Novenber 17 v 9 POWER IN THE PROVERB 

Love prospers when a fault is forgiven,

but dwelling on it separates close friends. 

STEP 5. Admitted to God, to our selves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs. 

Not only does it seperate close friends and family , fault, guilt, anger, pride, and unforgiveness make us physicaly mentally and spiritually sick.You cant get better if you carry around all the junk ! That could be a number one reason for us using at least it was one of the main ingridients in my life of using. Holding on to all of the pain, caused me to be angry resentful and ashamed. Getting to step 4 and making the list was very difficult but it was one of the most liberating experiences of my life.One thing I discovered was unforgiveness is a poision we drink expecting the others in our lives to die.My unforgiveness was not killing them it was killing me thru addiction.

How Fictional Characters Can Help Real-Life Clients
By Adam C. Brooks, PhD | November 15, 2013 | Leave a comment | Filed inAlcohol, Drugs, Healthcare & Treatment

Two patients wait in the reception area of a busy urban medical clinic. They don’t know each other, but they are about to embark on very similar journeys. In the exam room, Bill receives the diagnosis that he is pre-diabetic and is encouraged to make some lifestyle changes, including reducing his alcohol intake, as his provider has determined that his drinking is at a risky level. Maria meets with her provider and is asked to break a tough habit. Maria is struggling with continuous asthma complications and although she quit smoking cigarettes, she still smokes marijuana every day to cope with stress. Maria’s provider challenges her to quit smoking marijuana for one month to see if it helps improve her condition. Both patients are uncertain if they can break these habits or if they even want to try.

While these patients will sound familiar to medical providers across the spectrum of health care, they are actually the fictional starring characters of a new health education graphic novel being tested by the Treatment Research Institute (TRI). In Keep it Moving: A Guide to Breaking Habits, both Bill and Maria have to resolve their own ambivalence about whether to make an effort to reduce or quit their alcohol and drug use. They model how to deal with stressors, temptations, obstacles and personal triggers that influence their habits.

These relatable characters are part of a greater goal to integrating models of behavioral health care directly into primary care; and to help individuals combat their own personal habits and make the decision to seek further alcohol or substance use treatment. Our clinical research team received a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Health to conduct a clinical trial of Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) for the reduction of illicit drug use in three federally qualified health care centers (FQHCs) in Philadelphia. We wanted to be able to provide patients with an educational resource akin to Rethinking Drinking, the excellent patient resource developed and distributed by NIAAA. However, we wanted to be able to address both habitual alcohol and drug use, and we also felt that including more interactive activities and models that were within the grasp of populations with various literacy rates was important. A community advisory board consisting of medical patients in recovery from substance use issues reviewed numerous health education strategies for alcohol and nicotine cessation, and concluded that our team might best reach our target population by developing our material in a graphic novel format.

The use of graphic novels for health education is not new. SAMHSA’sPeople Recover about a young couple who enter treatment for addiction is an excellent example. We wanted to equip the behavioral health consultants at the participating FQHCs with a resource that that would help patients begin the process of self-change. Our consultants reminded us that they typically had limited time to meet with patients in a primary care setting, so finding strategies that could help patients remember advice on why and how to make habit change was critical.

The characters model self change using time-tested, habit-breaking strategies. Throughout the narrative, as Bill and Maria exemplify effectively putting change strategies into place, the narrative halts and the reader is invited to complete interactive journaling exercises that allow them to parallel the change process the characters are engaging in.

Our team is currently piloting Keep It Moving in the context of a clinical trial; and while we do not have effectiveness data to share, the early reviews from patients are very positive. Behavioral health consultants have shared with us anecdotal stories of patients returning for second intervention sessions who have completed every exercise in the book, and who have shared content with other family members. So far, more than 70 patients have participated in this the pilot launch of the novel. Our team will monitor results from the pilot through 2014.

Keep it Moving is an example of TRI’s work in counseling tool development, an effort largely intended to encourage counselors to use evidence-based practices. If counselors have the tools necessary to deliver productive and effective interventions that are centered on evidence-based content, they will be more likely to adhere to evidence-based strategies and insist on being properly equipped to do so. Additionally, motivated patients who have been provided with the tools to jump-start self change can surprise providers by moving the change process forward on their own.

