Update: Sanford Outpatient and Virtual Treatment
The Governor issued Executive Order 2020-21, requiring all people in Michigan to “stay home and stay safe” three months ago. Since that time, Sanford has worked to provide addiction treatment for our clients under these extenuating circumstances. Our Residential Programs are available with testing, increased policies and response protocols. And we were able to pivot […]
Denial of Addiction – the First Stage of Acceptance
In our last article, we reviewed what it feels like to be a person developing a substance use disorder (SUD). We are now beginning a series discussing the dynamics and defenses used by people as they develop an SUD. The primary defenses used as addictive disease progresses are denial, justification, deception, and manipulation. Denial, […]
A Thank You Note to My Sobriety in Uncertain Times
Many years ago, I co-owned an art gallery. Art is a business characterized by booze-laced openings. And if the truth be known, I kept a bottle of plonk in my desk drawer in our distressed-brick communal office for the “down times”. When I look back on the genesis of my active addiction, Spiller Vincenty Gallery […]
Humor as Therapy – The Limelight Interview
Addiction treatment has been impacted by the uncertainty and isolation of the past few months. During this time, we learned that group therapy can be conducted, with positive outcomes, via telehealth. And we also learned that glimpses of the lives and living environments of our clients and therapists during virtual treatment creates a new intimacy. […]
Power of Pets in Virtual Addiction Treatment
Updated March 2024 Floofer. Doggo. Pupper. Good Boy. These are some of the most cringe-worthy but intensely heartfelt phrases I find flying out of my mouth whenever I see a dog. It can get very embarrassing for those around me whenever I fail to regulate my reaction to pets. All of a sudden, my […]
Hiking Michigan – This is your Brain on Nature
In the rafters of the historic home I live in, there is a bird’s nest which has provided a snapshot of nature in the past three months. While I sheltered at home, I studied the wren who built the nest through my bathroom window. She attempted to warm her eggs during the March drizzle […]
A Commitment to Recovery – The Limelight Interview
A commitment to recovery in the time of COVID-19 means maintaining your group therapy and connection through virtual platforms. And the usual hustle and bustle of the in-person Sanford Outpatient Center has been subdued during the past three months. As we are all adjusting to the protocols and safety regulations, substance use disorders (SUD) […]
Do You Know How Active Addiction Feels?
As an adult, in a family with a member who has an active addiction, it is likely you are having feelings and thoughts reported by many other family members who deal with addiction in their midst. You feel hurt, anger, frustration, self-doubt, confusion, anxiety, fear, sadness, and hopelessness. You might also believe you have tried […]
Alcohol Ruins Relationships and Marriages, Even Brad Pitt’s
In a spate of articles and talk show banter over the past few years, actor Brad Pitt has blamed his alcohol use for the demise of his marriage to Angelina Jolie. It seems there was a defining incident on a private plane when Brad was inappropriately rough with one of his children. I can […]
Boundaries, New Life, Nutrition Reboot – The Best of Excursions
It’s spring and in Michigan everything is chirping, budding and flowering. It makes you feel alive, awakened after a long sleep … We’ve been distancing for several weeks, and one of the interesting things that seems to have come from our stay-at-home charge, is determining what is essential. So, as the world begins to open […]
