by Tom Horvath, Ph.D., ABPP Practical Recovery’s IIOP The Individualized Intensive Outpatient Program To be clear: An Individualized Intensive Outpatient Program (IIOP) is not an Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP). An IOP is a group that typically meets three hours per day, three days per week. In addition, there may be one individual session per week. The IOP is the backbone of many outpatient addiction treatment approaches, and indeed, Practical Recovery offers one (which includes one individual session per week). One of the advantages of an IOP is that insurance companies are familiar with it, and tend to reimburse this service at a reasonable level. Nearly 20 years ago Practical Recovery introduced the concept of the Individualized Intensive Outpatient Program. This year we ar...

Does the recovery community inadvertently contribute to the stigma of addiction? by Tom Horvath, Ph.D., ABPP Although the recovery community opposes stigmatizing individuals with addiction, the widespread use of the labels “addict” and “alcoholic,” and the view that addiction is a disease, actually contribute to the stigma of addiction. Alternative language, suggested here, could work against stigma rather than contribute to it. What is stigma? The Oxford English Dictionary defines stigma as 1) “a mark made upon the skin by burning with a hot iron (rarely, by cutting or pricking) as a token of infamy or subjection,” 2) “a mark of disgrace or infamy; a sign of severe censure or condemnation, regarded as impressed on a person or thing; a ‘brand,’” (this meaning is introduced as...

Does acupuncture help in the treatment of addiction? Chinese medicine, such as acupuncture, has long been used to treat an array of illness. More recently, Eastern methods have become increasingly popular within many addiction treatment approaches, as a supplement to other therapies.  Acupuncture is said to help alleviate withdrawal symptoms and physical pain, cure insomnia, and even help soothe emotional problems. So what is acupuncture? Basically stated, it is Chinese therapy involving pricking the skin with small/thin needles. It is used to treat a variety of physical symptoms, improve mental health, balance emotional conditions and alleviate pain. Acupuncture is based on a theory of energy. As the theory goes, “chi,” also known as energy, flows through our body along pathways...

Practical Recovery presents: CRAFT training led by Dr. Bob Meyers! 2/29/16-3/2/16 in San Diego. Click here to register! CRAFT (Community Reinforcement and Family Training) provides an evidence-based approach to helping families support loved ones who need additional assistance to overcome problematic addictive behavior. CRAFT provides an alternative approach to the 12-step based Al-Anon, and to “intervention,” often a surprise family meeting with the identified patient (IP). This surprise meeting is intended to motivate the IP to enter treatment. The goals for CRAFT are to improve the lives of Concerned Significant Others (CSOs), reduce the problematic addictive behavior of the Identified Patient (IP), and increase the IP’s motivation to enter treatment. Treatment initiation typ...

By Devon Berkheiser, Psy.D. (originally posted March 2015) Discover how you can quit drinking (and using)... for good. Do you want to know how to quit drinking for good? While this can be a challenging task, it is definitely possible to quit an addictive substance and establish a happy, meaningful life in recovery. There is no one way to quit drinking; different paths work for different people. It may take some trial and error to find the recovery tools that work best for you. However, there are some general guidelines that you may want to consider when attempting to quit drinking. Read on for some helpful tips. 1. Make a commitment to change your drinking habits First and foremost, you need to make a commitment to change. Ask yourself why you want to quit drinking. Perhaps ...

by Tom Horvath, Ph.D., ABPP When I began specializing in addiction treatment in 1985 I affiliated with the New Horizons outpatient network of providers. To my knowledge none of the original providers (nearly two dozen at one point) are still in practice. However, one newer practitioner works in Hawaii. Mark Turansky became involved some years after I left (to focus on the development of Practical Recovery). Mark and I met in 2014. I still appreciate many aspects of the New Horizons approach. In this article I focus on that approach and Mark’s activities. To place any recovery approach in context, nothing works for everyone, and almost any approach will work for someone. The challenge to providers is matching services, approaches and options with individuals who might benefit from ...

Addiction Treatment: Understanding and Integrating Motivational Enhancement Therapy Guest Post by Jonathan Liss, Ph.D. Of course you have heard about Motivational Interviewing, and maybe Motivational Enhancement Therapy. However, if you are not involved with MI or MET regularly, the following summary would be good way to refresh your memory, and provide a springboard for including MI more regularly in your work. Thanks Dr. Liss for this article! Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET) is a brief therapy, derived from Motivational Interviewing, designed to produce rapid, internally driven change for individuals in early stages of contemplation about the role of substance use in their life. Though non-directive, this brief (approximately four sessions) therapy aims to harness an ind...

The SEATA site is poised to become the leading resource for finding harm reduction and self-empowering US addiction treatment and recovery services. “Self-empowerment” is used to contrast the approach with powerlessness-based services. As Step 1 of Alcoholics Anonymous states, “We admitted we were powerless.” A SEATA provider will work to enhance the client’s capacity for self-regulation, with the ultimate goal (even if never realized) of having sufficient self-regulation to prevent problematic addictive behavior, rather than viewing oneself as indefinitely powerless. The site offers only free listings. These listings should encourage participation by all appropriate providers. The site also allows for reviews (as Amazon, Yelp and many other sites do). Free listings should also el...

By Tom Horvath, PhD, ABPP All species aim to survive. They do so by seeking out some experiences and avoiding or escaping others. The behaviors associated with addiction and recovery can be understood in this larger context of survival, approach and avoidance. The implications of an evolutionary perspective for addiction include new definitions for commonly used addiction terms, and a revised approach to addiction treatment and recovery. Addictive Behavior: Primary addictive behavior is pleasurable survival behavior. All species engage with the environment in order to survive. Depending on the level of consciousness of the species, the repetitive involvement with these essentials is experienced as pleasurable. Survival essentials include food, sex, and in some mammals attachmen...

by Devon Berkheiser Recovery: A Lifelong Process? In the traditional 12 step approach to addiction treatment, members identify themselves as “alcoholics” or “addicts.” They are commonly told that addiction is a chronic disease, one that will never fully go away regardless of how long they maintain abstinence. This approach can work for many people. Some find it useful to identify themselves with such labels as “alcoholic” because it is a way for them to stay humble and to use that label in a safe setting, minimizing feelings of shame. Also, the idea that recovery is a lifelong process can help people stay vigilant and avoid the pitfalls of complacency. However, for other people, this approach can feel hopeless and shaming. The idea of saying that one can never really be free from a...