Welcome
To the May 2010 Issue of Chronic Pain Solutions, our Addiction-Free Pain Management® Newsletter. Last month we asked for feedback from our readers about their interest in attending an Addiction-Free Pain Management® Certification Training. Thank you for your responses!
We are excited to announce in this month’s newsletter that the training will be held on August 5-7, 2010 at the Hilton Homewood Suites Hotel just minutes from the Sacramento International Airport. We have offered our newsletter subscribers the rate of $375 if they register by July 1, 2010.
If any of you are planning to attend, but typically wait to the last possible minute to register for workshops or trainings,
we will give you an additional discount of $25 as an incentive — if you register by June 15th. Email us at apmsacreg@yahoo.com requesting a link to the June 15th registration page.
Please keep in mind that there is a limited number of discounted rooms ($119 studio suite, $139 regular suite) put aside for us at the Homewood Suites, so making your reservations early will ensure you get that rate. The hotel also offers many amenities such as: complimentary airport shuttle, free parking, manager’s reception on Thursday, free wireless internet, a deluxe breakfast daily, outdoor pool & spa, and fitness center.
Here’s is a brief overview of what you can expect: The Addiction Free Pain Management® (APM) Certification School training is designed to teach the skills needed to successfully work with people with chronic pain and potential or actual addictive disorders. APM is a strategic and systematic clinical training process where participants will learn how to implement the three central elements of APM: (a) Core Clinical Components; (b) Medication Management Planning; and (c) Nonpharmacological Interventions. This will be accomplished using a combination of lectures, discussions, demonstrations, and small group experiential exercises.
After this training, you will have the option of earning the APM Competency Certification through the CENAPS® Corporation. To receive this credential, you must complete the training and then submit an APM Certification Portfolio Package with an additional $95 portfolio review fee. Details will be covered at the end of the training. We look forwarding to seeing you in Sacramento!
Relapse Prevention Coaching
Relapse Prevention Coaching Services are individualized coaching sessions for anyone who is in recovery from any addictive disorder and the use of self-defeating, self-destructive behaviors and wants to learn how to recognize and effectively manage situations that put their recovery at risk. It is especially helpful for individuals who have had relapse episodes, but anyone in recovery will find it useful. We combine the Gorski-CENAPS® relapse prevention methodology with personal empowerment coaching strategies to create a powerful foundation for long-term stable sobriety.
The Relapse Prevention Coaching Programs can assist individuals leaving treatment and support those people who cannot or chose not to go into traditional treatment programs. They are also invaluable for people who have had limited success with outpatient treatment, or for those who want to enhance their current program and learn how to put these powerful relapse prevention tools to work in their lives.
With the assistance of Dr. Grinstead and the support of a Certified Coach, clients will experience the seven clinical processes that help them to quickly identify and manage high-risk situations that cause relapse. They will receive expert guidance in setting powerful recovery goals and implementing specific actions plans to facilitate their continued recovery.
The foundation of our The Relapse Prevention Coaching Program is the evidence-based work Terence T. Gorski's Developmental Model of Recovery. As an Advanced Relapse Prevention Specialist and Director of Training and Consultation for the CENAPS® Corporation, Dr. Stephen F. Grinstead's expertise in denial, relapse prevention and co-existing disorders underlie his biopsychosocial, multidisciplinary approach utilizing an ongoing continuum of care that incorporates strategic, cognitive-behavioral skill building exercises in conjunction with powerful solution-focused and strength-based coaching methodologies.
Check out our Coaching
Questionnaire
which is the first step of deciding if you or someone you know is ready for APM Relapse Prevention Coaching,
or call 916-575-9961for a confidential interview.
Gorski-CENAPS® News
Gorski-CENAPS® Corporation has been providing home study programs which allow professionals to earn ongoing CEU's by studying published books or specially prepared course materials. Gorski Home Studies also serve as an avenue to recertify your Gorski-CENAPS® credential. Take any Gorski-CENAPS® home study course totaling 20 CEU’s, pass the post-test and you will be recertified.
Please Note: These home study courses are not a replacement for and cannot be compared to the live Certification Courses that include the optional Competency Certification Credential. If you have any questions regarding this, please contact Dr. Stephen Grinstead who is now the Director of Training & Consultation for Gorski-CENAPS®.
There are approximately 25 courses available based on Gorski-CENAPS® materials that represents source documentation for The Gorski-CENAPS® Model of Recovery and Relapse Prevention. Gorski-CENAPS Corporation is in the process of developing additional home study CEU's courses for many of the books that are instrumental in building skills that addiction and behavioral health professionals need to stay current in their field. For more information, call 352-596-8000 or visit the CENAPS site.
Terry Gorski, Steve Grinstead and CENAPS® are pleased to let you know that the Relapse Prevention Therapy Workbook has been updated, revised and simplified. It is designed for people in recovery from alcohol or other drug addiction who have a history of relapse, or are currently afraid they might relapse. There continues to be confusion about what relapse is and how it happens. In this workbook, Terry and Steve clarify their definition of relapse, how it happens, and most importantly how to prevent a person from entering the relapse cycle.
