January 2015

Sharing Your Thoughts – Long-Term Rehab When I first got sober I heard the saying,” My mind was a dangerous place to be alone.” The saying hit home. My mind was going a million miles a minute in every which direction. They all seemed to move in the direction that I would not be able […]

Step One Of 12 Steps Step one is the foundation of 12-step recovery. The first step clearly outlines the wreckage created by the individual’s addiction. The first step first has two main points. The first main point is the unmanageability created by the individual’s addiction. The young adult in drug rehab will begin to examine […]

Music In A Young Adult Drug Treatment Program I can remember picking up a guitar for the first when I was about 5 years old. Almost my whole family played either the guitar or the piano. When I was five my hands weren’t big enough to play but I would sit there and try to […]

Long-Term Drug Rehab Program 12-Step Recovery Residents attend 12 step meetings regularly, work with a sponsor, complete the 12 steps and fulfill a service commitment. Experience shows that active 12 step recovery participation and understanding helps sustain recovery post formal treatment. Residents develop a strong recovery foundation they later draw upon post treatment. Through 12 […]

Feeling Gratitude In Long-Term Treatment In the spirit of Thanksgiving, one of our residents wrote a blog about his new found feelings of gratitude. I am coming up on five months of sobriety. I find myself feeling gratitude for many people, places, and things. The most important thing I am grateful for is my sobriety, […]

Anxiety, Neurofeedback, And Drug Addiction Treatment A large majority of the young adults who enter long term drug treatment suffer from anxiety. The residents often used drugs as means of reducing and managing their anxiety. Their anxiety made it difficult for them to fit in with their peers, in school, and at work. These feelings […]

Addiction And The Attachment Connection My teachers have been many, and my insights are due to their tireless research and specializations. Among them are Dr. Daniel Siegel, Dr. Daniel Stern, Dr. T. Berry Brazelton, Dr. Allan Schore, Dr. Stephen Porges, Mary Main, Dr. John Bowlby, Mary Ainsworth, Sir Richard Bowlby, and the Boston Change Group. […]

Positive Peer Community In Addiction Treatment A resident’s experience participating in a positive peer community: “During my teenage and early adult years, I was part of the “wrong group”. Drugs and alcohol were the foundation of my friendships. Throughout my time using, there were many attempts by myself or different friends at finding recovery. Unfortunately, […]

Neurofeedback For PTSD Trauma Trauma (whether from a one-time dramatic event or from a repetitive type, stemming from childhood) causes our central nervous system (CNS) to be on high alert. Whether the event/events took place today or years ago, the brain has changed to accommodate that traumatic experience. It’s as if a robber has come […]

Long-Term Treatments’ Answer To Relapse NEUROFEEDBACK— long term treatment’s answer to relapse 2006 Study boasts a 77% recovery rate for addicts getting Neurofeedback in Treatment It’s come to my attention, recently, that Neurofeedback has reached a “tipping point” if you will (with the general public and specifically in addiction treatment circles). This is good news […]

Living Meaningfully An important aspect of recovery is becoming a part of our families again, returning to our communities, and finding or reinventing meaningful work. One of the important things that Blueprints for Recovery offers their clients is a new opportunity to practice living meaningfully. Maddy Harland, editor of Permaculture magazine, recently reminded me of […]

Finding My Higher Power On Granite Mountain It was 5:15 am Wednesday morning and time to hit the trails. My sponsor, Rodney, came over the night before and spent the night. Out hiking bags were packed and ready to go. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, nuts, water and the step work I completed earlier in […]

12-Step Conventions In the young adult drug treatment program, Blueprints For Recovery, I have been fortunate enough to attend several recovery conventions. It is always a bunch of fun and I always leave with a great sense of fellowship. There is a lot of recovery at the events. It is inspiring to see hundreds of […]