social system portrays females as victims and men as perpetrators, young boys often don’t receive the attention they are due in this regard in the prevention and aftermath of their abuse. What Happens to These Boys? The problems that arise from silence in these cases can be chronically devastating. When a person experiences trauma and constricts the natural channels of processing, the emotions become frozen in the amygdala, the emotional part of the brain. These emotions get locked away, where they are triggered over and over again. Triggers happen through random things such as the scent of an aftershave or the sound of footsteps on a hardwood floor. When these triggers occur, the natural and automatic reaction is to regress to that earlier stage in life where the emotions are immature and rage is fostered. This frozen development causes a slew of difficulties in an abused person’s life. Studies involving the impact of sexual abuse in children (of both genders) have found that the most common negative outcomes are emotional and behavioral problems,

posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, substance abuse, aggression, self-esteem issues, academic problems, and sexualized behaviors Many of these boys grow up having severe relational problems when it comes to finding authentic intimacy with others. This, coupled with emotional problems, can oftentimes lead to varying degrees of self-medication alongside forms of denial – most oftentimes resulting in alcohol and drug addiction or eating disorders in which food is used to stuff down the pain or purge the internal chaos for some grasp at control. Sometimes a reenactment of the childhood abuse can occur in which the grown victim now hurts the people he loves. Our society’s discomfort with the sexual abuse of children has caused a tragic reality in which our young boys are being subconsciously ingrained to keep the ugliness behind closed doors. But the eventual cost to society in dollars spent on addiction recovery centers, jails, prisons, and counseling for these men tell a larger story that begs reconciliation with society’s mass ignorance in the way we allow boys to speak up, process, and heal. Although the scars of abuse never fully depart, the group therapy setting has proven to heal and soften the effects on a productive life. When boys and men are encouraged to talk about what happened to them in a safe, nonjudgmental place and are able to hear similar stories from other men, they have a chance at leading fruitful lives. Instead of constantly being triggered by the subconsciously tucked away emotions of shame, pain, regret, guilt, and anger that have thus far guided them through life, they are able to understand the roots of their behavior and make positive, conscious changes. As they begin to heal and they are able to reach out and help other men, their healing accelerates. Carol Teitelbaum, LMFT has been a licensed therapist since 1985 and currently has a private practice in Rancho Mirage. She is the past President of Desert CAMFT, speaks at conferences and is a workshop leader. Carol is the Co-founder along with her husband of 51 years, Robert Teitelbaum, of Creative Change Conferences. Focusing on Trauma and Recovery, their conferences are now in their seventh year. Growing in popularity year by year the It Happens to Boys Conference has seen such notable speakers as John Bradshaw, Claudia Black, John Lee, Dave Pelzer, Patrick Carnes, Jerry Moe and many others. This year the focus is on what comes next in recovery. See website www.creativechangeconferences.com for more information.

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CODEPENDENCY: AN OFTEN MISUNDERSTOOD ADDICTION By Beverly Berg, MFT, PhD

“I’m a very loyal and nurturing person. Why are you telling me this is a problem?” cried Julie. How do I, as the therapist, explain to a codependent partner that the very care he or she insists on giving within the relationship may be exactly what is preventing the addict partner from either bottoming out and getting clean or maturing and growing on the path of recovery? I’ve been called cold, uncaring, and selfish over and over again for my efforts to help codependents back away from their addict partners and instead lean in toward their own recovery from codependency. Even in the face of persistent migraines, insomnia, and freefloating anxiety, Julie continued to try to convince me—and herself—that her motives for caring for Fred, her newly sober boyfriend, were purely an expression of love and strong family values. She had revolved around Fred for three years before he got sober, and had not stopped since his return from a 28-day inpatient treatment program. She kept an eagle eye on Fred at all times. She made sure he was going to 12-step meetings regularly. She fielded all invites to socialize, and rejected anywhere alcohol might be served. And she fired off a daily barrage of questions and reminders designed to keep him on the straight and narrow. Julie was vehement in explaining that she did all this in the name of supporting Fred in his recovery program. Codependent partners rarely recognize that they may need as much support as their recovering partners, if not more. They need help with issues such as poor boundaries, irrational guilt over their own self-care, severe fear of abandonment, and long-held unresolved resentment and trauma. Week after week, sessions with Julie consisted of me trying to help her connect the dots between the distress she was creating inside herself by micro-managing her relationship and the migraines and anxiety she was experiencing. Her denial kept her blind to her own addiction to trying to medicate her anxious feelings by excessive controlling and caretaking of her boyfriend, even at the expense of her own health. It wasn’t until Julie ended up in the emergency room one Saturday night that she started to question her own behavior and consider what I had been telling her over a period of months. On that night, Fred had gone to his usual A.A. meeting, but had neglected to text Julie that he would be home a couple of hours late. As the minutes ticked by, Julie began to feel heart palpitations, nausea, and severe dizziness. Thinking she was having a heart attack, she dialed 911 for an ambulance. The ER doctor took all of the necessary precautions, and after a few hours, released Julie with a prescription to help her anxiety. In the meantime, Fred had been called and was in the waiting room terrified and upset. The doctor explained to both of them that Julie had experienced a severe panic attack, not a heart attack. He went on to say that it is common for people to mistake the symptoms of a panic attack for a heart attack, and that she had done the right thing by coming to the hospital. Julie felt embarrassed by that experience, and exposed in a way that finally shook her up enough to take her own life as seriously as she had been taking Fred’s. Her therapy sessions took an entirely different turn after the ER incident. Instead of defending her behavior, she started exploring its roots. She faced her anxious reactions to Fred keeping his thoughts and feelings to himself for too long or maintaining interests, hobbies, or friendships in which she was not included. She admitted to feeling safest and most secure when she and Fred were attached at the hip. She realized that satisfying her yearning for complete control over Fred did not contribute to the actualization of their relationship, and that she was addicted to Fred’s presence as a way of medicating her insecure and anxious feelings. Little by little, Julie learned to recognize her codependency, and became excited about following a path of recovery. She joined an Al-Anon group and found a sponsor, and

