Addiction Recovery During COVID-19 – The GOOD News
Judith Snow is the Clinical Manager at the Sanford Outpatient Center, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. And during a time when most of the news is negative about the rise of addiction, relapse, and overdoses during the pandemic, she is a breath of fresh air. As a proponent of Carl Rogers, Judith contends, “You have […]
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 […]
Finding Joy in an Unsettled World
I was sitting on a bench at Kirk Park taking in the fall colors, when a couple passed by. I watched them walk along the path toward Lake Michigan. A gale was blowing and they linked arms and bent against the wind off the water. The beach is eroded at Kirk Park, and there is […]
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 […]
Manipulation – The Fourth Defense of Addiction
This is the fourth and final article in a series on understanding and dealing with the primary defenses of addictive disease. Please notice my choice of words, “the defenses of addictive disease”. Not, “the defenses of the person you love”. There is a difference between the person you love and the disease process in […]
Dear Rae: Should We Delay Treatment for Our Son?
Dear Rae: Should we delay treatment for our son? Since March, our 21-year old son has been showing signs of alcohol and marijuana addiction. He is always sneaking off in our back yard, and there have been many times when he has been staggeringly drunk or high. I guess we are seeing it now that […]
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 […]
Outpatient Addiction Treatment – Limelight Interview
Sanford’s Outpatient Center is abuzz with activity during the pandemic, and outpatient clients are all in groups via telehealth. But even though our programs are being conducted virtually, the administration, assessments, medical monitoring, confidentiality requirements, and stringent standards are still in place. And our outpatient therapists are experiencing the some of the same difficulties […]
Addicted Michigan: COVID-19 Impact Rae Green Interview
Alexis Berdine has done some excellent reporting on Addicted Michigan for WWMT Channel 3 News. And recently, she talked to Sanford Founder, Rae Green, about the COVID-19 impact on addiction treatment. Also prompting this interview, was the increase in requests for help with substance use disorders (SUDs) recently. Green says that job loss, uncertainty, financial […]
