Enough.
Enough lost loved ones, enough family destruction, enough economic loss, enough damage to our communities and our culture.
Addiction has caused too much pain and suffering—especially now during COVID-19. We are convinced we have a therapeutic approach that works. It is based on the state of the art science that we know is not being incorporated in America’s “War” in dealing with the crisis.
The love drug.
Heroin has been described by addicts themselves as “the love drug.” As scientists we now have the explanation. Opiates use our own emotional reward pathways called endorphins and have essentially hijacked them. In practice, we have found a medication called buprenorphine, which binds the sites better than opiates thus rendering the illicit drugs ineffective. Once on this medication, the addict is now illicit drug free and can participate in activities of daily life. This is the basis of medically assisted therapy (MAT).
Emotional trauma.
Why do some of us get addicted? Most of the answer lies in traumatic experiences—either real or perceived. Sadly, the majority seems to occur in childhood, which we now call Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES). The inability of children to deal with these experiences leads to a need for coping mechanisms. These are often reflected in later life as co-morbid disorders such as anxiety, depression, Post-traumatic stress, personality disorders, Adult attention deficit disorder and others. Once out of the grasp of these powerful opiates, the individual is now amenable to treatment.
Our Program.
Our staff has over 30 years experience in treating opiate, alcohol, amphetamines, cocaine and other drug use disorders. We have worked closely with an addiction specialist to develop a state of the art program of medical assisted therapy with psycho-education to stop the addiction, and teach the causes of substance use disorder while the stabilization and healing phases occur.
Ours is an 8 week program (or longer if necessary) designed for those individuals who want to finally understand the relationship between themselves and their addicted behavior(s). We have found that those who who truly want to “kick” and commit to it can succeed. We have the years of experience to prove it. Our physician advocates are experienced in the use of various medications including: Buprenorphine (Suboxone/Subutex), Naloxone, Naltrexone, and Campral (Acamprosate) and Benzodiazepines.
We assist you while you work with your physician to help taper down your medication (ex. Buprenorphine) to a low level of maintenance. Evidence based medicine has shown that the receptors can be “very comfortable” at a much lower level of medication—if it is tapered correctly.
Our philosophy on addiction explained in two TED talks by leaders in the field
Canadian physician Gabor Maté is a specialist in terminal illnesses, chemical dependents, and HIV positive patients. Dr. Maté is a renowned author of books and columnist known for his knowledge about attention deficit disorder, stress, chronic illness and parental relations. His theme at TEDxRio+20 was addiction — from drugs to power. From the lack of love to the desire to escape oneself, from susceptibility of the being to interior power — nothing escapes. And he risks a generic and generous prescription: “Find your nature and be nice to yourself.”
Childhood trauma isn’t something you just get over as you grow up. Pediatrician Nadine Burke Harris explains that the repeated stress of abuse, neglect and parents struggling with mental health or substance abuse issues has real, tangible effects on the development of the brain. This unfolds across a lifetime, to the point where those who’ve experienced high levels of trauma are at triple the risk for heart disease and lung cancer. An impassioned plea for pediatric medicine to confront the prevention and treatment of trauma, head-on.