started to allow Fred both to work his own program and to give some healthy caretaking back to her. When I started working in the field of chemical dependency in 1982, there were no inpatient hospital or outpatient programs specifically designed to treat what we now call codependency. The goal of rehab programs was exclusively to detox alcoholic or addict patients, and secondary process addictions were not recognized. Codependency flashed into the limelight the following year when Woititz’s Adult Children of Alcoholics became a bestseller, followed immediately by Norwood’s Women Who Love Too Much and Beattie’s even more widely read Codependent No More. The mental health field and the recovery field—as well as the general public—have come a long way since the 1980s. Codependency is now understood to describe an individual who is in a relationship with an addict and who maintains that relationship through obsessive care giving. Unfortunately, many misunderstandings still surround codependency, as thus defined. On the individual level, it is easy to see how patients, such as Julie and Fred, would fail to recognize codependency in their relationship. As Julie herself expressed, codependent behavior can be seen as “nurturing” and thus socially valuable. It is natural to misunderstand that such apparently healthy behavior could actually be unhealthy and destructive. It is more difficult to grasp why misunderstanding still abounds among professionals. Notably, although other process addictions are included in the DSM-IV-TR diagnostic manual, codependency is not. Codependency continues to be approached with vague treatment plans and non-specific recovering strategies. Some therapists think codependency is over-diagnosed, while others view it as a personality trait rather than a condition needing treatment. I see a few reasons for this state of affairs. For one, codependency is not a life-threatening disease. People with codependency are not lying on the floor in their own vomit, getting DUIs, or endangering other people’s lives. Therefore, their condition is easy to overlook, especially when it is overshadowed by the needs of an addict partner. Second, I would say that codependency is rewarded in our culture. We appreciate people who sacrifice for others. We applaud people who are willing to take care of the less privileged, while asking for nothing in return. And third, there has not been the same kind of indepth research on how to treat codependency as there is on how to treat addiction to alcohol, drugs, food, gambling, sex, exercise, technology, or work. I see no valid reason to continue to regard codependency as a lesser form of process addiction that does not warrant the full attention of therapists. My hope is that the progress we have seen over the past three decades will continue on the same trajectory and not become stalled. We owe it to Julie and Fred and all others whose only crime is their longing for a happy relationship to finally and once and for all clarify our pervasive misunderstandings about codependency. Beverly Berg, PhD, is an author, psychotherapist, and supervisor. She presents at addiction conferences and is the author of Loving Someone in Recovery (New Harbinger, 2014). If you would like to learn more about Dr. Berg’s work, visit www.Beverlybergphd.com.

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WHAT IS A LEVEL 4 TRANSITIONAL CARE HOUSE? Sunset House is currently classified as a level 4 transitional care house, according to the Department of Children and Families criteria regarding such programs. This includes providing 24 hour paid staff coverage seven days per week, requires counseling staff to never have a caseload of more than 15 participating clients. Sunset House maintains this licensure by conducting three group therapy sessions per week as well as one individual counseling session per week with qualified staff. Sunset House provides all of the above mentioned services for $300.00 per week. This also includes a bi-monthly psychiatric session with Dr. William Romanos for medication management. Sunset House continues to be a leader in affordable long term care and has been providing exemplary treatment in the Palm Beach County community for over 18 years. As a Level 4 facility Sunset House is appropriate for persons who have completed other levels of residential treatment, particularly levels 2 and 3. This includes clients who have demonstrated problems in applying recovery skills, a lack of personal responsibility, or a lack of connection to the world of work, education, or family life. Although clinical services are provided, the main emphasis is on services that are low-intensity and typically emphasize a supportive environment. This would include services that would focus on recovery skills, preventing relapse, improving emotional functioning, promoting personal responsibility and reintegrating the individual into the world of work, education, and family life. In conjunction with DCF, Sunset House also maintains The American Society of Addiction Medicine or ASAM criteria. This professional society aims to promote the appropriate role of a facility or physician in the care of patients with a substance use disorder. ASAM was created in 1988 and is an approved and accepted model by The American Medical Association and looks to monitor placement criteria so that patients are not placed in a level of care that does not meet the needs of their specific diagnosis, in essence protecting the patients with the sole ethical aim to do no harm.

LET US NOT FORGET THE NEEDS OF CHILDREN WHEN RECOVERY BLESSES A HOME. Debra Alessandra, author of 12 Steps 12 Stories, helps us begin a long overdue conversation about recovery with children. Her collection of stories explores the key concepts of a recovery based lifestyle, in a language children can understand. Designed to break the uncomfortable silence that often surrounds, not only addiction, but recovery, Alessandra offers 12 short stories; one for each of the steps in a program of recovery. Follow-up questions help continue the conversation. Additional worksheets are also available to help children feel comforted, valued, and included in the recovery process of their family. Debra believes, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Family involvement drives successful outcomesâ&#x20AC;? 12 Steps 12 Stories provides a much-needed resource for parents, counselors, and other professionals to restore health and healing to families everywhere. Debra Alessandra earned a degree in Education and Sociology from Lycoming College. She is a life-long educator, former counselor, and the author of 12 Steps 12 Stories; an insightful and entertaining collection of stories for parents, grandparents, counselors and members of a 12 step recovery program. Debra is on a mission to help families navigate the path of recovery together. For further information, visit her website at www.12steps12stories.com or email her at debra@12steps12stories.com

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A CHANGE; IT IS A COMING… By John Lehman

Solid recovery services programs are anchored in the bedrock of peer support. One recovered person helping another and, in so doing, nurturing their own recovery. Twelve step fellowships didn’t invent this concept, but rather borrowed it from the ages. Humans have always relied upon one another to overcome life challenges. Artisans begin as apprentices. Those who have achieved success teach others what they have learned through guided, experiential learning. Less classroom; more active participation. This practice is so core to the human condition, we often refer to it as: Monkey see; monkey do. The Social Model Philosophy of Recovery is grounded in this bedrock. Its origins trace back to the early days when twelve step fellowship groups emerged in California during the 1940’s. Individuals seeking recovery also had need of alcohol and drugfree housing. As they communed together under a common roof, they discovered how readily and effectively their peer-supportive roles transferred to their living environments. Over time; these homes assumed the moniker “Sober Livings”. To the outside world, it may appear the primary benefit is the absence from the household of alcohol and drugs. However; though a criteria, this element is not the key to their success. The “key to successful outcomes” is the implementation of a deliberate and intentional, peer supportive infrastructure. That’s the alchemy that creates such a powerful force for altering the life trajectory of recovery residence inhabitants. This “family unit” structure evolved to embody many of the traditions that sustain twelve step fellowships. Acknowledging the human tendency of leaders to impose their will on followers, a defined set of suggested rules for governance were passed along from one residence to the next. Eventually; due to the unusually high preponderance of positive outcomes originating from this sector, academics arrived to study the formula and report on the influences that produce these outcomes. How do Social Model Programs support those afflicted with addiction in their mission to achieve sustainable recovery? In the 1960’s, the term “The Social Model Philosophy” was formally introduced. Recovery residences founded on this philosophy migrated across the nation. Many thousands of Americans have benefited from the simple practice of embedding twelve step and twelve tradition principles in recovery housing. Academic research demonstrates that the Social Model Philosophy, when effectively implemented, fosters “a culture of recovery” that produces extraordinary outcomes. The degree to which programs implement the Social Model reflects their core mission. A distinct difference exists between the underlying philosophies of treatment versus recovery. One is not necessarily better than the other. Best practices suggests that an assessment of the individual seeking service should determine the most appropriate level of care and/or support. In a perfect world this would always be the case. Unfortunately for the consumer: commerce often skews assessment in favor of treatment because it is here that meaningful “paydays” enter the equation. In the 1970’s, as third party payers were forced to treat substance abuse as a behavior health disorder, they began to ask the questions: “exactly who are we paying and what credentials do they have?” Commerce opportunities drove the industry focus towards The Medical Model of Recovery. Physicians, nurses and therapists flooded the space. This led to new curriculums offering credentialing for addiction treatment specialists, behavioral health technicians and other treatment related functions. Due to the overwhelming life challenges that frequently accompany active addiction, the space became fertile ground for social workers with varying degrees of knowledge and experience. All this, coupled with a few other factors, results in a dramatic swing away from the Social Model towards the Medical Model as the industry itself becomes addicted to the insurance dollar. After four decades and largely due to three separate Acts of Congress, the pendulum is now gradually returning to