Adam C. Brooks, PhD is a Senior Research Scientist working on continuous care and adaptive treatment protocols, along with performance-based contracting strategies at Treatment Research Institute. Dr. Brooks has a PhD in clinical psychology with a specialization in marital and family therapy from St. John’s University.

REALITIES IN RECOVERY
NAADAC & New Jersey Development Committee are proud to introduce:
Dr. Carlo DiClemente & Cynthia Moreno Tuoh
to Morris Plains, NJ on December 6th, 2013!
Dr. Carlo DiClemente is conducing his training titled “Client Collaboration and Integrated Care” which discusses the reality of complicating problems, provide a client centered, process of change perspective, and offer ideas about how to create collaborative, ntegrated care.

Cynthia Moreno Tuohy is conducting her training titled “Conflict Resolution in Recovery” which is skilled-based and focused on the brain; how the brain works in conflict and strategies to affect the quality of recovery in relationships.
Join us in December and continue to serve all in recovery!
Register Here for: Realities in Recovery!
When:
December 6th
9 am—4 pm
Where:
Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital
59 Koch Ave
Morris Plains, NJ 07950

PARKING:Attendees to use parking lots across from the hospital and check-in at the Front Desk in the Main Lobby.
COST:
Member—$15.00
Non-Member—$100.00
Lunch (optional) —Free
Register Here for: Realities in Recovery!
Not a Member? Attend the Conference & Receive FREE Membership to NAADAC
Membership includes:
Over 75 CEs
Staples Office Supply Discount
Reduced Rates on:
Malpractice / Comprehensive/Professional liability insurance
NAADAC products
SAVE $100 on National Certification & Recertification of NCAC I, NACA II, MAC, and more!


CHECK OUT THE NEW JERSEY WEBSITE: NAADACNJ







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RECOVERY CONNECTIONS

Hello , My name is Joseph and I would like to tell you about my Blog . It is my vision to develop a 50 state resource site .My Blog (joseph-recoveryconnections.blogspot.com) is the vechicle in which I will use to accomplish this task.My work has been two years in developing and my pupose is to make treatment easy too find , to educate and help others develop a solid recovery support system . No I am not a refferal service , I am just a guy in recovery trying too give back too those still out there. I also can be found on facebook www.facebook.com/PArecoveryconnections .We have connected here and I would love too have you in the group ,based on your Professional skills and experience you might be able to help one of our many frequent visitors. If you have any upcoming events e-mail us at recoveryfriends@gmail.com we will spread the word.  It is folks like you that make this world a better place.Sincerely Joseph God Bless

November 16 POWER IN THE PROVERB

Those who listen to instruction will prosper;

those who trust the Lord will be joyful.

Step 12 : Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this 

message to others , and to practice these principles in all our affairs. 

(12Steps.org) 

In the middle of my addictive state ,living my life as it was I hated . Guilt, anger, regret ,selfishness , fear , and pride were the ones that ruled my life.There were many who tried to show me the way I should live to get clean and sober . Time after time , I would just run away ! My thought I know you care but I am drowning here and your describing the water ! One day it happened my spirit was awakened ,and that only happened at my bottom after a sincere step one ! The Proverb says it all and the 12 th step is a duty because of other 12 steppers and GOD , I have freedom ! .

Long-Term Heroin Use Changes Gene Activation in the Brain, Study Suggests
By Join Together Staff | November 12, 2013 | 1 Comment | Filed in Drugs &Research


Long-term use of heroin appears to change how genes are activated in the brain, a new study suggests. This leads to changes in brain function, HealthDay reports.

The findings come from a study of the brains of deceased heroin users. Researchers examined an area of the brain called the striatum, which plays an important role in drug abuse. They discovered major changes in how DNA was being used in the brain. The more years a person had been addicted to heroin, the greater the changes in the brain.

The researchers also found changes that suggest behaviors that lead to overdose have a different basis in the brain than those leading to long-term abuse, the article notes. The findings were presented at the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting on Sunday.

“Our study addresses a critical gap in our knowledge about heroin addiction because we cannot often directly study the brains of addicted humans,” said senior author Yasmin Hurd of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, in New York City. “Our results provide important insights into how human brains change in response to long-term heroin use, and give us the knowledge to help treat this dangerous disease.”