Archive for the ‘News’ Category
AiR to present Expanding the Definition of Recovery
Tuesday, December 8th, 2009
AiR’s Founder & CEO, Andrew Wainwright will be presenting at the Alexian Brothers Behavioral Health Hospital Center for Professional Education’s Professional Education Workshops & Programs
Behavioral health issues can affect an entire family or organization and all those affected deserve equal attention, compassion and understanding. This workshop will help to educate patients/clients about their situation, empower them with solutions and direct them into action.
Andrew T. Wainwright is the founder and CEO of Assistance in Recovery (AiR) and a nationally recognized expert on addictions and intervention. He is a frequent guest on CNN’s America Morning and author of the book, It’s Not Okay to Be a Cannibal – How to Stop Addiction from Eating Your Family Alive. Unwilling to accept the status quo and impatient to improve rates of recovery for behavioral health related illness, Andrew is a tireless advocate for advancement of treatment modalities in the behavioral health industry.
Where:
Poplar Creek Country Club
1400 Poplar Creek Drive
Hoffman Estates, IL 60169
When:
March 12, 2010 from 10:00am – 12:00pm
Info:
Arrive on-half hour earlier for continental breakfast, registration and networking.
LCSW/LMFT/LCPC/LPC – 2.0 CEUs will be provided CPDUs – 2.0 CEUs will be provided IAODAPCA 2.0 CEUs – Applied for
CEUs will be awarded for full attendance only of the event. Certificates will be given at the end of the presentation upon completion of evaluation.
Cost: $20.00
Tags: AiR Assistance in recovery, Alexian Brothers Behavioral Health Hospital Center for Professional Education, andrew wainwright
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The Genetic Link to Addiction
Wednesday, October 21st, 2009
An article on CNNMoney.com today spoke about the genetic link to addiction. Although widely acknowledged throughout the addiction treatment community, it’s nice to see additional research showing the link between addiction and genetics. According to Dr. David Goldman, the director of the Laboratory of Neurogenetics at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, said that according to the massive study they completed of addiction in twins, addiction ranks “among the most heritable of mental illnesses.”
Dr. Goldman also said that social cues and environment obviously contribute to addiction, a valid point. Someone with the “alcoholic gene” who is never exposed to alcohol may never lead themselves down a destructive path. After all, genetics load the gun, and environment pulls the trigger.
“What’s interesting,” Goldman says, “is that the more addictive the substance, the stronger the role of heredity in causing an addiction to it.” Therefore, if someone is using crack cocaine or opiates and has the genetic predisposition towards addiction, the greater the chance of getting hooked. Other environmental things, such as abuse or other instances of trauma, can severely influence the nature of addiction.
Dr. David Oslin, a psychiatrist at the University of Pennsylvania, had this to say about the study, “It reinforces for the patients that they are not just a bad person or lack will power. It resonates with the notion that their brain may work a little differently than other people’s and that this really is an illness they can treat like any other.”
As a family member or a loved one, be sure to be aware of the genetic triggers in your family- if a parent struggles with alcoholism, be sure to be aware of your genetic history and approach your drinking carefully. After all, there’s only so much one can do after addiction has taken hold.
Be sure to check out our new Wikipedia page, located here.
For any questions or help with yourself or a loved one, call us directly at 877-320-0247.
Tags: addiction, addiction genes, addiction intervention, AiR Assistance in recovery, alcohol, alcoholism, assistance in recovery, chemical dependency, cnn, genetics, gentetics of addiction, intervention, recovery, recovery assistance, substance abuse
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Addressing Substance Abuse Concerns
Tuesday, October 20th, 2009
A Family Educational Series in partnership with Hazelden.
Join Hazelden and Assistance in Recovery in the first of a series of free educational events that will provide information to family members and loved ones of those struggling with addiction.
Most people are aware that drugs and alcohol cause problems in our society. Our media sources daily blare the news of violence, traffic fatalities and broken homes due to drug and alcohol use. The aftermath of addiction seems easy to spot once the addiction has spun so far out of control that it has become a media event. We wonder why the addiction wasn’t spotted earlier and if it was, why didn’t “those people” just quit or do something about it?
This presentation “What is addiction?” answers these questions and more. Attendees will gain a better understanding of drug addiction and how to begin to identify the signals of problematic use within themselves, their families, and community.
Monday, November 9, 2009
5:30 p.m. Registration
6-8 p.m. Presentation, “What is Addiction?”
Hazelden’s Fellowship Club
680 Stewart Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55102-4199
Register online at hazelden.org/familyed by November 2. If you have any questions please give us a call at 877-320-0247.
Save the dates — more free educational events for family members and loved ones of those struggling with addiction:
December 14, 2009
Intervention
Presentation by AiR’s Gordon Brown. It’s not just about getting help for your loved one.