center. Third party payers are, for the first time in nearly fifty years, interested in developing tools that measure the efficacy of services. For a moment, let’s place ourselves in the shoes of an insurance company executive and look out at the vista from that singular perspective. What do we see? According to SAMHSA’s 2013 annual survey, an estimated 24.6 million individuals aged 12 or older were current illicit drug users, including 2.2 million adolescents aged 12 to 17. In 2013, 60.1 million individuals aged 12 or older were past month binge drinkers, including 1.6 million adolescents. That of the estimated 22.7 million individuals aged 12 or older in 2013 who needed treatment for an illicit drug or alcohol use problem, only 2.5 million received treatment at a specialty facility. Those are very sobering statistics for all of us and, in particular, an insurance executive. This means that 20.2 million individuals needed treatment for an illicit drug or alcohol use problem but did not receive treatment at a specialty facility in the past year. Couple this statistic with the fact that, in combination, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) have changed the rules of the game dramatically. Our insurance executive can no longer exclude or even cap SUT coverage. Teams of such executives are now narrowly focused on determining service modalities that produce positive outcomes for a lower net cost. They now care very deeply about what actually works.

This turn of events provides tremendous opportunity for service providers who also care deeply about what works. While short-term opportunists chase windfall profits initially generated by ACA & MHPAEA, true care givers will invest linearly across the continuum. They’re creating systems of care and support that actually improve outcomes. They recognize that one size and flavor does not meet the needs of every potential client and are taking steps to implement assessment tools to more accurately determine the level of care and/or support most appropriate for each individual. These industry executives view outcome measurement tools as a means to assess the efficacy of their programming as opposed to tools designed to produce favorable marketing statistics. This isn’t so much a noble or virtuous approach as it is a sound business practice. Programs that produce consistently high rates of return for third party payers will be the champions on this new playing field. Ultimately, it is the consumer and their families who will benefit most. This is a very exciting moment in the history of a malady that has continuously ravaged humankind for as long as we’ve been standing upright. John Lehman is the president of FARR. Over the last two years, he has helped to develop the organizational infrastructure and continues to support initiatives to enhance the rights of residents who seek to enjoy alcohol-drug free housing that is safe, clean, and peer supportive. John is also the managing partner of Cashbox Solutions, a payment system developer that designs financial and management cloud-hosted software solutions for the recovery industry.

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PROUD TO BE A SINNER By Melissa Jordan

It was once said by genius Albert Einstein, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” I was insane for a large portion of my youth. I never understood why I was categorized as the black sheep wherever I went. Insanity was my life. Insanity was normal. When was I going to change? I kept telling myself I was going to get clean after a specific holiday, after my birthday, after any life-changing event. Procrastination is the “thief of time.” and I was robbed. The deadline---and I mean “dead” line---kept creeping up on me. I never lived in fear of death; it sounded quite appealing to me. That is, until I lost my boyfriend of seven years on June 21st, 2013, to a heroin overdose. My name is Melissa, and I am a 21-year old recovering heroin addict. I went into treatment on January 25, 2014 after I overdosed. That day changed my life forever. When I was getting high, I constantly felt deserted while standing in a crowd. I victimized myself and blamed everyone around me but myself. It was my fault that I was alone; I chose to be. Since I was 14 years old, I worshiped the poison and craved the negative energy. There is not one distinct instance I can think of where I wasn’t striving for complication, misery, or abandonment. My life motto was “screw things up for myself before others have the chance to do so.” I was slowly withering away, killing myself, getting arrested, failing school, and losing all of my loved ones. Today, people ask me how I maintain my new and clean lifestyle. Well, I worked hard, found Jesus (which is not for everyone), asked questions, followed the direction and advice I was given, gave back, and created a huge support group. I kept the faith that everything was going to work out for the greater good. I learned to love myself, be kind, not judge others because they sin differently---and most importantly, I learned how to live humbly. Another huge step to staying clean is forgiveness. “Forgiveness” is defined as the willingness to forgive another, despite the harm caused. Learning how to forgive myself and others who harmed me was a draining task I loved avoiding. However, forgiveness is a necessity in moving forward. The past cannot and will not change. Forgive yourself. Forgive others. You will be amazed with the end result. I had a violent and challenging childhood, as many people. I found a way to not let my past define me but to make me a more useful, valuable person. Today, friends ask me for help. Helping fellow addicts is what I live for. The little things I ceased to notice now define my days. Addiction is a disease. We have to work hard to conquer addiction daily and suppress our negative outlook. There is no instant gratification, no special technology, and no magical way to overcome this disease. Putting our lives back together from scratch is a long, tiring, and tedious endeavor. We are slaves to this disease, chained up, beaten, and broken down. I have been firmly told “it’s too late to change” or “why build yourself back up when you have already broken yourself down beyond repair?” The answer comes effortlessly to the average mind. We are worth more than we know, and others see our beauty when we fail to do so. Trust me, this is not an easy concept to wrap our heads around but …through repetition and practice, this concept will become an involuntary action, like taking a breath. The poison is thrilling, but the freedom is liberating. Personally, I feel blessed to be an addict. If it weren’t for the avenue I steered away from, I would not have run into beautiful trees, blue skies, hope, fresh air, and freedom. I am proud to be a sinner. I wouldn’t change my life for anything. Today, I am blessed. I get to help people, see things I have never seen, find hope in hopeless situations, find light in darkness. Today, I get to walk away from a conversation feeling as though I grew as a person. Today, I hear old lyrics in songs and they suddenly have meaning. My brain was a complicated pile of thoughts; now I have clarity. To all of those out there still battling addiction, I am constantly praying for you. You can

