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2018 Houston Opioid Summit Creates Vital Awareness and Cooperation in the Battle Against Opioid Addiction

For two full days last week, nearly 250 leaders from across Harris County gathered at The Council on Recovery’s first Opioid Summit.

In keynote addresses, topical breakout sessions, panel discussions, round-table discussions, and interpersonal networking, people on the front-line in battling the opioid crisis exchanged ideas, information, and experience to develop understanding and viable solutions for dealing with the problem.

Unlike other opioid conferences that focus on individual or narrow aspects of the problem, the 2018 Houston Opioid Summit brought together all of the major sectors dealing with the issue. These included experts from the medical, legal, prevention, treatment, legislative, law enforcement and media communities who shared their perspectives of the opioid epidemic and explored ways to work together to stem opioid overdoses, currently the leading cause of accidental death.

Among the unique perspectives discussed at the Opioid Summit were the role and responsibility of media in the local and national dialogue, and the role of the faith-based community addressing the opioid epidemic.

In-depth discourse on the use of medication-assisted treatment (MAT) and the role of specialty medical care in managing substance use disorder shed new light on treatment opportunities and challenges.

Exploration of innovative criminal justice approaches and therapeutic treatment courts, and a report on narcotics law enforcement efforts, instilled vital understanding of recent legal trends.

An examination of the Harris County Opioid Litigation against manufacturers and distributors of prescription opioids by lawyers from the County Attorney’s office provided a glimpse of how the opioid crisis may be impacted by future court decisions.

The individual and family effects of the opioid epidemic were also central to the Opioid Summit as breakout sessions covered addiction treatment modalities and prevention and education programs for children and families.

Advocacy, another front in the war on opioids was keynoted by John Cates. Frank discussions were held on using technology and other therapeutic tools to promote recovery, as well as community efforts to help addicted pregnant women and deal with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS), an increasingly alarming problem in delivery rooms across the Houston area.

A poignant and powerful closing keynote session focused on the personal perspectives of three individuals whose lives were forever touched by the opioid crisis. Moderated by KPRC’s Khambrel Marshall, the intimate conversation with Maureen Wittels, Randy Grimes, and Jim Hood drove home the devastating impact of substance use disorder. Maureen lost her son, Harris, to an opioid overdose in 2015, cutting short his 30-year old life as a rising star in Hollywood. Randy, a retired NFL player, suffered for 20 years with opioid addiction, that grew out of treating the pain of his football injuries, before getting sober nine years ago. Jim’s son, Austin, died at the age of 21 from an opioid overdose six years ago and prompted Jim to co-found a national organization, Facing Addiction with NCADD, to fight the opioid addiction with the same fervor of campaigns that have battled cancer and other deadly diseases for years.

The Council on Recovery is leading our community in the effort to find solutions to the opioid epidemic. Your support of The Council is greatly appreciated! For more information, click here.

More Photos from the 2018 Houston Opioid Summit:

Christian Thrasher, Clinton Health Matters Initiative

Texas state representative Carol Alvarado

CDC Report: Excessive Alcohol Use and Risks to Women’s Health

Recently reported data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are shedding new light on the links between excessive alcohol use by women and the increasing risks to female health. Here are vital the facts from the CDC.

Although men are more likely to drink alcohol and drink in larger amounts, gender differences in body structure and chemistry cause women to absorb more alcohol, and take longer to break it down and remove it from their bodies (i.e., to metabolize it). In other words, upon drinking equal amounts, women have higher alcohol levels in their blood than men, and the immediate effects of alcohol occur more quickly and last longer in women than men. These differences also make it more likely that drinking will cause long-term health problems in women than men.

Drinking Levels among Women

Approximately 46% of adult women report drinking alcohol in the last 30 days.
Approximately 12% of adult women report binge drinking 3 times a month, averaging 5 drinks per binge.
Most (90%) people who binge drink are not alcoholics or alcohol dependent.
About 2.5% of women and 4.5% of men met the diagnostic criteria for alcohol dependence in the past year.

Reproductive Health Outcomes

National surveys show that about 1 in 2 women of child-bearing age (i.e., aged 18–44 years) drink alcohol, and 18% of women who drink alcohol in this age group binge drink.
Excessive drinkingmay disrupt the menstrual cycle and increase the risk of infertility.
Women who binge drinkare more likely to have unprotected sex and multiple sex partners. These activities increase the risks of unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.