Gorski and Grinstead have been co-teaching, modifying the process, and field testing all of the exercises contained in this newly revised version of Relapse Prevention Therapy. If a person is willing to be open and honest, as well as actively complete each of the fourteen developmental exercises in this workbook, they may never have to experience the pain of relapse again. You can order the $15 workbook directly from
Herald House Publishing, or call the CENAPS® office at (352) 596-8000.
Because specialty relapse prevention programs can lower relapse rates and diminish the duration, severity, and consequences of relapse episodes, relapse prevention will significantly reduce the cost of treating relapse-prone patients. You can learn how to implement the powerful Gorski-CENAPS® relapse prevention model and earn a competency certification credential.
Please join CENAPS® in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida on October 18-22, 2010 for The 44 Hour Relapse Prevention Therapy Certification Training which will give participants an excellent opportunity to learn from the developer of these two powerful models – Terence T. Gorski, world recognized in Relapse Prevention and Dr. Stephen F. Grinstead, developer of the Addiction-Free Pain Management® System.
Together Terry and Steve will teach this advanced clinical skills training for professional clinicians who want to learn powerful approaches for supporting clients to identify and manage the core personality and life-style warning signs that lead to someone becoming dysfunctional in recovery and eventually relapsing. The training will use the newly revised eighth edition of the Relapse Prevention Therapy Workbook which has been streamlined to be administered in a limited number of sessions. This training develops a foundation for clients to identify and learn how to manage the repetitive self-defeating thinking, feeling, social and behavioral warning signs that often precedes a relapse.
To register for the October 18-22, 2010 training in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, please visit the CENAPS website or call (352) 596-8000.
From Our Readers
Question:
My doctor told me recently that she is very concerned about my increasing need for more pain medication. For the past seven years I have been taking four 80mg tablets of OxyContin per day and Vicodin for breakthrough pain. In the beginning I started with low doses of the Vicodin, but am now up to 3-5 times/day. I’m getting worried as well because I’m in recovery for alcoholism and my doctor said it might lead to a relapse. I am not using any other medications and I still don’t have any desire to drink alcohol, but I am noticing that I look forward to my next dose of pain meds with a lot of anticipation. I have a serious RSD problem (also called complex regional pain syndrome [CRPS]), and without my meds I’m afraid I’ll suffer and won’t be able to function at all. What should I do?
Answer:
We also are concerned about your use of opiate medication for several reasons, but primary is the potential for a relapse and/or addiction to the opiates you are taking. Anyone in recovery from an addictive disorder is at risk for a relapse episode, but for people also living with chronic pain that risk is much higher. Over the past 27 years Dr. Grinstead has seen far too many recovering people relapse over poor medication management plans.
You may also be experiencing hyperalgesia or pain rebound from the opiates. Long-term use can cause a physical change in the pain system. According to research published in Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 933:175-184 (2001) titled “Spinal Cord Neuroplasticity following Repeated Opioid Exposure and Its Relation to Pathological Pain;” evidence indicates there are neuroplastic changes within the spinal cord in response to repeated exposure to opioids. Such neuroplastic changes occur at both cellular and intracellular levels.
There are many treatment options for CRPS/RSD; the standard being nerve blocks and physical therapy and not just using one type of medication. You should ask your doctor for a referral to a specialist. Many of Dr. Grinstead’s patients have experienced great benefit from medications like Lyrica (Pregabalin) or Cymbalta (duloxetene), which are both great for neuropathic pain symptoms common with CRPS/RSD. You may also benefit by tapering down on the opiates by using Buprenorphine as a transitional medication—see what your doctor recommends.
In addition, it would be extremely helpful for you to develop some non-medication based pain management protocols such as physical therapy or hydrotherapy. Due to an inability to tolerate cold or cool temperatures with CRPS/RSD, hydrotherapy in warm water is often highly recommended. Land based physical therapy can be more painful. The saying, No pain, no gain, does not apply to those with CRPS/RSD.
We would encourage you to read Dr. Grinstead’s book The Addiction-Free Pain Management Recovery Guide: Managing Pain and Medication in Recovery, as well as APM Module Four: A Guide for Managing Pain Medication in Recovery, so you can explore some useful tools. We also encourage you to set up a phone/web assessment session with Dr. Grinstead to more fully explore possible treatment options for you.
You can download an overview of Managing Pain Medication in Recovery on our Articles page.
New Article
Below we've included a brief introduction from the newest article on our
website. For the complete content please visit the
articles page.
Chronic Pain, Addiction and Trauma - The Troubling Trifecta:
Within addiction and/or mental health treatment centers, specific issues need to be addressed in order to obtain positive treatment outcomes for these disorders which holds true for pain clinics when striving for effective pain management. But for people who are dealing with coexisting disorders, finding appropriate treatment can be difficult as well as frustrating. . .
I want to beg you, as much as I can, to be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and to try to love the questions
themselves like locked rooms and like books that are written in a very foreign tongue. Do not seek the answers, which cannot
be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is to live everything. Live the questions now.
Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.
~ Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926)
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