have what I have earned because “you reap what you sow” (Galatians 6:7). Give good and you shall receive good; give a helping hand and you shall receive one back; give unconditional love and you shall be loved. Anything is achievable as long as you set your mind and heart to it. I have made my experience sound like rainbows and butterflies, but I too fight my demons daily. The drugs are gone, but some of the addictive behaviors still remain. I know now those behaviors will diminish over time. This past month, I have not felt worthy of the things I was recently blessed with. I am accustomed to a life full of dope, shame, no home, no love--and it is overwhelming. My inner demons are always attempting to pull me back down into hell. I chose to reach for Heaven instead. Today, I am worthy of love, I am worthy of having a roof over my head …I am worthy. When we do good for ourselves and help others, it is truly amazing how our lives can turn out. In only one year, I have managed to stay clean, make friends, get my family back, work a full-time job, go to school, own my own place, and was blessed with a beautiful boyfriend and stepson. My life has drastically changed. Yours can too. Addicts rob themselves of their childhood or waste valuable time in slowly killing themselves. Look in the mirror and remember your innocent self. Tell yourself you are worth it. Your past self deserves to heal. I want you to eliminate those demons and firmly proclaim that nothing is going to stop you from giving the “real” person you are an actual chance to live life to the fullest. The lesson here is to not be discouraged. Our lives can be thought of as tornados wrecking everything in our paths. Once the tornado has subsided, the wreckage is the only thing remaining. Are we going to avoid the wreckage and continue spiraling downward? Or should we put in the work, help others who have also been damaged, and recreate a beautiful life? Let’s join together and become victorious. If we can help one person, we are doing something right. Lastly, I wanted to share my favorite quote that helped me get though some of these really difficult times: “For what it’s worth: it’s never too late to be whoever you want to be. There’s no time limit. You can change or stay the same; there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. And I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you’ve never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you’re proud of. If you find that you’re not, I hope you have the courage to start all over again.” F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Melissa Jordan is an Executive Assistant at Broadway Treatment Center. She is the author of “My 60 Days in Rehab” which she wrote to share her experience, strength and hope to any person out there who is fighting for their life. She lives in Huntington Beach, CA. Visit www.broadwaytreatmentcenter.com

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OUR CHILDREN ARE DYING By Phil Diaz MSW and P.D. Alleva MSW

Our children are dying. They are dying from drug overdoses, suicide, and a profound lack of purpose and meaning in their lives. The authors of this article have worked in the field of mental health and addiction for over fifty years and have never witnessed such an epidemic of despair and self-destruction as currently exists in our young people. The reasons for this situation are manifold but stems from a spiritual malaise that leaves us empty of all hope and desperate for any experience that can make us feel alive. Unfortunately, this instinctive need for purpose is manifesting itself in the way of drug use and self-injurious behaviors, in a vain attempt to deal with our soul stealing numbness. Young people are entering rehab 10 to 20 times with no ability to stay sober for very long. The outcomes for addiction treatment over the years have been disappointing at best. The obvious answer to the problem is that we are trying to treat a spiritual problem with a medical /logical methodology that is not working. As a society, we have been overwhelmed by a mechanistic view of the world in which we and our children are little more than animated machines with little power over our lives. The belief system that currently exists in the treatment community reports that medication and the teaching of right thinking will help people with mental health and substance abuse problems learn to rationally end their self-destructive behavior. However, this model discounts the cause of the problem or any attempt to face the root cause because the root cause is spiritual and not mental and in the current medical models one cannot talk about existential issues such as the need for love or a belief in something greater than ourselves that can give life meaning; because these issues are not quantifiable or science based. We the authors do not hold that view, and today we offer a new view that incorporates all of our own historical knowledge, validates the importance of our intuition about ourselves and those we love, and accepts the power of love to heal, if given the opportunity and the right environment to let the healing take place. The model we have created, Spiritual Growth Therapy (SGT), utilizes ancient philosophy, traditional psychotherapy, and quantum mechanics to create a new model for healing mental illness and addiction. In this model the key is to create an environment that allows for new starts, self-forgiveness, and spiritual development while holding ourselves accountable for our behavior and most of all, to rediscover universal love, personal meaning and purpose. In the end we are part of the human experience where we face the task of finding meaning and a purpose for our lives. This effort sometimes leaves us with a deep soul sickness, filled with feelings of meaninglessness and overwhelms us in our journey, which sometimes leads to drug use. Spiritual Growth Therapy treats the soul as well as the psyche. Dr. Victor Frankl, author of Man’s Search for Meaning, postulates that all suffering has meaning and that love is the ultimate redemption. SGT works to reconnect those suffering to their true universal selves Our children are full of self-loathing and have a loss so deep that often their only solution is to take opiates or injure themselves in an attempt to ameliorate their pain. Our job, as any parent knows, is to love them until they can love themselves; while holding them accountable for their behavior and to giving them paths to meaning. We seek to help them to construct a life with purpose. As Dr. Frankl said in his book, The Doctor and the Soul, we must face the fact that the search for meaning in life is sometimes fraught with anxiety leaving us distressed and fearful, but is also an unavoidable part of the human experience, which we view as a rite of passage for all. We must face the darkness before we can see the light and SGT guides the suffering into the light while modeling a purpose of morals and values.

Our philosophy is that therapists and healers need to be the guide who lead their patients from the dark night into the light of love, strengthening the patient’s affiliation with one another and with society in general. We believe that therapy needs to have the goal to awaken heart consciousness in all patients, to connect with their internal higher wisdom and to connect the individual to the source that animates the best in all of us. What some of us call god others refer to as a universal consciousness, but whatever it is called it is the greater consciousness that animates the universe and bathes us all in love as the essential vibration in all living things. The current medical model has a strangle hold on the practice of psychology. This was not always true. In the 1960’s and 70’s, the movement toward existential psychotherapy moved the field of psychology to a different paradigm. For some psychiatrists like R.D. Laing, author of The Divided Self, mental symptoms may not be illness but transformational experiences that need to be understood for their intrinsic meaning. We need to understand the meaning of the symptoms and not label the person experiencing the symptom. We believe that the greatest source of healing is unconditional love and that by changing ones thinking about negative behaviors with the perception that the problem is a misguided search for meaning and purpose that this will open many doors to the spiritual path. Phil Diaz has over thirty years’ experience in the field of addiction and mental health. He is an internationally known trainer and coauthor of six books on trauma, addiction and spirituality. Phil has formerly worked in the White House Drug Czar’s office in charge of drug prevention policy in the United States. He is also a partner at Lifescape Solutions and Evolve Mental Health. P.D. Alleva, MSW Paul is the founding owner of Lifescape Solutions and Evolve Mental Health which he opened in December of 2011, based on a new model of healing and psychotherapy called Spiritual Growth Therapy. His newest book Let Your Soul Evolve: Spiritual Growth for the New Millennium 2nd edition describes the model.