January 18, 2010
Families Living With Addiction
How to help loved ones get into treatment, how to work with insurance, and how to help ourselves.
February 8, 2010
Case Management with People in Recovery
Presentation by AiR’s James Stolz. Building resiliency and the management of substance dependence.
Tags: addiction education, alcoholism, assistac, drug addiction, hazelden, intervention, substance abuse education
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AiR Celebrates 500th Recovery Assistance Program Participant
Tuesday, October 6th, 2009
In four years, AiR has now helped 500 participants and families improve their recovery.
In 2005, we recognized a serious need for ongoing continuous care and support to individuals in early recovery and their family. Our team of professionals spent a great deal of time studying the industry, rates of recovery and needs – from this, we developed our Recovery Assistance Program (RAP).
Our comprehensive, 1 year program is designed to provide you support and accountability by working one-on-one with a designated case manager. In addition to working with the participant, we will maintain collateral contact with their support team and manage ongoing toxicology screening and reporting. RAP is structured to identify the potential for relapse before it happens, offer peace of mind to parents, significant others and employers, and produce dramatically improved rates of recovery from the 50% average success rate to 84%.
Call us at 877-320-0247 to request a brochure and DVD today.
“We weren’t really sure what to do, and it’s my kid, I didn’t want to make a mistake.” Father
“I had every intention of cleaning up my life, becoming the father and husband I wanted to be, and after 4 days, I used.” Participant
Watch to these stories and more on our new RAP video.
Tags: Recovery Assistance Program
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AiR joined Hazelden in celebrating 60 Years
Monday, October 5th, 2009
For 60 years, Hazelden has been the world leader and model of care for drug addiction and alcoholism treatment. We offer specialized rehab programs for women, health care professionals, and families suffering the effects of addiction. In addition to operating addiction treatment centers in Minnesota, Oregon, New York, and Illinois, we provide publishing, research, and professional education opportunities.
AiR’s CEO, Andrew Wainwright and COO, Jim Geckler joined Hazelden to celebrate.
AiR Co-Founders Andrew Wainwright & Bob Poznanovich
AiR COO Jim Geckler with Partner Peter Jackson along with CEO Andrew Wainwright with wife Jackie.
Tags: andrew wainwright, hazelden, hazelden 60 year dinner, hazelden treatment center, jim geckler
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AiR's discussion on CNN, Oct 1st
Saturday, October 3rd, 2009
16 states across the nation, more people die from drug-related incidents than die in traffic accidents. AiR’s founder and CEO, Andrew Wainwright discussing why drug deaths might be on the rise ““ the CDC points to the increase in abuse of prescription medication.
Aired October 1, 2009 – 07:00 ET
CNN AMERICAN MORNING HOST JOHN ROBERTS: Some shocking new statistics coming your way from the Centers for Disease Control. In 16 states across the nation, more people die from drug-related incidents than die in traffic accidents. So what could be done about it? We’ll find out. 38 and a half minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Startling new statistics as we said from the Centers for Disease Control. In 16 states and counting, drugs now kill more people than car accidents. While traffic accidents remain the biggest injury- related cause of death across the country, drug overdoses are on the rise. Why is this happening?
Andrew Wainwright is the president and CEO of Assistance in Recovery Incorporated and kicked his own addiction a decade ago. He joins us from Minneapolis this morning.
So Andrew, according to the Centers for Disease Control, drug- related deaths in the United States have doubled from the late 1990s to 2006. Why the rise?
ANDREW WAINWRIGHT, PRESIDENT & CEO, ASSISTANCE IN RECOVERY, INC.: Well, I think two important factors, John. One, in the mid 1990s, a mandate came down from Jaco and others saying we were under prescribing for pain medically, across the board. And we needed to write more prescriptions for pain. So that began and docs began to do that. We saw a rise in the writing of prescriptions.
At the same time, we saw the big pharmaceutical companies begin the kickoff primarily in January of 1996. (INAUDIBLE) Pharma kicked off OxyContin. So we saw the rise of the selling of pharmaceutical drugs, heavy narcotics both to the consumers and to the docs. So I think the combination of those two factors – in the mid ’90s, exactly where we are, the swing of the pendulum where we have unintended overdoses. And this is interesting, in hospital and on the street today.
ROBERTS: Is it just because of the availability of drugs? Or is it also a public perception issue? I ask you that because Margaret Warner, an epidemiologist for the Centers of Disease Control talked about this yesterday. And here’s what she said. She said, “People see a car accident as something that might happen to them. But as far as drug overdoses go,” she says, “maybe they see it as something that’s not going to happen to them.”