Pregnancy Outcomes

About 10% of pregnant women drink alcohol.
Women who drink alcohol while pregnant increase their risk of having a baby with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD). The most severe form is Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), which causes mental retardation and birth defects.
FASDare completely preventable if a woman does not drink while pregnant or while she may become pregnant. It is not safe to drink at any time during pregnancy.
Excessive drinking increases a woman’s risk of miscarriage, stillbirth, and premature delivery.
Women who drink alcohol while pregnant are also more likely to have a baby die from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). This risk substantially increases if a woman binge drinksduring her first trimester of pregnancy.

Other Health Concerns

Liver Disease: The risk of cirrhosis and other alcohol-related liver diseases is higher for women than for men.
Impact on the Brain: Excessive drinking may result in memory loss and shrinkage of the brain. Research suggests that women are more vulnerable than men to the brain damaging effects of excessive alcohol use, and the damage tends to appear with shorter periods of excessive drinking for women than for men.
Impact on the Heart: Studies have shown that women who drink excessively are at increased risk for damage to the heart muscle than men even for women drinking at lower levels.
Cancer: Alcohol consumption increases the risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, liver, colon, and breast among women. The risk of breast cancer increases as alcohol use increases.
Sexual Assault: Binge drinking is a risk factor for sexual assault, especially among young women in college settings. Each year, about 1 in 20 college women are sexually assaulted. Research suggests that there is an increase in the risk of rape or sexual assault when both the attacker and victim have used alcohol prior to the attack.

The Council on Recovery offers prevention, education, treatment, and recovery services for women experiencing alcoholism, drug addiction, and co-occurring mental health disorders. Contact The Council today to get help.

2018 Houston Opioid Summit Forges Awareness & Solutions

For two full days, July 26th and 27th, more than 225 people packed the conference rooms and other venues at The Council on Recovery for the 2018 Houston Opioid Summit. In keynote addresses, panel discussions, breakout sessions, round-table discussions, and informal networking, participants gained new insights and awareness of the opioid epidemic. Representing the medical, treatment, recovery, legal, law enforcement, academic, and media sectors, Opioid Summit attendees also discussed viable and immediately actionable solutions for dealing with the crisis.

As The Council’s inaugural Opioid Summit and the first to bring together all of the major stakeholders currently battling the crisis, the Summit provided a broad range of presentations from experts in their fields. Topics included: An Overview of the Crisis in Houston; The Role of the Faith Based Community; Collaboration for Opioid Prevention; Advocacy; Therapeutic Treatment Courts; Medication Assisted Treatment; Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs’ Impact; Media’s Role & Responsibility in the Crisis; and the Impact of Addiction on Mothers & Children.

In a special closing session Friday afternoon, a full auditorium at The Council’s Hamill Foundation Conference Center heard the personal perspectives of three people whose lives were forever touched by the opioid crisis. Moderated by Khambrel Marshall, from the Opioid Summit’s media partner KPRC Channel 2, Maureen Wittels and Jim Hood told of losing their respective sons to opioid overdose. Ex-NFL star Randy Grimes shared about his 20-year opioid addiction and nine years of sobriety. The poignant discussion brought home the personal tragedy and suffering, but also provided a message of hope that Opioid Summit participants could take with them as they work together to end the scourge.

Though speaker after speaker at the Opioid Summit alluded to the prospects of stopping the opioid epidemic, most agreed it would be a long, hard battle. The Council on Recovery remains committed to leading that battle with prevention, education, treatment, and recovery services. Future Opioid Summits to be hosted by The Council will meet the opioid epidemic where it is and will again draw together the many sectors to create understanding and awareness, and take action to save lives.

Kristen Johnston Helps The Council on Recovery Raise $440K to Fund Addiction Prevention, Education, & Treatment Programs

Two-time Emmy Award-winning actress and best-selling author Kristen Johnston inspired a crowd of 900 with her personal story of addiction and recovery this past Thursday at the Hilton Americas-Houston. In the process, she helped The Council on Recovery raise more than $440,000 to provide prevention, education, and treatment services in the Greater Houston area.