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RECOVERY AND THE INNER CHILD By Marilyn Wise M.Ed, PC, LICDC-S

As a counselor specializing in addiction treatment for over 20 years I have found working with younger aspects of the self (inner child work) one of the most transformative and rewarding tools in preventing relapse and aiding the client to create a life worth living. In her book, The Inner Child Workbook, what to do with your past when it won’t go away, Catherine Taylor M.A. M.F.C.C. beautifully describes the intrinsic relationship between addiction and unresolved childhood wounds and how the blending of the Twelve Steps and deeper healing of the “inner children” can work together in the process of recovery. She states, “ “Until you learn how to deal with and heal the feelings of your past, you are forever vulnerable to returning to your old addictive ways.” The work is not about blaming others but taking responsibility to compassionately re-parent the internalized child that is still often “driving the bus.” Taylor makes an important point when she asserts that there is not one inner child but different children at various stages of development that must be acknowledged, nurtured and integrated. The concept of an inner child is not recent. In His book “I’m OK Your OK”, Eric Berne who birthed the classic concept of Transactional Analysis advocated awareness and delineation of an adult, parental and child self. Twenty some years ago as a new counselor I was drawn to attend a workshop called “Healing the Child Within” facilitated by Charles Whitfield, author of a well known book by the same name. I became intrigued and have continued ever since to explore and be trained in various ways of accessing and helping the inner children heal. For many years I have witnessed dramatic positive changes in my clients and in my own personal growth using these techniques. There are a wide variety of modalities, which can be used to access these separated parts of the self. One is called “Voice Dialogue.” Initially developed by Hal Stone, Ph.D. and Sidra Stone, Ph.D. in 1972. The model asserts that there are different internal voices having conflicting needs and perspectives that can communicate with each other and resolve problems. One may be the critical voice, which took over from a critical person in the child’s life, or the nurturing self, which may have formed through positive interactions. Another highly effective training I received is “Heart Centered Clinical Hypnotherapy” created by Diane Zimeroff from the Wellness Institute in Seattle, Washington. This powerful model serves to develop inner resources and heal trauma long held in the subconscious mind. The first stage of recovery involves breaking through denial, learning to get honest with oneself about the addiction, developing a spiritual connection and being able to utilize the fellowship and principles of the Twelve Step Program. After sobriety and connection to a Higher Power becomes more stable, I believe dealing with the roots of the addiction through inner child work achieves much more well rounded sustainable results. Often clients have unresolved trauma or unmet emotional needs which continue to fuel the childlike reactivity and compulsion to self-medicate through alcohol drugs, food or other self destructive behaviors. A hallmark of an addict is the propensity to behave selfishly, which can be reframed as the natural tendency of a child to act in a self centered manner. Usually an addict stops maturing when they begin using which may be very young. As a result the addict may not been able to reach the developmental stage where they have the ability to recognize the effect of their behavior on others. So instead of calling out the addict for being selfish which often triggers their own toxic shame, we can gently help the client gain awareness and understanding of their internal selves. It is also important to take into consideration that the brain chemistry of addiction on it’s own undermines values and character. Each case must be assessed individually for that reason. I believe the high relapse rate and the common shift replacement of one addiction for another are directly related to not dealing with underlying issues, such as internalized shame, fear of abandonment,

anxiety and anger. As a result the addict has difficulty maintaining sobriety, and living a fully functional, fulfilling life. I see many who though sober for many years still have great difficulty in attracting and maintaining healthy supportive relationships and employment due to unconscious self- sabotaging immature choices, beliefs, and emotional reactivity. Even though I also employ DBT and CBT in my therapy sessions, I find it is much easier for the client to absorb and utilize these methods while in a more mature, integrated state of being. Once early stage recovery has past I find one of the first steps in this process is to help the client develop a strong, confident adult self, capable of taking responsibility and making healthy choices. One way to aid an addict in maturation is to use the proverbial “act as if” model, educating the client on the adult behaviors or helping them find a healthy adult role model to emulate. Once this adult identity begins to form, I introduce the process of the adult persona meeting the child within at whatever age began the roots of the painful or scary emotions. I have employed “voice dialogue”, guided imagery, hypnotherapy, journaling, and art therapy techniques to facilitate an ongoing communication and bonded connection between the adult and the inner children. This work helps to repair and heal long held dysfunctional patterns and cognitive distortions. For example, a client doing this work was able to release long pent up hurt and anger toward his neglectful mother, and underlying beliefs of unworthiness when his inner child was finally comforted and affirmed through ongoing attention and nurturing from his adult self. He was then able to stop his pattern of choosing neglectful relationships. The unhealed inner child often exhibits repetition compulsion as an unconscious attempt to redo the past. With Inner Child work old underlying false beliefs about themselves are revealed and transformed. Maladaptive coping methods which formed in response to emotionally or physically unsafe environments begin to dissolve. Then healthier responses to stress can be learned. It is essential to be aware that many behaviors we deem character flaws may have been coping mechanisms even before the addiction began. Maladaptive behaviors such as dishonesty (to protect an abusive parent) or emotional detachment, may have served to help the child‘s psyche survive. The compassionate, understanding approach of healing the inner children can end the shame cycle and propel the client towards reclaiming their true nature and fulfillment that was difficult to achieve while stuck unknowingly in an easily triggered inner child state. Integration happens when the adult and the child states merge into one self-aware whole. Inner child work is a process that may take time yet is moving and sacred. I feel humbled and privileged to witness it and hope others will explore its’ depth and meaning. Marilyn Wise, M.Ed, PC, LICDC-S, has been an addiction counselor in private practice in Cleveland, Ohio for 22 years. She earned her Masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Kent State University. She is certified as a Heart Centered Clinical Hypnotherapist through the Cleveland Clinic. Five years ago she founded and directs a unique intensive holistic outpatient recovery program called Astara Holistic Recovery Program which now includes a unique sober living home www.Astarasoberlivinghomes.com

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COGNITIVE THERAPY FOR ADOLESCENTS WITH SUBSTANCE USE AND CORRESPONDING PROBLEMS By Fred Dyer, Ph.D., CADC

