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Counseling
& Crisis Intervention:
In Chinese, the word for “crisis” is the same as the word
for “opportunity!” Almost all counseling is initiated as crisis
intervention because most people tend not to identify problems until they
have grown to crisis proportions. We offer a warm and safe environment
in which to address issues that seem like crises, and turn them into opportunities
for growth.
Adolescents:
Today, too many of our adolescents experience a great deal of emotional
pain, depression and social isolation which often leads to self-injury
and alcohol & drug use/abuse/dependence. With adolescents, a full
blown addiction can develop within 18 months. At Willow Tree, young people
will work with a caring, supportive counselor to identify their strengths
& needs while learning relapse prevention, coping & life skills
plus methods to plan constructive leisure time activities.
Adults:
We provide addiction evaluations; motivational counseling; relapse prevention
counseling; referrals (when needed) to in-patient rehabs and intensive
outpatient programs; personal linkages to AA & other self-help groups.
Couple’s & Family Counseling:
A family or couple is any grouping of people who consider themselves as
such. Frequently, families identify one person as “the problem”
and want that person “fixed.” More often, it makes greater
sense to work with the whole family rather than just the individual. That
is because dysfunction rarely occurs in a vacuum. With addiction, the
whole family is effected and must be part of the recovery process. See
section on “Family Interventions.”
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In
early recovery from substance use disorders, people often experience:
*Stress
*Grief & Loss
*Housing Issues
*Self-Esteem Issues
*Depression
*Job Problems
*School Problems
*Family Problems
While painful, this is normal. Things often get worse before they get
better. Through encouraged involvement in 12 Step Recovery work, along
with relaxation techni-ques, hypnosis and/or counseling, clients work
through these issues, coming to a place of healthy recovery.
Cravings & Addiction to Opiods
(Heroin, Percocet, Oxycontin, etc.):
While we are normally an agency that encourages total abstinence for
those addicted to alcohol and other drugs, opioids pose a somewhat different
situation. Brain chemistry is so altered by opioid addiction, that it
is often appropriate to include pharmaco-therapy into the treatment
plan (i.e.: Suboxone, Naltrexone, Bupreorphine, Methadone). We have
received training through the American Society of Addiction Medicine
(ASAM) on Treatment of Opioid Dependence — and have established
linkages with physicians specializing in this area of medicine.
Smoking Cessation:
We know it’s getting very tiresome for people to remove themselves
from the workplace and/or home to satisfy a cigarette cravings. We know
that quitting is not easy, but we will help ease the process. Hypnosis
and counseling is used adjunctively to pharmacological treatments (i.e.:
nicotine patches) or on its’ own.
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Family
Interventions
A
Family Intervention is a highly effective and intensive process designed
to help family, friends, and employers to motivate those they care about
— those in denial of their addiction — to seek treatment for
their dependency.
Family Interventions are also designed to help those around the addict
to become healthier by discontinuing their enabling behaviors that allow
the addiction to continue and flourish.
The process involves gathering an appropriate team of people, writing
case histories about the drug dependent person, gaining greater knowledge
through education sessions on addiction, problem solving potential roadblocks,
and practicing the intervention.
Only when the group is truly ready, will the Family Intervention be scheduled
to take place. The entire process generally takes 3 months to prepare
and implement properly.
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