Addiction is a complex bio-psycho-social-spiritual brain disease that requires comprehensive treatment that addresses all of the known needs of the patient, concurrently. Such high-quality treatment may be hard to find in your area, yet many patients and their loved ones hesitate to choose a treatment center considered too far away from home. Often the best outcomes, post-treatment, require time and space away from the environment that triggers clients into the throes of their disease.
A modern, evidence-based approach to addiction treatment acknowledges the important role mental health conditions play as drivers of Substance Use Disorders (SUDs). People frequently misuse drugs and alcohol because of underlying mental health barriers such as trauma, depression, and anxiety.
The treatment of such co-occurring conditions—also known as dual diagnosis— can be complicated. Since it requires medical and psychiatric expertise not all treatment centers are able to provide, intervention is often inadequate. It is important to note that if we do not adequately address co-occurring conditions, those battling addiction are likely to relapse because the very issues triggering them to use are not healed with the proper tools.
Recovery Ways, based in Murray, Utah, is one of the elite dual diagnosis treatment centers in the United States. Recovery Ways is an Optum Platinum Provider because of the stellar long-term treatment outcomes they accomplish with their clients. Because of this designation, Recovery Ways treats patients from all over the US. The center specializes in treating addiction and many common co-occurring conditions like trauma, anxiety, and depression simultaneously. That was a huge benefit for alumnus, Jonathan E.
“Utah was such a great state for me to finally get sober after six rehabs,” he says. “The seventh one was Recovery Ways in Utah! There’s an amazing support system all around Utah. I loved the trauma program they have, it’s amazing. I suffer from severe PTSD and they helped me learn to cope without using. I’ve never had a treatment center concentrate so much on a person’s trauma before. I believe it’s one of the main reasons I have stayed sober.”
Recovery Ways is dually licensed to treat mental health and addiction . The highly qualified treatment team at Recovery Ways includes two psychiatrists. One of them is the medical director, Duy Pham, MD, a psychiatrist who specializes in addiction and substance use disorders.
“Roughly 50 percent of our patients get diagnosed with a mental illness that hasn’t been diagnosed before,” says Dr. Pham. “We also often re-diagnose patients who have previously been diagnosed improperly.” Because the team includes specialists like Dr. Pham, Recovery Ways treats even the most difficult mental health conditions—including bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.
Another important benefit of leaving your home state for treatment is the change of environment itself. The people, places, and things addicted people encounter on a daily basis often play a crucial role in perpetuating substance misuse. Changing people, places, and things—your usual environment—is often a good start.
Texas, for example, has a surging drug problem in the middle of a worsening COVID-19 outbreak. “Even for a state largely spared from the worst of the opioid crisis, Texas is still seeing a rise in overdose deaths, and methamphetamine, a powerful psychostimulant, is increasingly a factor,” reported Houston Public Media last summer. The ongoing coronavirus outbreak is intensifying that problem.
Addiction to opioids or methamphetamines is very serious and requires modern, evidence-based treatment by medical professionals. If opioid, alcohol, or methamphetamine misuse is driven by mental health problems, psychiatric interventions should be a major component of addiction treatment.
Addiction treatment during a pandemic is challenging for patients and therapists alike. Recovery Ways is the safe, optimal place to start your recovery. The following protocols have been put in place in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic:
- All new patients are tested for COVID-19 prior to admit. We’ve added additional admissions testing, in some cases, based on the patient’s location or risk. Tests cab be be mailed and performed at home with results typically available in 24 to 48 hours. We can also help you find a community partner in your area to arrange immediate testing.
- All staff are asked to isolate at home when they are not working.
- Employees check in with a supervisor daily to report any symptoms or exposure risk. Written reports are completed weekly. Vacations for staff are cleared by our physician to ensure that there are only low risk activities or travel.
- Temperature and symptoms of staff are checked prior to each shift. Staff stay at home and are tested for even minimal exposure or mild symptoms. They return to work only after sufficient testing AND resolution of symptoms.
- We have robust access to testing, including a stock of saliva PCR and antibody testing, on site for immediate use. We also have streamlined local lab relationships for the gold standard nasopharyngeal PCR testing or chest CT scan.
- Patients have access to testing for symptoms or contract tracing. If isolation is needed, patients have access to electronic media to continue individual or group therapy.
- In the event that a positive case is identified, patients there will be monitored and treated medically until recovered.
- Masks are mandatory in all out facilities by staff and patients. These rules are strictly enforced except in very rare circumstances based on situations approved by our physician.
- Family visits are only allowed via Zoom.
- Common areas and office areas are sanitized by staff between each patient.
- Hypochlorous acid is used to sanitize all areas. This non-toxic fog is used to decrease the risk of airborne or surface transmission.
If you or a loved one are struggling with addiction and/or mental health issues, Recovery Ways wants to support you . Our admission coordinators can recommend a plan of action, suggest an interventionist, or speak to your loved one. Call 888.988.5217 to start the process today.
