Addiction & Chemical Dependency

    Addiction is a chronic illness. It can take over your life, cause damage to relationships that matter, and leave you spinning out of control. We know that reaching out is sometimes the most difficult step.

    Whether your behavior has been harmful, abusive or has developed into an addiction, we can help you better understand your situation and appropriate treatment options. Addiction treatment works.

    Working together, we can help you make healthy changes in the midst of life. It may be in the form of at-home support, or helping you adjust to life after residential treatment. We can also join in your support group meetings, attend a yoga class,  encourage you to create healthy social circles or explore different options for future education and career choices.

    We all do better with someone who can guide, support and encourage us. We help you combine insights with new behaviors so you can develop lasting habits that make life more fulfilling.

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    Addiction FAQs

    Advances in research point towards a biological transition from choice to illness. Large amounts over a protracted period lead to changes in the way the brain function.  Similar to how long term nutrition/exercise choices can lead to the way in which the pancreas functions, resulting in diabetes – one of the fastest growing health problems in this country.  A similar choice that progress to illness.

    It is impossible for family/partners not to be impacted by an alcohol/drug dependent person in their life. Similarly, unemployment/financial crisis/Alzheimers disease – family’s are interconnected systems where a single part impacts, to greater or lesser degrees, the other parts.

    In addictions, the behaviors necessary to support an addiction or are the result of an addiction are very divisive to the fundamentals of family systems

    We know that whether it’s an addiction medication (Naltrexone, Acamprosate, Antabuse, Buprenorphine, or Methadone), counseling (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Stages of change), or support groups like AA (limited research) – people get better with addiction treatment.

    Unfortunately, most treatment programs don’t include the elements that we know help with treatment.  In i360, the key elements of recovery are woven into a very comprehensive treatment plan (medications, therapy, family therapy/education, support groups, physical evaluation, nutrition and physical training, work/college transition assistance).

    The hardest addiction is the one you have. For some, stopping alcohol is easy but crack is hard.  For some, cocaine is easy but alcohol is hard.  For some, alcohol was easy but tobacco is hard.

    With regard to use and withdrawal, the route of administration and intensity of the high can impact withdrawal or termination. For instance, injecting heroine is far more intense a high than snorting heroine.

    In general medicine, we don’t have many medications that “cure” diseases. We have a number of medications that treat and control symptoms of diseases.  We have medications for high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, and depression. We also have medications that help treat the symptoms of addiction.

    Unfortunately, the general public as well as many in the treatment community has been slow to utilize new anti-addiction medications (even though they are not addictive medications).

    Advances in treatment and research have changed our understanding of the illness and the way we approach treatment. We know that the combination of medications and counseling provides individuals with the best opportunity to repair the physical, emotional, and behavioral damage caused by addiction.