Tag: substance abuse treatment

What is VOI.com? Voi’s mission is to deliver the most comprehensive, innovative solutions to help hospitals and health systems, government agencies, educational institutions, families, and communities detect, intervene, support, and care for people at risk for suicide and living with behavioral health issues.

Dr. Bill Hudenko is the CEO of Voi. Bill was born in Ridgewood, NJ, but grew up in Albuquerque, NM. Although initially interested in medicine (both his grandparents were physicians) he discovered a passion for psychology while at the University of Michigan. He then went on to earn his M.A. and Ph.D. in clinical psychology at Vanderbilt and then his PostDoc at Dartmouth.

Bill was a professor by 27 and has held positions at Cornell University, Ithaca College, and most recently Dartmouth College. Bill has a strong interest in the vocal expression of emotion and is one of the world’s experts on the production of laughter in children.

His work has been featured both in scientific journals and in media outlets such as the Discovery Channel, NBC, MSNBC, LiveScience, and NPR. He started Incente in 2012 to change the delivery of mental health care in the US and beyond.

Claudia Christian is the most recognized advocate for The Sinclair Method (TSM) in the world.
In 2013, Christian started her non-profit C Three Foundation to help raise awareness of the treatment, which saved her life in 2009. In 2014, Christian’s award-winning documentary One Little Pill was released. The documentary explains the science behind TSM and follows the lives of some of the people Christian helped use the treatment.

Christian has spoken at UCLA, USC and at medical conventions around the world. In addition, she has appeared on Larry King Now and Megyn Kelly educating people about TSM.

Her TEDx talk has had over 2.2 million views. She is a dedicated advocate for medication-assisted treatment (MAT) and is on the advisory board for Ria Health, a telemedicine company that offers comprehensive, personalized treatment for patients with AUD.

Claudia has been an actress in TV, film, and games for over 35 years and is a published author of both fiction and non-fiction.

To learn more, visit https://cthreefoundation.org.

The Sober Truth is a book that talks about the evidence for success in 12-step programs in alcohol use disorder recovery. Unfortunately, the results are not great. It is important for people who suffer from alcoholism to be aware of the fact that there is medical treatment for alcohol addiction and it is consistent with the Alcoholics Anonymous program.

After decades as a physician and teacher at Harvard Medical School and elsewhere, renowned academic neurosurgeon Dr. Eben Alexander thought he knew how the brain, mind, and consciousness worked. A transcendental Near-Death Experience (NDE) during a week-long coma from an inexplicable brain infection changed all of that – completely. Memories of his life had been completely deleted, yet he awoke with memories of a fantastic odyssey deep into another realm – more real than this earthly one!

Since his 2008 NDE he has been reconciling his rich spiritual experience with contemporary physics and cosmology. We are conscious in spite of our brain. By probing deeply into our own consciousness, we transcend the limits of the human brain, and of the physical-material realm. His story offers a crucial key to the understanding of reality and human consciousness.

A pioneering scientist and thought leader in consciousness studies, Dr. Alexander has been a guest on Dr. Oz, Oprah, and many other media programs. His most recent book, Living in a Mindful Universe: A Neurosurgeon’s Journey into the Heart of Consciousness, (co-authored with Karen Newell) has garnered accolades from many scientists around the world who study the mind body question and the nature of consciousness. His earlier books, Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon’s Journey into the Afterlife and The Map of Heaven: How Science, Religion, and Ordinary People Are Proving the Afterlife, have collectively spent more than two years atop the New York Times and international bestseller lists.

www.ebenalexander.com

Mark Astor is an attorney who specializes in providing legal help to people who struggle with addiction. He often provides help through family members such as a parent or spouse. His specialty includes The Marchman Act, a Florida law that makes it possible to compel an addicted individual to go to treatment for up to six months. He also deals with the Baker Act and other legal tools that can make it possible to help an addicted family member for up to a full year, providing the necessary support to maximize the chance of long-term recovery.

I had the privilege of being a guest on Mark Astor’s video podcast. With his permission, I am publishing the audio from our conversation here. I think that it is important for patients and their families to be aware of their options in seeking treatment for addiction. We also spoke at length about MAT (medication-assisted treatment) of opioid addiction. We addressed the use of medications, such as methadone, buprenorphine (Suboxone), and naltrexone.