In all my years of working with adolescents, and as I continue to work with them in multiple settings (i.e., juvenile justice, psychiatric hospitals, outpatient substance abuse, residential, and community mental health), two factors remain constant: 1) Irrespective of the adolescent’s gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, drug of choice, psychiatric or emotional presentation, family challenges, or how he or she dresses, whether with baggy pants, body piercings, hoodies, colored hair, or Gothic attire (remember the 1960s and 1970s—long hair, bell bottoms, love beads, colored glasses, big belts, and operation of the mantra, “It’s your thing, do what you wanna do”; Laugh-in television series, “If it feels good, do it,” and what the Mamas and the Poppas told us, “Do what you want do; go where you want to go”), these kids are hurting. 2) Group therapy with adolescents continues to be an effective intervention for addressing adolescent substance use, particularly a cognitive behavioral approach. Before continuing, it is necessary to quickly revisit the effectiveness of group for both adolescents and adults, remembering that cognitive behavioral therapy represents the intervention, and group is simply a delivery system for those techniques. In Yalom’s theory and practice of group psychotherapy, nine relevant therapeutic factors of group are offered for adolescents: 1) Installation of hope 2) Universality 3) Imparting information 4) Altruism 5) The corrective recapitulation of the primary family group and interpersonal learning 6) Development of socializing techniques 7) Imitative behaviors 8) Group cohesion 9) Catharsis. The aforementioned factors are referred to as curative. Neither time nor space allows for a complete delineation of all nine, but I will attempt to address those that tend to stand out in my work with adolescents. Concerning the installation of hope, adolescents may enter group with the cognitive belief that their problems are so bad they will never recover from alcohol or drugs and that the judges or probation officers are out to get them, along with the principal and assistant principal, and if none of those get them, they believe that the streets will. Many are in ongoing daily conflict with their parents. It is important to note a contrast here. When I was an adolescent I was told, “Don’t trust anyone over twenty-five.” Now we have some adolescent males verbalizing that they don’t believe they will live to see twenty-five. Hope is a necessary ingredient in all psychotherapies, including group therapy. The installation of hope includes narratives of “overcoming” which are provided by group members and is an important component of many self-help groups—take a bow, AA and NA. Another group curative factor that assists the adolescent in developing wellness is universality, which is the palpable relief that adolescent group members can experience when they recognize, perhaps for the first time, that they are not alone in their suffering. Imparting of information is a central feature of most groups. This can be broken down into two specific categories of information: 1) Didactic instruction 2) Direct advice. Didactic instruction can be in the form of psycho-education about alcohol and drugs or of a particular diagnosis or problem and a description of how a specific technique might relieve suffering.

The central source of change for the adolescent is observed in the provision of an explanation that helps them understand why and how problems came to exist. Direct advice from the therapist or cogroup member may also provide new and helpful information. Another curative factor, development of socializing techniques, involves the development of more basic social skills, either implicitly or through direct exercises, including role plays. Adolescent group members can give co-members opportunities to try out a variety of new skills or approaches and, unlike many real-world situations, can receive feedback on the consequences of those actions. Catharsis is a critical variable in groups. It involves the sharing of something that has not previously been articulated, bringing selfawareness and unburdening to the verbalizing member, as well as valuable feedback from other members. Adolescents can present to group with a myriad of challenges. It appears that diverse referral sources allow for a mix of adolescents who are manageable in a group setting, once a clearly communicated and signed behavioral contract for ground rules is introduced. Experienced therapists must be able to think on their feet and address inappropriate behavior and other troubleshooting, particularly in manual-driven treatment. From research and clinical practice, there are ten principles that therapists, after-school programming personnel, and substance abuse counselors can utilize in working with adolescents in a group setting: • • • • • • • • • •

Acknowledge the adolescent’s narcissism Adopt a mode of collaborative empiricism Adopt an objective stance Include members of the social system Chase the affect (this is a good one) Use Socratic questioning Challenge the binary motif Avoid blame Operationalize the abstract Model for the adolescent

A cognitive behavioral therapy approach has demonstrated to be effective in working with adolescents with substance use and other problem behaviors. It is important to remember that adolescence is about belonging and fitting in. What better activity to belong to than a therapy group in which kids can work on their problems, find solutions, realize that they are not alone, and be a part of something that is greater than themselves. References provided upon request Fred Dyer, PhD., CADC, is an internationally recognized speaker, trainer, author and consultant who services juvenile justice/detention/residential programs, child welfare/foster care agencies, child and adolescent residential facilities, mental health facilities and adolescent substance abuse prevention programs in the areas of implementation and utilization of evidence-based, gender-responsive, culturally competent, and developmentally and age appropriate practices. He can be reached at www.dyerconsulting.org

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BREAKING THE TRAUMA CODE - TO HELP BEAT ADDICTION By Doug Smith

I awoke to a look of helplessness in my wife’s eyes. I was a quadriplegic. How could this be? I was a professional hockey player. Some 20,000 fans cheered as I demonstrated my superior athletic abilities. I was in denial, angry, suicidal and confused. Why was I able to recover? Why do we often behave in certain ways that we do not understand? Through my experiences, I have learned something powerful controls each of us and that is the subconscious mind. My hope is that you will be motivated by what you read and that you will learn how the power of healing is within each of us. I encourage you to keep setting the bar higher and higher. Embrace this message about how we function as human beings. Pursue the science behind the message by connecting with me and with Sober World Magazine to help you get better and start becoming the person you want to be. The focus and energy required to complete this work has come from extreme pain, dealing with the disruptions in my mind created by past trauma and the subsequent personal growth. In the words of Dr. Herbert Benson of Harvard University, “We now have scientific proof that the mind can heal the body.” The traumatic events we face in our lives have lingering effects on the subconscious mind that lead to stress and limit the natural healing process.” “The Trauma Code” is the disruptive thought patterns that trauma causes in the brain between the conscious mind and subconscious mind. This disruption can cause us to behave in certain ways and not know why we are behaving that way. If we can think and act in alignment with the natural priorities for which the subconscious mind was created to achieve, then we will position ourselves for recovery, better performance and lasting happiness. The subconscious mind controls us and it has three priorities: 1) Meet our basic needs 2) Think clearly 3) Help others. These priorities directly relate to the symptoms caused by trauma, to motivation and to the three types of happiness. There are 4 types of trauma: 1) Catastrophic Physical Trauma 2) Catastrophic Emotional Trauma 3) Cumulative Physical Trauma 4) Cumulative Emotional Trauma. Injury is to the body as trauma is to the psyche so … do not compare injury to trauma. We all suffer from trauma yet there are no two traumas the same because trauma takes into account everything we have experienced since one month after conception. Addiction is one symptom of Trauma. The traumatic event(s), both large and small, may be with us forever, but this does not mean that we must suffer mentally for life. However, simply being aware of the priorities of the subconscious mind is not enough. There is still work to do. This article discusses the 8 behaviors that you can use to help recover from any trauma and touches on the 3 priorities of your controller; your subconscious mind. Belief in Self: There is clear evidence that the mind plays an important role in healing the body. There are proven techniques you can use to change beliefs that are holding you back. Get Motivated: Scientific research has shown that external rewards like money are often weak motivators and sometimes even counter-productive. Motivation coming from the subconscious mind is stronger. (Self Determination Theory) Be Aware: Ten years ago, the accepted belief was that we could not grow new brain cells. This belief has been shown to be false. You can develop your brain like building a muscle. Trauma causes physical changes to the brain which you can overcome.