You know, you get in a car. You know you’re going out there in the flow of traffic. You have a license, you have insurance. You know that it’s possible that you could get into a car accident. When taking drugs, do people say, I might overdose? I better be careful here or better still, I’m not going to do it at all?
WAINWRIGHT: Well, I think we also have, let’s say 40 good years of education without car accidents. If you remember back there was a time when nobody wore seat belts. And then we saw the rise of air bags and all kinds of other safety insurance to make sure that we got safer. We’re raised with years of commercials and high school showings of drunk driving and all those things what happens to people.
I don’t know if we’ve seen that piece of education for the general public around drug addiction from prescription drugs. We certainly see it in the DARE program and others for narcotics that you find in the street but prescription drugs, they sort of see it safe. They come from your doctor. They’re prescribed. They come in a clean bottle. They’re sold to you from a clean environment. You take them home to your house where you take them. And it doesn’t seem there’s a lot of danger there.
It’s very far removed from what you see in the evening news, the drug wars in Mexico. It doesn’t seem that it’s the same thing as the narcotics that I’m taking at my house. So it shouldn’t have the same result. And so the study comes out like the ones that we’re seeing from the CDC and we’re really surprised that people, us, our kids, our friends and neighbors are overdosing. We can’t really put the two together.
So I think we’re talking about a missing educational component that this is serious narcotics that’s being probably today, over prescribed or made overly readily available or the ones that we have in our homes aren’t being destroyed quickly enough as they are being diverted to the street. All of the things I think we’re beginning to get educated about.
So I think we should be happy on some level that A, the CDC did the study; B, CNN wants to talk about it; and C, it’s going out to America saying this is a real problem and we need to get more education and understand what’s going on so that we can stop it.
ROBERTS: Well, we here at CNN always want to talk about the important topics. You know, Centers for Disease Control in terms of this idea for prescribing, its report said that one in five adults now is prescribed an opiate every year. And you talk about education, there is one new area where we seem to be getting it as a nation, and that is the danger of our children getting a hold of prescription drugs that were prescribed for adults. Let’s take a look at this PSA, I think, that many are familiar with now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The yellow one – this is for my postpartum depression. This one, sciatica – whatever that is. I got these after my hysterectomy – or my prostatectomy – some “ectomy.”
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: And are PSAs like that helping to illuminate the problem, at least, of young people getting drugs out of their parents’ medicine cabinet?
WAINWRIGHT: I can only say I hope so. But I think that education is key at all areas of – of going to war against, you know, what’s becoming an epidemic for us culturally. I think it’s going to be a lot of education, needs to be a lot of time, because this has become, really, a cultural issue. I think it’s -
Well, you can look at pharm parties for high school kids. I think it’s culturally part of what we do is we have heavy narcotics in our home. We’re not loathe to share them with our friends and family if they are in pain. It’s sort of, you know, we carry these in our purse, we carry them on the plane, it’s part of who we are culturally. I think a big piece of that needs to change, and so I think, yes, the PSA is going to help. It’s going to take a lot of them, and I think it’s going to take a lot more of you and I and folks like us talking about this, making it important for everybody.
ROBERTS: All right. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that the (ph) decline of road fatalities, which is one reason why drug deaths in some states have surpassed traffic fatalities is because of advances that were made in reducing traffic fatalities, but the safety administration says that it’s – it’s one of the great public health triumphs over the last few decades, to lower the number of deaths on the roadways. What can be done to make similar strides in drug abuse?
WAINWRIGHT: Well, you’re talking – you know, I’m a “change the world” guy, so I would – you know, I think it’s great that we lowered it 1 percent or 2 percent or whatever it was for traffic fatalities. You know, I’m all for making big changes. So I think that the pendulum began to swing in one direction in 1995 when we had these two major incidents happen around overprescribing of heavy narcotics. I think what – the CD (ph) study is great because it gets us talking about it, so we’re hoping that the pendulum is going to swing as far as this can go in this direction and we’re going to push it back the other way.
So let’s pick a mean, let’s say 1996, 1997, 1998 – that somewhere in there we’re going to say that’s the gold mean where we’re prescribing enough to manage and treat the pain that America is presenting with but we’re not overprescribing and allowing drugs to be (INAUDIBLE) in the street. And then we’re going to culturally change how we understand and think about the use of these kinds of prescribed drugs.
ROBERTS: Andrew Wainwright – a “change the world” kind of guy. You managed to change your world. You changed many other people’s. See if we can keep going from here. Thanks for being with us this morning. Appreciate it.
WAINWRIGHT: Thanks, John.