Anne Schallenberger — Ann McCullough Shallenberger

Johnston was the keynote speaker at the 35^th Annual Spring Luncheon in The Waggoners Foundation Speaker Series presented by the Wayne Duddlesten Foundation. The Luncheon also honored long-time Council board member and friend, Anne McCullough Shallenberger, with The Council’s Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of her commitment, service, and dedication to The Council’s mission.

Co Chairs w Kristen — Devon Anderson, Kristen, Bob Newhouse

With preceding remarks from Luncheon co-chairs, Devon Anderson and Bob Newhouse, and heartfelt introduction by Jerri Duddlesten-Moore, Kristen Johnston praised The Council on Recovery’s work. She said, “I’ve been speaking for a while and going all over, and this [The Council on Recovery] is the most comprehensive treatment center. What you’re doing here is truly unique.”

Speaking of her own struggles with addiction, Kristen spoke of the stigma that often surrounds addiction and the importance for those who are in recovery to address that stigma. Sober 13 years, Kristen said, “There is still a lot of work to be done to get our voices heard…to help break down the stigma that, once in recovery, it’s not something to openly talk about.”

Kristen echoed the concerns voiced by Devon Anderson about challenges that young people face amidst the new technologies that have become highly addictive in their own right. Kristen’s own passion for helping adolescents was recently reflected in the publicized work she did to help establish New York City’s first sober high school.

June Waggoner and late husband Virgil are the benefactors of The Waggoners Foundation Speaker Series in honor and memory of their son, Jay Waggoner, whom they lost to alcoholism. Since the luncheon series’ creation in 1999, it has attracted nearly 33,000 people and raised over $14 Million. Past luncheon speakers include Rob Lowe, Patrick Kennedy, Ashley Judd, Tom Arnold, Lynda Carter, Paul Williams, Richard Dreyfuss, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jim Belushi, and Earl Campbell.

The Lifelong Quest For Sobriety…The Ultimate Hero’s Journey—Part 25

Guest Blogger and long-time Council friend, Bob W. presents Part 25 of a series dealing with Alcoholism and Addiction from a Mystical, Mythological Perspective, reflecting Bob’s scholarly work as a Ph.D. in mythological studies.

There is an Old English tale called Beowulf, set in the Early Middle Ages in Scandanavia. It is a mythic story about a warrior of that name, called to help the Danish king Hrothgar whose palace is under attack by the monster Grendel. Beowulf defeats Grendel in an epic battle using only his bare hands. There is much rejoicing and celebration, but soon Grendel’s Mother hears of the death of her son and attacks the castle. This monster is much more powerful than Grendel, but, in an even more difficult battle, Beowulf finally defeats her and saves Hrothgar’s kingdom.

In this story, I am reminded that, for many of us alcoholics and addicts, our lifelong journey to Sobriety really does have two parts. The first is getting sober, just stopping the consumption of alcohol or drugs or the high risk behavior patterns that have the same effect. We have to stop it all completely and work with those in the Fellowships to help us achieve some semblance of a sober life that can last for more than a few days or weeks. This first step is usually achieved with some success in a matter of months or a few years.

But like Beowulf’s second battle against Grendel’s Mother, the second part of our journey can be much, much harder. For, after achieving that first level of sobriety, we have to deal with all those elements of ourselves that influenced and facilitated the descent into alcoholism in the first place. We must explore the deep core of who we are and what might have happened to us in our early lives to create the trauma that craved the medicating toxic substances or behaviors. These explorations might be especially difficult and not without much personal suffering.

In Beowulf, the hero must venture down into Grendel’s Mother’s lair, in a deep and dark cavern under a lake. The battle with her is particularly difficult, with much back and forth of Beowulf gaining the upper hand and then losing it. Beowulf finally wins using the monster’s own sword, but in dismembering her body and that of Grendel, this sword is dissolved by the toxic blood of the monsters. Beowulf returns to the surface with only the hilt of the sword and the dismembered monster heads to reveal to Hrothgar and his subjects his true victory over the monsters.

For many of us, these images conjure up our own journeys down into some latent darkness and our own titanic battles with demons, core remembrances that seem like evil forces within us. The disparate nature of these things and their ability to derail our quest for sanity and serenity can be real and present…maybe on an ongoing basis in our journeys to sobriety. Our initial victories may not seem to have the finality that is present in this epic story.

