What Men Want (from their Addiction Treatment)
What do men want when they check in at an addiction treatment center? According to Rae Rabideau, Sanford Manager of Clinical Operations, most men enter treatment to “learn how not to relapse”. The details of their stay are not something they’ve really thought about, and the continuum of care and the future is unknown. […]
Nurse Practitioner in Addiction Treatment: Limelight Interview
Nurse Practitioner Amy Bukala (with Medical Director Dr. Dosanjh above) is not easy to pin down for an interview. She’s busy. And mobile – moving from Sanford Outpatient Center to the residential Sanford Houses, the back of her white coat flapping. As a board certified Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP), Amy works autonomously as well as […]
Honoring the Unique – The Life Story Project at Sanford
I visited Seattle recently, and stayed in a hostel for the first time. When I got home, I struggled to describe my trip. “My perspective is a little different now,” I said. Different names for the same place… honoring the unique, dynamic, peculiar, and predictable In truth, all of our experiences shift our worldview […]
Thoughtful Connections from the Family Program – The Forest & the Trees
Suppose you have 100 acres full of sick trees who want to get well. If each tree leaves the forest to find wellness and then returns to the forest, they get sick again from the infection of the rest of the trees. The Elders taught us that to treat sick trees you must treat […]
I Knew I Was an Alcoholic Long Before I Quit Drinking….
I knew I was an alcoholic long before I finally put the alcohol down. I knew this because I became emotionally dependent and would use a drink to satisfy everything. Coming home from work I would slam the bottle of wine on the counter and tell myself that I deserved a drink. Whether I had […]
Drone’s Eye View of Sanford Addiction Treatment Centers 2019!
The New Year has begun and the Sanford team is busy inspiring our clients to find their inner grit, rekindle their interests and engage their passion for the long haul in recovery. As always, our evidence-based treatment begins in a particular place…. And the historic homes that make up the Sanford Addiction Treatment […]
Sober New Year’s Parties and Resolutions? Not a Fan…
I am not a fan of New Year’s Eve parties and nights out. I find all that hugging and Happy New Year chanting a bit much and incredibly uncomfortable. In my active drinking days, I would rarely remember midnight as I almost always blacked-out – either awake or asleep. What I do love is […]
Spend the Holidays in Rehab? I’ll Think About That Tomorrow
When Scarlett O’Hara said I’ll think about that tomorrow, she was putting aside a difficult decision for a more convenient time. That’s the problem with procrastinating about something painful, like addressing a substance use disorder (SUD). There is never a good time, but there’s always a good excuse. No excuses to put off […]
Do You Really WANT to Change (and Be Sober)?
You have to want to change in order to change. I could type a million words about why I love being sober, but if you don’t want to stop drinking it will make no difference. The tools and techniques of change… I could talk until I run out of puff about all the […]
What is This Thing Called Addiction RECOVERY?
This is not a trick question. Nor does it have a “right” answer. However, there is a wise old saying by Yogi Berra that sums it up, “If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up someplace else.” And with addiction recovery, it is up to each one of us to define […]
