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July 2008


Quote Of The Month
“Every great work, every great accomplishment, has been brought into manifestation through holding to the vision, and often just before the big achievement, comes apparent failure and discouragement.”
~ Florence Scovel Shinn


Training Calendar
Since 1996 Dr. Grinstead has been teaching treatment teams in order to serve people with chronic pain and coexisting disorders. He continually improves upon the APM System to provide cutting edge research based interventions and has presented to more than 10,000 people all across the United States and Canada.

Oct. 11, 2008
San Jose, CA

Identifying Personal Denial Patterns & High Risk Situations

Sponsor: We Care:
Non-profit support for impaired healthcare professionals

Oct. 17, 2008
Oakland, CA

Nov. 7, 2008
Los Angeles, CA

The Role of MFTs in Chronic Pain Management - Thought Leaders in Mental Health Workshop

Sponsor: California Assoc. of Marriage and Family Therapists
Contact: (858) 292-2638

NEW!! Check Them Out

Addiction-Free Pain Management® Certification School

Oct. 8-10, 2008
Manhattan, New York

Oct. 29-31, 2008
Houston, Texas

Nov. 12-14, 2008
Tampa, Florida

Nov. 19-21, 2008
Dallas, Texas

Sponsor: The Institute of Chemical Dependency Studies
Contact: Anne at 866-523-2669 or email anne@cdstudies.com

Check out the Calendar page for information. For more details about specific trainings go to our website or call us at 916-575-9961 to discuss our consultation, training and coaching services.

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 and the Hijacked Brain : In order to achieve the best quality of life and level of functioning, people living with chronic pain must learn as much as they can about the subject of pain and what constitutes effective pain management. We know that pain is a signal that tells us there is damage or something wrong with our system. However, with some chronic pain conditions the system (including the brain) gets altered. The pain system gets turned on and cannot be turned off. I call this the "hijacked" brain or what is often referred to as Neuroplasticity (also called brain plasticity, cortical plasticity or cortical re-mapping).

A surprising consequence of neuroplasticity is that the brain activity associated with a given function can move to a different location as a consequence of normal experience or brain damage/recovery. . .

Welcome
Hello and welcome to new subscribers of our Addiction-Free Pain Management® Monthly Newsletter. Our goal is to keep you updated about new projects and the latest research we have on our website regarding pain management and the coexisting disorders that accompany someone living with chronic pain, as well as upcoming events and trainings. We always appreciate your input and would love to hear from you. From the Contact Us page feel free to email any questions or comments.

Gorski-CENAPS Corporation
This month we wanted to highlight our association with Terence T. Gorski and the Gorski-CENAPS® CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE for Relapse Prevention as well as introducing you to the program. The CENAPS® Model of Relapse Prevention is the most widely recognized system for dealing with relapse prone chemically dependent patients. Well over two hundred treatment centers nationally use various aspects of the CENAPS® Model of Relapse Prevention. The foundation of Dr. Grinstead’s Addiction-Free Pain Management® System uses the CENAPS® Relapse Prevention Model.

CENAPS Centers of Excellence are designed to include the following integrated continuum of treatment services:

  • Identifiable programs addressed to meet different patient needs at a variety of levels of care,
  • Use of biopsychosocial approaches to assessment and recovery planning, developmental stages of recovery, relapse intervention and prevention, and
  • Brief targeted strategic therapy approaches supported by case management, low cost supportive therapy for the chronically addicted and mentally ill, and low cost supportive community services and support groups.

The Gorski-CENAPS® Center of Excellence designation is for those treatment providers who evidence exemplary Relapse Prevention services through the use of the CENAPS® Model of Treatment and meet the rigorous standards for endorsement. Go to Gorski-CENAPS® Corporation to learn more about the Center of Excellence program.

Terence T. Gorski has worked extensively in developing relapse prevention services with such notable programs as Father Martins Ashley in Havre De Grace, Maryland, CENAPS Denmark, and Lifeworks in London, England. He has conducted in-service training throughout the world and received the Falcon Award from the President of Iceland at the 2003 ISAM conference.

Dr. Grinstead recently conducted a Gorski-CENAPS® Center of Excellence Onsite Review with the Sunshine Coast Recovery Centre in Powel River, British Columbia as part of the necessary requirements for attaining the Certified Center of Excellence Designation. Sunshine Coast is the First Canadian Gorski-CENAPS® Center of Excellence and has been granted a Provisional Designation. Go to Sunshine Coast Recovery Center for more information.

Training Opportunities
This month we are excited to announce our collaboration with Greg Lovelidge and The Institute of Chemical Dependency Studies. ICDS is a NAADAC approved education provider, setting standards of excellence in initial, ongoing, and advanced clinical and professional training and development in the field of addiction counseling.

We will be working together with the Gorski-CENAPS Corp. and ICDS, who will be sponsoring Addiction-Free Pain Management® Three Day Trainings on the East Coast in New York, Florida, Texas - see the Calendar for all the dates. To register or for more information email anne@cdstudies.com or call Anne at 866-523-2669.

Also, check out ICDS's Recovery Today magazIne and sign up for a free on-line subscription.

APM Centers of Excellence
In our APM Center of Excellence (COE) program we are engaged in bringing together and training treatment teams to address the challenges patients and their families face when dealing with chronic pain and co-existing disorders, including addiction. Collaboration is the fundamental principal guiding this program. It is our founding principal; the key that unlocks the potential for successful treatment outcomes between patients and their healthcare providers, as well as providing patient access across the United States and Canada.

APM Centers of Excellence include an integrated continuum of treatment services. They have identifiable systems designed to meet the needs of patients who require varying levels of care. The Center of Excellence protocols are designed to incorporate biopsychosocial approaches to assessment and recovery planning, developmental stages of recovery, relapse intervention and prevention. To learn more about the COE program and our Current Licensees go to our website.

We continue to field inquiries about the APM Centers of Excellence and will keep you informed of future developments. If you have any questions or would like more information, please give us a call at (916) 575-9961

News and Research
New Treatment for Chronic Pain: When I first started working with people with chronic pain there was serious stigma attached to someone complaining of under-medicated pain conditions. Most of the time they were accused of exhibiting drug seeking behavior and told that the pain was all in their head. If healthcare providers couldn’t find any physical tissue damage, they decided that the patient’s pain wasn’t real. Fortunately we now know better. . .

The Link between Chronic Pain and Childhood Trauma: For the past twenty-five years I’ve noticed that most of the chronic pain patients I’ve worked with reported some kind of childhood or adolescent trauma, which fell into several different categories: (a) physical abuse; (b) sexual abuse; (c) emotional abuse; (d) physical neglect; and (e) emotional neglect. We are now starting to see research studies demonstrating a link between sensitivity to chronic pain and a history of unresolved abuse. . .

Diet and Nutrition for Chronic Pain Management: Up until recently there was a lack of information and a great deal of misinformation regarding the role of proper nutrition for effective chronic pain management. Recent research studies by the National Fibromyalgia Association (NFA) have confirmed that diet and nutrition play a significant role in the management of pain. The NFA (2006) reports that success relies upon utilizing a multidisciplinary and multidimensional approach, incorporating lifestyle and dietary changes to achieve optimum health and well being. . .

Visit our website to see the complete stories as well as an archive of past research.