Archive for the ‘Substance Use Disorders’ Category

CoveCare and MHA Putnam Team up to Provide Continuity and Services

CoveCare Center and the Mental Health Association in Putnam (MHA) have formed an affiliation that will leverage the strengths of both organizations in order to continue and grow the robust mental health services available to residents of Putnam and neighboring counties. Through this partnership,...

Drug and Alcohol Prevention Education for Specialized Populations

Evidence based practice curricula for drug and alcohol prevention education in the United States are designed for high-school and college age individuals. However, it is the philosophy of our program that prevention can be provided, and have an impact, throughout the life span of an individual. It...

Legalization of Drugs: The Ultimate Harm Reduction Measure

Illegal drugs are dangerous, but many of their dangers are caused by their illegality rather than the drugs themselves. Yes, the use of illegal (and some legal) drugs results in addiction. But if we really want to reduce the dangers of drug abuse, we must address its illegality as well as the...

Finding the Right Recovery Path: Welcoming Everyone into Treatment

This nation is in an epidemic. There are no two ways about it. By now you have undoubtedly heard that more people died of overdose in New York State in 2016 than died of motor vehicle accidents, homicide and suicide, combined. In responding to this crisis, we do not have the luxury of closing our...

Our Realizations and Truths About Harm Reduction

Looking around the room in our focus group, we all realized two really interesting things about who we are and where we’ve been. Number one, that none of us were kids anymore, which is a nice way of saying that most of us already crossed the threshold of mid-life and were heading somewhere on the...

Co-Occurring Disorders Among Social Workers

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders (SUD) affected an estimated 8.1 million adults or 3.7% of the total adult population in the United States....

Managing Co-Occurring Substance Use and Mental Health Disorders

The combination of substance use disorders and mental illness is a common clinical problem – and a serious public health concern. The problem is widespread. At least one-third of people with anxiety and depression – and between half and two-thirds of people with more serious mental illnesses...

Promoting Recovery for Individuals with Unidentified Trauma and Co-Occurring Disorders

Advancement of recovery for individuals with Co-Occurring Disorders has been recognized as a significant principle for the transformation of behavioral health services. Co-Occurring Disorders is defined as a mental health disorder being experienced along with the presence of a substance use...

Striving for Compassionate Recovery-Oriented Substance Use Care

Nationally, people with substance use disorders in the United States are often treated with an expensive acute care model that highlights inpatient treatment as the hallmark component of treatment. For many, recovery is a life-long process, and the focus on acute care is a missed opportunity for...

Suicide and Substance Use

In America, one person dies by suicide every 13 minutes. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), it is the 2nd leading cause of death for teens, and the leading cause of death among people with substance use disorders. There is a strong association...