Trust: The ability to trust others often gets compromised by trauma, hence the common catch phrase “once bitten, twice shy”. The science behind trusting others is clear. You can regain this important human need. Examine the special cells within our subconscious mind called mirror neurons that cause us to actually feel an experience that someone else is going through. Focus: Focus is often compromised by trauma because feeling confused is a common symptom for trauma victims. Setting goals, making plans and implementing them is a key to breaking The Trauma Code. It is surprising to learn how limited our capacity is regarding willpower and how inefficient our brains function when we multitask activities that require active thought. Cultivate Emotional Control: Negative emotions lead to harmful stress, but these emotions are difficult to control, especially when serious trauma is involved. There are many proven techniques that you can use to relax and remove these negative emotions. Ask for Help: Nobody has all the answers or can flourish by themselves. It is difficult for many of us to ask for help. The virtue of humility is valuable in cultivating your ability to seek assistance and is important for success. Live with Purpose: There is overwhelming evidence that an altruistic lifestyle provides health benefits. The personal growth towards altruism is sometimes achieved during the recovery from trauma. Having purpose contributes to the achievement of lasting happiness. Solve the Code: Separate injury from trauma, understand the 4 types of trauma, be aware of the 3 priorities of the subconscious mind and use the 8 behaviors to feed the 3 priorities. While each action has an obvious involvement with the conscious mind, we must explore the powerful relationship between the actions and the subconscious mind. Breaking the Trauma Code means understanding trauma affects the subconscious mind and learning how we can overcome this to help heal our bodies, perform better and propel our minds back to a natural state of happiness. Doug Smith is the Author of The Trauma Code. He is an International Keynote Speaker on Individual and Organizational Performance At 18 years old, Doug Smith was the youngest and highest pick to have ever been drafted by the Los Angeles Kings. After a career ending broken neck and spinal cord injury at 29 years old, Doug fought back from quadriplegia and morphine addiction to walking, running and after 13 years of recovery, skating and playing hockey again. Doug Smith has faced some of the most severe personal and business transitions an individual can endure. For over 2 decades Doug has worked to identify, organize and document the key priorities & behaviors he has used to drive high performance. Today he delivers a cohesive life system utilizing the 3 key priorities & 8 behaviors that feed human resiliency, recovery & performance. In his presentations he delivers this system for individuals and teams to take away and use for themselves. For more visit www.DougSmithPerformance.com & www.ThinkPrimal.com

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RAPE: IS HEALING POSSIBLE? By Douglas Schooler, PhD

When I first opened my private practice in Boca Raton in 1985 I began to notice something that, at the time, surprised me: almost every one of my female patients told me about some form of sexual molestation they had experienced. Over the years I’ve heard similar accounts from male patients. For some it was stranger rape, but many others told me about relatives abusing them – a parent, brother, uncle, or grandfather. For still others it was a religious authority, scout leader, teacher, coach. Yes, I was surprised because nothing in my training prepared me for this. Sure, I knew that troubling experiences affected people, often contributing to anxiety, depression, guilt, grief, and other painful emotions. But it was never suggested that the one experience I would hear most about was sexual violation. Now, looking back, I realize how inadequate my training was in this regard, not only omitting the major source of trauma for female patients, but also in not providing a method of treatment that actually worked to heal the emotional pain. Of course now I also realize that back then there wasn’t much in the way of any kind of treatment, no less one that actually worked. I remember reading a book a while back on the treatment of sexual trauma by one of the “leading experts” in the field. The author regretfully stated that the most a therapist could do for a sexually abused patient was to be supportive and sympathetic, and by doing so perhaps ease the pain a bit. Today, 30 years later, the training of psychotherapists in the mainstream university setting hasn’t changed much. So called experts commonly refer to rape as “soul murder” and believe that no real cure is possible. Others offer treatments that require the victim to relive the molestation experience and feel the pain again and again. But the belief that sexual violation leaves a permanent and incurable scar is almost universal. And universally wrong! More than a decade ago Dr. Jon Connelly, LCSW, founded The Institute for Survivors of Sexual Violence (ISSV) to address the woefully inadequate training of mental health professionals and the treatment they provide for victims of sexual violence or coercion. ISSV is a not for profit corporation whose mission is 1) to provide training to elevate the standard of care for individuals traumatized by sexual molestation of any kind and 2) to serve survivors of sexual molestation directly by assisting in securing effective treatment for anyone regardless of the economic challenges they may face. In a recent interview with Dr. Connelly he traced the history of what is now known as Rapid Resolution Therapy (RRT). Over two decades ago, frustrated with mainstream methods, he began developing a way of treating any kind of trauma, sexual or otherwise, that was painless, quick, and permanent. Rapid Resolution Therapy was born. He began training therapists across the country in this powerful method. Honed and refined since then, the training continues, and has resulted in hundreds of therapists certified in RRT nationwide. Dr. Connelly currently works with many patients caught up in addiction and notes that sexual trauma is a common experience for both females and males. Drugs provide an almost instant emotional relief for the survivor of rape (or other trauma) and very quickly the person is caught up in an addictive process that frequently results in additional sexual violation. He points out the bizarre manner in which our culture views sexual trauma. “We’re not at all shocked when a rape victim decides against reporting the crime, even when she knows who did it, where the perpetrator lives, and has his phone number. Yet it would be unbelievable to most of us if she had instead been injured in an auto accident, knew the address and phone number of the guy who crashed into her car, and did not report it!” Dr. Connelly notes that our culture (and most cultures worldwide) treats sexual violation as an experience in which the victim should feel shame. No other crime is viewed this way. A recent expose

