Tag Archives: Addiction Treatment

If You Have an Employee With a Substance Use Disorder, You Could Be Their Lifeline

When the holiday season arrives, workplace parties are a common form of celebration. Some amount of alcohol consumption is expected during these events, and most who attend will drink responsibly and in moderation.

These Massachusetts Police Will Not Charge Addicts Seeking Help

Gloucester Police Chief Lenny Campanello recently announced that any addict surrendering drugs and paraphernalia to a police officer and requesting help would not be charged with a drug crime. The move is controversial and provocative and, the chief hopes, will start a conversation about drug addiction as a disease and the need for treatment. He […]

From the White House to Your House: A Different Approach to Heroin Addiction

After decades of a mindset that treated incarceration as the most fitting response to drug use, signs are adding up that the nation is getting serious about giving treatment a chance. Among indications of this attitude change is the recent White House announcement of a Heroin Response Strategy that pairs health and law enforcement officials […]

SAMHSA Encourages Medication-Assisted Addiction Treatment

It might seem like an odd concept: using drugs to gain control over drug use. But especially for people addicted to opioids such as heroin or prescription painkillers, medication-assisted treatment with drugs such as Suboxone (a mix of buprenorphine and naloxone) or methadone can save lives.

Getting Loud About Facing Addiction

It’s billed as “the day the silence ends.” On Oct. 4, top-name performers, political leaders, and tens of thousands of people who care about resolving a public health crisis that kills 350 daily will converge on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., for the UNITE to Face Addiction rally. Staged by the nonprofit group Facing […]

Elements Behavioral Health® Experts to Speak at 10th International Institute for Trauma and Addiction Professionals Symposium

Clinicians from the Elements Behavioral Health family of treatment centers will discuss trauma, addiction and related disorders at the 10th Annual Symposium of the International Institute for Trauma and Addiction Professionals in Phoenix.

Brightwater Landing Addiction and Mental Health Treatment Center Opens in Pennsylvania

Elements Behavioral Health opens Brightwater Landing, a substance abuse and mental health treatment center that blends traditional, experiential and adventure-based therapies, exceptional clinical and medical staff, and upscale amenities in a mountainside setting overlooking the Susquehanna River.

Motivational Interviewing Helps Meth Addicts Reduce Use

Motivational interviewing (also referred to as motivational enhancement therapy) is a form of counseling that addiction specialists and other health professionals use to help people affected by substance problems overcome any concerns about or objections to participating in a treatment program. Currently, users of three substances — alcohol, nicotine/tobacco and marijuana — are known to […]

Exercise, Mindfulness and Meditation: In Through the Side Door

The physical benefits of regular exercise are easy to understand, well-documented and obvious to almost everyone. Lift weights and you get stronger muscles. Do aerobic exercise and you get a more efficient cardiovascular system. Do sports, or take dance or martial arts classes, and you become more coordinated and physically aware.

Rising Overdose Deaths Hallmark of a Heroin Epidemic

From the early days of opium to the modern age of prescription painkillers, people and opiates have had a long and tumultuous relationship. Although prescription drug abuse is one of the main health concerns in modern-day America, the rise in abuse of drugs like OxyContin and Vicodin is fueling another epidemic: addiction to heroin. In […]

Alcoholism, Polydrug Abuse Create Different Brain Abnormalities

Alcoholism is the well-known term used to describe a physical dependence on the (typically unrestrained) consumption of alcohol. Polysubstance or polydrug addiction is a lesser-known term used to describe a simultaneous addiction to at least two substances, including any combination of alcohol, illicit/illegal drugs and mind-altering medications. In a study published in September 2014 in […]

Addiction: A Complex Disease Requires Multi-Faceted Treatment

Addiction is a disease of the brain. It is a chronic disease that requires long-term treatment, just like any other chronic medical condition. As researchers continue to work toward understanding the disease of addiction, the picture becomes more complicated. There are many factors that go into a person becoming addicted to a substance. As a […]