But, with the help of the Fellowships to which we attach ourselves, we learn how to deal with them day by day by day by day…and eventually we begin to take their power away. The ultimate effect becomes much more lasting and the victories of Beowulf over Grendel and his Mother do begin to represent that of our own successes. We can eventually present the dismembered heads of our own demons to our peers in recovery with a sense of satisfaction and serenity.

If Your Loved One is Struggling With Addiction, Can Intervention Be the Answer?

Guest Blog by Mary Beck, Chief Strategy Officer and ARISE® Interventionist, at The Council on Recovery

If someone you love is struggling with addiction, you have probably grappled with the following questions: What do I do? How do I talk to him? What should I say to her? Why doesn’t he see what he is doing or the pain and grief his addition is causing? Even if you have spoken with them about getting help or explored treatment programs for them, you may have ended up feeling confused, frustrated, sad, angry, and hopeless.

Conversations about getting help for addiction are usually made with the best of intentions and with love. Yet, they often culminate in arguments about the past and who knows best. We may not realize that we bring our own trauma and grief into these exchanges. Furthermore, we may believe that if we just explain to them what they are doing, they will want to change! Research and experience have shown this simply does not work.

As Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.” To help a loved one struggling with addiction, one of the most effective approaches is to simply walk with them as they take their first step, but not to define their journey. The goal is not to get them where they need to go, but to empower them to see hope for the future and take action. This approach is central to the process known as intervention.

The Council on Recovery is a leading provider of intervention services in Houston. Our program is based on the ARISE® Intervention method, an invitational, non-confrontational, and transparent approach designed to respond to the love, fear, worry, and guilt of those living with an addicted loved one. Developed for use by highly-trained recovery specialists, the ARISE® intervention mobilizes and empowers the family and/or concerned members of the support system to motivate the addicted individual to enter and engage in treatment. As an intervention method, ARISE® gets over 83% of individuals into treatment within three weeks, 96% into treatment within six months and 61% in recovery by the end of the year.

The Council on Recovery employs two full-time ARISE® interventionists. Here’s how an intervention works: During the “First Call”, The Council’s interventionist will coach and empower you to (a) identify a recovery support “network” to participate in the process, and (b) teach you and another network member techniques on how to successfully invite the addicted individual to the first network meeting. The invitation is hopeful for the person’s future and based in love and empathy. It references previous loss and despair, but does not focus on stories of trauma and pain. It also does not focus on the action steps a person is being asked to take. It simply asks the addicted person to join the recovery support network with the other members and invites the person to the first meeting, which is led by The Council’s ARISE® interventionist.

An invitation may sound like this: “Let us help you get your life back. We love you. We know you love your children and want to be back in their lives. We have survived so much in this family already. Your father died young from alcoholism, let’s not allow this disease to do the same thing to your children. Let’s pull our family strength and courage together and stop this right here, right now!”

Though you may be skeptical about this approach, it does work! Many do not enter treatment the day of the first meeting. The intervention is a process, not an event. It may result in the addicted person agreeing to get an assessment or to one counseling session. Remember, they just have to take the first step, not see the whole staircase.

Though the intervention process can be highly effective, it’s best to keep expectations low at the beginning. After all, if someone came to you and said you had to completely change your life immediately and, by the way, you can’t live in the comfort of your own home for 30-90 days, you might not respond well either! But, with life in the balance, it is an effort well worth taking.

Transtheoretical Model 2 — Transtheoretical Model

At The Council, we employ the Transtheoretical Model (or Stages of Change) to determine how ready a person is to make a change in a behavior. The stages are pre-contemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance. We often hear stories of a spouse or a parent desperately trying to move their loved one from pre-contemplation to action in an hour……and then wonder why the person won’t listen. Human cognition and behavior are highly complex and need to be nurtured and engaged, not mandated or cajoled. But, for those who have tried everything else, it is a step in the right direction.

To find out if an intervention is appropriate to help you with a loved one who is struggling with addiction, and help them make the first step towards recovery, start at The Council on Recovery. We are ready to help with your “First Call”. Call us now 713.914.0556 or email us at help@councilonrecovery.org.

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