aired on National Public Radio told of how “cover-up” tends to be the standard response to an accusation of rape in the military. In or out of the military, most sexual abuse goes unreported, and few survivors opt for treatment. Of those that do seek treatment, mainstream psychotherapy offers a long and painful process that doesn’t work. Connelly created ISSV as a response to this shabby state of affairs. People are shocked, Connelly says, when they find out that there is a treatment for rape that is quick, painless, and lasting, and is offered by many certified therapists without regard for ability to pay. He invites survivors of sexual violence or coercion to contact ISSV, which will assist them in finding a trained and experienced therapist regardless of their financial resources. Call ISSV at 561-741-4181 for assistance in finding a therapist who will work with any survivor of sexual violence, regardless of financial resources. The belief that rape or any kind of sexual violation leaves the victim stained for life is false. It is a major obstacle in getting survivors the help they need. For a layperson to think this way is a matter of ignorance most likely based on what one hears in the media, but for the mental health professional to do so is an admission of incompetence. In addition to the ongoing trainings in RRT that cover much more than trauma resolution, Dr. Connelly is planning a series of low cost training workshops specifically aimed at teaching psychotherapists how to heal the trauma of sexual violence. Mental health professionals are invited to find out more about training opportunities by calling 561-741-4181 or going to RapidResolutionTherapy.com Dr. Doug Schooler is a Licensed Psychologist and Certified Master Practitioner of Rapid Resolution Therapy. He maintains an independent practice of psychology, The Boca Center for Rapid Resolution Therapy, in Boca Raton, providing treatment to all ages since 1985 (www.DouglasSchooler.com). Before coming to Florida he taught psychology at Eastern Michigan University. He graduated from Queens College in 1964 and received his PhD in psychology from the University of Rhode Island in 1976. Inneta Kantor is the founder of Energy Healing beyond Reiki which is based on her training in many energy balancing modalities including Reiki. She was born in Moscow, Russia and trained in classical piano and voice, performing as a soloist in Europe and the United States, arriving here in 1981. www.douglasschooler.com/energy_healing _beyond_reiki

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LIFE’S ONION®

Breakthrough Therapeutic Tool Produces Big Results for Clinics and Clients We all know the saying about what to do when life gives us lemons make lemonade! But what do you do when life gives you onions? If you’re Mark Wetherbee, founder and creator of Life’s Onion, you make a therapeutic tool so innovative that it is awarded a patent. Life’s Onion is a handheld, onion-shaped device with 12 peels which transforms into a flower when opened. People in self-help and therapy record their goals and achievements on the actual peels, and peeling them back to flower petals as progress is made. It’s a simple tool, but its application is what makes it unique: while there are other methods of tracking improvement, Life’s Onion is the only product which marks people’s progress in a tangible, visual form and remains with them to reinforce their successes. One Life’s Onion user stated, “It will be a daily reminder of my journey through treatment, self-reflection, growth, and continued success in life.” It is not often that people have a visible reminder of their growth and achievements outside of the therapeutic environment, and this was clearly the creator’s goal. Life’s Onion incorporates elements of journaling, art therapy, and labeling theory, and can be used by the individual or with any therapeutic modality or style. In addition to the tool itself, there is a full package of support materials designed to integrate Life’s Onion into existing programs. After more than 3 years of research, development and field trials, Life’s Onion is now being made available to the public. To find out more visit: www.lifesonion.com

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INTERVIEW WITH THE CO-DISCOVERER OF THE ADDICTION/REWARD GENE By Patricia Rosen

Giordano: Statistically, the one that jumps out right away was a study we did a few years ago at my former center. We tested all the participants who were in rehab to determine if they carried the reward gene, colloquially known as the addiction gene. We found that 74% of the people tested carried the (DRD2-A1) addiction gene. I was astonished but Dr. Blum said the results correlated with other studies he’d done. In fact, he estimates that up to 33% of the American population, or one in three people, carry this genotype and are at far greater risk of Reward Deficiency Syndrome compared to those who don’t share this genotype. Upon learning this I came to realize that RDS is ubiquitous, it touches all of us in one way, shape or form every single day. Patricia: Is there a cure for RDS? Giordano: No, not at this time. However the condition is treatable. It is important to note that even though you may have been born with a genetic predisposition to RDS, it is by no means a punitive sentence. You have the power to change with small lifestyle adjustments. There is a growing interest in epigenetics among scientists and researchers. Simply put, epigenetics is the study of external modifications to DNA that turn genes “on” or “off.” More studies need to be done but I’m very encouraged by the early results. Scientists and researchers are finding that we have much more control over our gene expression than previously thought. They’ve discovered we can change the gene expression completely by adjusting our environment and lifestyle.

To learn more about Dr Blum and Reward Deficiency Syndrome (RDS), please visit: www.blumsrewarddeficiencysyndrome.com For the latest development in cutting-edge treatment check out John Giordano’s website: www.holisticaddictioninfo.com Patricia Rosen, Publisher Sober World Magazine

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Patricia: You had mentioned that you’ve worked with Dr. Blum on genetic research projects. Can you tell us about it?

Patricia: What healthy habits can someone with RDS develop to turn “off” the addiction gene or at least improve their condition? Giordano: What we’ve known for quite some time now is that much of what ails us can be traced directly back to exercise and diet. From my perspective, technology has outgrown our physiology. Our bodies and brains are not built for the cube farm or to be couch potatoes with remote controls and game controllers growing out of our hands; but rather to be hunters and gatherers walking through fields, swimming across lakes and climbing mountains. Yet we live sitting on our rear ends munching on processed foods and sucking on sodas loaded with harmful chemicals. In saying this, my recommendation is to exercise for at least thirty minutes per day. This alone will blunt the brain’s response to physical and emotional stress (stress is known to deplete Dopamine) while helping your body rid itself of dangerous toxins. Take a walk, go for a swim, ride a bike or join a gym. Aerobic activities will stimulate dopamine release, thus waking up the pleasure circuit. In addition to exercise, a balanced diet rich in tyrosine and omega 3 fatty acids will have a positive result. Tyrosine is an amino acid that helps the body produce dopamine. It can also be taken as a supplement. Meditation has also shown great promise in alleviating stress and other symptoms of RDS. It’s also important to replace as many of the toxic processed foods with organic everywhere you can. In today’s hurry up society it’s impossible to eliminate all process foods, but with a little effort you can replace a big portion of it with healthy organic foods. Yet even with organic foods it is likely you’ll stick lack all the daily minimum nutritional requirements. Because of this I always recommend amino acid and vitamin therapy that will aid in neuro-transmission.

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pleasure, he or she often relies on dangerous and potentially deadly stimulants. In addition, there are other contributing factors such as stress, low thyroid levels, heavy metals and others that contribute to low production and/or diminished levels of dopamine.

Continued from page 6

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The contents of this book may not be reproduced either in whole or in part without consent of publisher. Every effort has been made to include accurate data, however the publisher cannot be held liable for material content or errors. This publication offers Therapeutic Services, Drug & Alcohol Rehabilitative services, and other related support systems. You should not rely on the information as a substitute for, nor does it replace professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you have any concerns or questions about your health, you should always consult with a physician or other health-care professional. Do not disregard, avoid or delay obtaining medical or health related advice from your health care professional because of something you may have read in this publication. The Sober World LLC and its publisher do not recommend nor endorse any advertisers in this magazine and accepts no responsibility for services advertised herein. Content published herein is submitted by advertisers with the sole purpose to aid and educate families that are faced with drug/alcohol and other addiction issues and to help families make informed decisions about preserving quality of life.