ROBERTS: Forty-seven and a half minutes now after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
Learn more about:
Drug Addiction
Alcoholism
Eating Disorders
Sex Addictions
Gambling Addictions
Tags: america, american morning, andrew wainwright, cnn, drug abuse, drug use, prescription drug abuse
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AiR's CEO on CNN Thursday, October 1st at 7:30 ET
Wednesday, September 30th, 2009
AiR’s founder and CEO, Andrew Wainwright, will discuss tonight’s wire story
“In 16 states, drug deaths overtake traffic fatalities.” Experts said the
startling shift reflects two opposite trends: Driving is becoming safer,
and the legal and illegal use of powerful prescription painkillers is on
the rise.
CNN’s American Morning host, John Roberts, will be talking with Andrew
about AiR’s take on why drug deaths might be on the rise ““ the CDC
points to the increase in abuse of prescription medication, something he’s
talked with CNN’s American Morning about before ““ and what can be done
about it. Why are so many people abusing Rx drugs? What can be done to stop
it.
Check local listings
Tags: air, amercian morning, assistance in recovery, cnn, drug deaths, prescription drug abuse
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Moment of Change Conference
Monday, September 21st, 2009
AiR is a proud Conference Sponsor and Andrew Wainwright, Paul Hamblin & James Geckler will be attending in Palm Beach, FL September 28-30, 2009.
Specific issues around interventions, disease concepts, family participation, and practical business considerations will be presented. Conference participants have the opportunity to receive continuing education credits and acquire in-depth information about the process of intervention for addiction and mental illness.
Conference Objectives
The participant will be able to:
- Apply clinical skills from a broad range of professional core functions including alternative approaches to interventions, different therapy approaches and the mechanics of intervening.
- Cite advances in the field of addiction and intervention from practice innovations.
- Differentiate among key philosophies of intervention and integrate methods into practice.
Visit the Foundations Recovery Network website for more information on the Moment of Change conference.
Tags: air, assistance, conference, interventions, moment of change
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AiR will be attending Art of Recovery Expo in Phoenix Sept 19th
Monday, September 14th, 2009
The Art of Recovery ““ is a one-day event offering educational workshops, resources and solutions. It is part of the celebration of National Recovery Month.
AiR’s VP Paul Hamblin & Carey Davidson will be attending.
It is important to reach out to the families and loved ones of people seeking recovery ““ they often have
questions and need answers and support to understand what’s going on in their own lives and the lives of
their loved one. The recovery process can be healing for the entire family, and it is important to have
care that addresses the specific needs of the family for effective treatment and long-term recovery.
Parents and loved ones can help motivate people to access treatment and celebrate their successes in
recovery. When parents are well-informed about addiction to alcohol and other drugs and the many
pathways to recovery, they can be powerful advocates for the services and support that their children
need to recover. Alcohol and drug problems are pervasive in every community, affecting everyone either directly or indirectly.
Did you know?
Over 200,000,000 people in the US are directly affected by addiction,
90% have no idea of what to do about it.
More than 23,000,000 are addicts and/or alcoholics and in 2005 less than 4,000,000 addicts and alcoholics received treatment for addiction!
The gap is 19,000,000 people who need treatment and are not able to get help.
The Art of Recovery Expo offers positive solutions to anyone currently facing challenges and those who love them. Addiction affects families, business and our community. Our goal is to help remove the stigma associated to addiction and provide resources when and if the need arises.
We need to narrow the gap between the number of people who need treatment and those who get it. This can only be accomplished through enriching public awareness and approaching the challenge together. In order for the private and public treatment industry to continue to flourish, we invite your active participation to join us in addressing o the general public.
Exhibitors are comprised of counselors, agencies, treatment facilities, out patient clinics, marriage and family therapists and specialists in other areas such as eating disorders, gambling addiction and more. Exhibit Booths $500- Nonprofits $250
WHERE: PHOENIX CONVENTION CENTER, Hall G
WHEN: SEPTEMBER 19, 2009″”10:00A.M. TO 5:00 P.M.
WORKSHOP TOPICS: Workshops will be 30 minutes in length. Topics to be determined.
More Information contact The Art of Recovery LLC by email or call 480-767-7880 .
Tags: addiction, AiR Assistance in recovery, carey davidson, paul hamblin, phoenix, rt of Recovery Expo
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AiR attending Cape Cod Symposium on Addictive Disorders
Tuesday, September 8th, 2009
COO, James Geckler will be attending the CCSAD September 10-13, 2009.
The 22nd Cape Cod Symposium on Addictive Disorders will offer over fifty workshops to be conducted by a faculty composed of nationally and internationally known presenters as well as those less known who have their own unique contributions to make.
Visit www.ccsad.com for more information
Tags: addiction, AiR Assistance in recovery, Cape Cod Symposium on Addictive Disorders, james geckler
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