Alec Green

Recovery-Oriented Systems of Care – Limelight Interview

  A recovery-oriented system of care (ROSC) is an infrastructure with the resources to address the full range of substance use problems within communities. The ROSC provides a continuum of care, working together with mental health and primary care resources. This includes prevention, early intervention, various treatment programs, continuing care, and long-term recovery.   Recovery-Oriented […]

Family Recovery – Holiday Survival Guide 2020

Here we are, holidays 2020, and living through our second COVID-19 surge. Things are battening down again, and it remains challenging to find safe connection with others in recovery.  But there is no closing down for addictive disease progression. And there is no closure for the angst experienced by family members who love a person […]

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What is Brainspotting? Innovations in Addiction Treatment

  Brainspotting is a brain-based psychotherapy approach that uses the field of vision to find where a person is holding, not only trauma, but any negative experience in their brain. We say with Brainspotting, where you look is how you feel…  Brainspotting developer, David Grand, Ph.D.   What is Brainspotting? The optic nerve connects and […]

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Adults (Especially Women), Alcohol Consumption & COVID-19

  We’ve been under the thumb of COVID-19 long enough now, that the statistics are beginning to come in. There has been a more than 50% increase in national sales of alcohol in 2020. And a new survey by RAND Corporation shows that those over the age of 30 increased alcohol consumption 14% during May […]

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Watery Me – Crying in Recovery

  At the start of the pandemic I cried for two weeks. Not all day, every day, but very regularly. The enormity of the crisis, the fear about the virus, the concerns about lock down – it was a lot to deal with and get my head around. Every time an email came through from […]

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Importance of Connection in Recovery – Limelight Interview

  The historic home at 540 Cherry Street, Grand Rapids, Michigan, has stood the test of time. Now, as Sanford House at Cherry Street for Women, it exudes strength and safety, serving as a port in the storm during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the importance of human connection is clear.   In-Person Addiction Treatment in […]

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Justification of Addiction – The Second Stage of Change

  This is the second article in our series on the defenses of addictive disease. There has been an unintended distance between our first article and this one, so please go back and review the article Denial of Addiction – the First Step of Acceptance to refresh your thoughts. This will put your head in […]

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Calling All Alumni – Virtual Groups During COVID-19!

  There has been a spate of articles, webinars and Zoom presentations talking about the negative impact of COVID-19 on those in recovery from addiction. Isolation, limited in-person connection, and uncertainty are just a few of the stressors that affect everyone during a pandemic. But those with substance use disorders have additional challenges. And Sanford […]

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Sober Curious: Does Moderation Management Work?

I promise I am not researching moderation management for myself. It’s been a while since the little guy in the red jumpsuit on my shoulder has whispered, “Who would it hurt if you had one glass of red wine with dinner?” In fact, he’s been too busy the past three months to bother me, convincing […]

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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. […]

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