Welcome
To the January 2010 Issue of Chronic Pain Solutions, our Addiction-Free Pain Manage-ment® Newsletter. Last month we sent out a survey to all our subscribers designed to let us know what is working well for you, what isn’t, and how we can make it better. We want to thank everyone who took the time to respond.
Your input has been invaluable and will enable us to address the areas of interest that will be most useful to you. Throughout the rest of the year in our News/Research and Article sections, as well as in Dr. Grinstead’s Blogs, we will be covering the following common themes as suggested by our readers.
- Methadone, suboxone, and other drugs prescribed for pain
- Debate between the medical and 12-step/treatment community
- How to work with prescription drug seekers
- Subjectivity of pain, fibromyalgia and chronic pain syndrome
- Techniques for cravings and relapse prevention
- Updates on new medications/treatments
- Depression, Bipolar disorder, Chronic pain and the importance of concurrent treatment
- Clients with pain whose doctors are only prescribing narcotics
- Rebound headache syndrome created by the use of medications
- Medical Marijuana
- Recovery friendly medications
- Exercise and chronic pain management
- Pain management issues, opioid addiction and research on coexisting addiction and pain
As a thank you for taking the time to complete our survey, everyone was entered into a drawing to receive a set of Dr. Grinstead’s publications. We are happy to announce that Michelle Moyes is the winner and will receive Managing Pain and Coexisting Disorders, Addiction-Free Pain Management® Recovery Guide, and the Addiction-Free Pain Management® Workbook.
As always, we will continue to keep you up-to-date on our projects, the latest news stories and research we have on our website as well as upcoming events and trainings. Your input is always appreciated.
On the Contact Us page please email any questions or comments and we will respond as quickly as we can.
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 and 35 years experience of 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
For healthcare providers who are responsible for containing the cost of addiction treatment, Relapse Prevention is a top priority. It’s easy to understand when forty seven percent of patients return to chemical use within the first year following stays at private treatment programs. Of those who relapse, about 40 percent will have short-term, low consequence relapses and rapidly return to recovery, while
60 percent will have long-term, high consequence relapses that require additional costly treatment.
A specialty relapse prevention program that lowers relapse rates and can intervene early so that the duration, severity, and consequences of relapse episodes will be diminished is vital. Relapse prevention will significantly reduce the cost of treating relapse-prone patients and why Terence Gorski developed the following trainings that include an optional competency certification credentialing.
Please join Terence T. Gorski and Dr. Stephen F. Grinstead in Florida later this year for a 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.
The Relapse Prevention Therapy Certification Training (44 hours) teaches 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 eight 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 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, 2009 training in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, please visit the CENAPS website or call (352) 596-8000.
From Our Readers
Question:
My husband is an alcoholic who has been “sober” for over ten years and living with chronic pain since an auto accident five years ago. He is taking a lot of pain killers. He has been going to different doctors and last December he started drinking again. The family helped him get into a great treatment program but he left against every-one’s wishes after a week because he said they weren’t helping him with his pain. I think he has a drug addiction problem but he thinks everything’s fine as long as he doesn’t drink. Is he right? What should I do?
Concerned Wife
Answer:
Dear Concerned, Thank you for reaching out. From what you shared it sounds like your husband is in serious trouble with his addiction.
First of all, there are an increasing number of people all across the US, recovering or not, that are having problems with pain medication. If in recovery, they will deny there is a problem and justify taking inappropriate pain medication or even abusing it by telling themselves that at least they’re not drinking.
As for what you "should" do, we always recommend that friends and family members help themselves first; one way to do that is to educate yourself about pain and addiction issues. If you go to the Articles
Full Archive section on my website you will see 3 years of archived materials that will help you understand what is happening with your husband. My book,
Managing Pain Medication in Recovery is a great resource as well and demonstrates how 2 people in recovery used the APM treatment protocols to address their prescription medication addiction.
Also, people have found that Al-Anon has been a life saver for them. The airline industry got it right; they tell passengers that if the plane loses air pressure and the oxygen masks drop down, you put the mask on yourself first before helping anyone else.
Your husband could certainly benefit from a treatment program that addresses both pain and addiction. It’s important to ask any program you are considering a lot of questions before engaging their services. Most addiction programs do a great job of dealing with addictive disorders but when they have someone with legitimate physical chronic pain, they are often not set up to address it.
In my research and through training health care professionals around the country, I have found that many addiction treatment programs are only dealing with one part of the problem. Your husband’s pain doctors are dealing with a different part of the problem. Finding a treatment center that uses the Addiction-Free Pain Management® Treatment System would attend to both areas of your husband’s problem—the pain condition and the addictive disorder. One recommendation is our APM Center of Excellence, Valley Forge Medical Center and Hospital in Norristown, PA. They can be contacted at (888) 539-8500. I hope this helps.
New and Research
Risks and Benefits of Acetaminophen:
To begin I want to reiterate my belief that there is no such thing as a "bad" medication. How it's used, what it's used for and who uses it will determine either positive or negative outcomes. For most people, acetaminophen is something of a mystery as it appears in many combination cough and cold products, as well as prescription pain medications, such as Vicodin and Percocet. . .
Spinal Cord Stimulation for Chronic Pain Management:
With all the concerns about the high toll prescription drug abuse and addiction takes, it is exciting to see recent research on a non-pharmacological medical approach to help alleviate back pain and increase quality of life. Electrical stimulation has been used in many different ways for decades, but there is now a newer procedure that is showing even better results. . .
Psychotherapeutic Approaches for Chronic Pain Management:
Since 1996 I have been advocating the use of a multidisciplinary approach to chronic pain management, especially when accompanied with coexisting psychological disorders, including addiction. For many years I have encouraged participants at my trainings to include the use of a variety of non-medication based approaches for any chronic pain management condition, with pain focused psychotherapy topping the list. . .
Visit our website
to see the complete postings as well as an archive of past research.
"There is nothing in the world more beautiful than the forest clothed to its very hollows in snow.
It is the still ecstasy of nature, wherein every spray, every blade of grass, every spire of reed, every intricacy of twig, is clad with radiance." ~ William Sharp
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