To learn more about the law practice of Mark Astor and how to contact him, please visit his website here: https://drugandalcoholattorneys.com/about-mark-astor/

In this rebroadcast of an interview between Kristin Walker and Mark Leeds, the topic of addiction to technology and online services, such as social media, is discussed at length. As large corporations put their nearly unlimited resources into finding new ways to get us hooked, we are at risk for an epidemic of massive proportions.

Already, we are faced with distracted driving, which can be more dangerous in some cases than intoxicated driving. Imagine being hit on the road by a driver who couldn’t wait to type LMFAO and then go back to check if it got any likes. Anyone who drives has seen those drivers with their heads down and eyes on a device, not on the road. Tech addiction and obsession has always been an issue, but the product is now being refined to the point that it has become an entirely different kind of problem.

Crack cocaine was a serious issue in the 90s. Many people who tried it could not stop. Lives were destroyed by the act of going back for just one more $5 hit that would last for just a few minutes. How many lives will be destroyed in the coming decade by people who can not help going back to check email, texts and social media just one more time?

Thank you to Kristin Walker for allowing me to rebroadcast this important discussion.

Jamelia Hand MHS CADC CODP is the CEO of Vantage Clinical Consulting LLC, http://vantageclinicalconsulting.com/, a focused consultancy with a national footprint devoted to helping healthcare organizations and other professional firms to create solutions to Opioid Addiction problems and increase quality patient care. For almost two decades, she has worked with individual Physicians, Healthcare Firms and Corporate Organizations around the United States to help them to optimize their business strategies and reduce Opioid problems in their communities. She’s worked on every side of the issue from practice management and treatment to managed care and advocacy. Her unmatched solutions have been tested and proven in Opioid Crisis Combat from the South Side of Chicago to Florida. She works with leaders, companies and organizations at every level of our nation’s leading healthcare epidemic to drastically improve process and business performance.

Nick Jaworski is an internationally recognized executive in the field of behavioral health marketing and operational consulting with experience building organizations across four continents. As the owner of Circle Social Inc. (https://www.circlesocialinc.com/), he has helped healthcare organizations ranging in revenue from $10 million to $300 million a year perform turn arounds and accelerate growth.

He is a recipient of the prestigious Jefferson Award for his work in mental health, is an advisor to the board for The Behavioral Health Association of Providers, and is also on the board for one of the most innovative treatment programs in the country – Above and Beyond Recovery in Chicago.

If you or a loved-one has a problem with addiction, the first place to visit is https://mcrisc.com. Substance Use Disorders are real, chronic medical illnesses, just like diabetes and heart disease. Until now, tools to measure these disorders were limited. Thanks to Calvin McGinn PhD, LMFT, RN and Joyce Ann McGinn OTR/L, GCFP, co-founders of McRISC, we now have a sophisticated online tool to assess addictions, such as opioid use disorder, from anywhere. The assessment can be performed in a doctor’s waiting room, in your own home, in your car, or wherever you happen to be and feel safe to take the McRISC assessment. It works on the desktop, mobile devices and smartphones. McRISC is a new tool which has the potential to make a real difference in ending the opioid crisis.

Bryan Robinson is recognized as the world expert on work addiction. He is a scientist who has studies this condition extensively over decades. He is also recovering from work addiction himself. In describing his own struggle with work addiction, he talks about hiding work. He would secretly bring work with him on vacations. He would sneak off, away from loved ones, to secretly get work done.

Being honest with yourself is a part of the first step to recovering from addiction. The first step of the 12 steps of Workaholics Anonymous states, “Admitting you have no control over your relationship with work and acknowledging that working too much is making your life unmanageable.”

Work addiction is becoming a serious problem in today’s society. We are all at risk. While not as immediately deadly as other addictions, work addiction can slowly eat away at your life as it festers and grows.

As you grow older, you realize that you have missed out on many great moments of life because you have spent years obsessing over work. Work addiction does not mean that you are necessarily successful in your work. It can even be expressed as endless procrastination.

In fact, your work can be greatly improved by facing your work addiction. Taking a step back, breathing and listening to the sounds around you is one way to wake up to the moment you are living in right now. You can disconnect from your work and live your life right now. There is nothing stopping you from putting down the work that is stealing your life from away from you.

Dr. Robinson’s latest book is titled, “#CHILL”. Please visit his website here: https://www.bryanrobinsononline.com/. You can find #CHILL on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Chill-Turn-Off-Your-Life/dp/0062896016. And please share #CHILL on your social media accounts before you turn off social media for now and put your devices aside so you can #CHILL.