I was so saddened to read about another life lost to the deadly disease of addiction.  I understand the details are still emerging, but once again, all signs are pointing to an overdose.   Although I am not very familiar with DJ AM, I read that he’s been battling this disease for years and was sober for 9 years before he relapsed.  He was in a tragic plane crash last year and along with the emotional pain of losing dear friends in the crash, he also had physical pain to contend with.  Unfortunately, some are saying his need for the pain medication, although legitimate,  may have triggered his addiction. 

I read that his sponsor had just met with him and they were discussing him visiting rehab after a show he had in Vegas.  If this is the case, it is so representative of the many dangers of addiction.  When dealing with drugs, you never know if your next fix could result in death.  It’s often called Russian roulette and obviously the results of spinning the barrel and hoping that when you pull the trigger the bullet won’t be in the chamber is the same as taking your drug of choice and hoping this use won’t kill you.  We never think it will happen to us because we know how much we can use and we know how much is too much and we would never….and yet the news stories keep coming.   With Heath Ledger, Michael  Jackson and weeks later, DJ AM.  Obviously overdose was not their plan and they were simply in the treacherous  grip of a deadly disease. 

The NCADD says that there are more deaths and disabilities each year in the US from substance abuse than from any other cause.  So there are bound to be celebrities affected as well.  Maybe there can be a tinge of hope in the sadness, as people become more aware of the power and danger of this disease.  My thoughts and prayers go out to his loved ones.    Blessings, Ginger

We are so thrilled to have a front page article in the Jackson Sun out of Jackson, TN today!  Our hope is that this article will reach those struggling with addiction and their loved ones.  It gives a human side and shows the power of equine therapy in dealing with this deadly disease.            ~Blessings, Ginger

Equine treatment center helps addicts recover

By TRACIE SIMER
tsimer@jacksonsun.com
• August 5, 2009

Carl Cleveland lost his mother and grandmother within a year. To escape the pain, he began drinking and using drugs heavily.

As a result of his addictions, Cleveland said he’s seen several drug rehabilitation centers and many people who flunk out. He decided to do something different, so he spent nearly three weeks at a place where horses are the primary source of therapy.

“I got a lot of purpose in doing that, I know it,” he said. “Humans have got a lot in common with horses,”

Cleveland, 43, is a former client of Spirit Lake Recovery, a treatment center for people with addiction disorders on 40 acres of farm land in McKenzie.

Ginger Kelley said that when most people think of drug addicts or alcoholics, they think of what they’ve seen in the movies or on TV. But in reality, the 30-year-old husband and father who got injured on the job is just as likely to become a case of drug addiction, she said.

“They come from every walk of life,” she said. “People are starting to see more and more of this now. There’s always somebody famous - like Michael Jackson or Anna Nicole Smith - dealing with problems.”

Kelley is with Spirit Lake Recovery, which started in April. The center includes a home that houses 16 clients and an arena, which is home to five horses and a donkey.

Those animals play a major role in helping clients fight the disease of addiction, Kelley said.

“Addiction usually starts with dependency,” she said. “It starts with their doctor as legitimate medical needs.”

Cleveland, who never spent much time around horses, said he has told others who are in recovery about the unique therapy.

“What I loved most of all were the horses,” he said. “Putting myself in with the horses was a good experience for me that I’ve never had before. I can’t think of a rehab center that’s better. They helped me a whole lot.”

At Spirit Lake Recovery, therapy comes in the form of art, music, Bible study and horse-keeping. Everyone has 90 minutes of horse therapy each day, Kelley said.

“What we do is not horseback riding; it’s active problem solving,” she said. “It’s hard to understand until you bring up an example.”

An obstacle course is set up, and clients must lead their horses through it without using their hands or forcing the animal. At the end of the course is a beam the horse must walk over to complete the exercise. Buckets of horse feed are set out along the way as temptations or distractions for the horse, Kelley said.

“What do those temptations, obstacles represent? Does the client ask for help?” she said. “Do they give up? While they’re doing this, their therapist is watching the activity. It gives them a chance to observe and talk about it with their clients afterwards.”

In addition to equine-assisted therapy, clients spend a lot of time creating a bond with the horses, Kelley said. The clients do morning and evening feedings, clean the stalls and groom the horses.

“Each person is assigned their own horse to care for,” she said. “Most haven’t had a trust-based relationship in a long time. There is no judgment, so they’re building trust from square one. A horse has no judgment, so clients see them as (a) new entity in their life. It’s where it all starts. “

Mike Kelley, Ginger’s father, is the horse specialist at Spirit Lake. He runs the 90-minute therapy sessions and is there to protect the horses and the clients.

“We use horses because they’re uncontrolled and unexpected,” he said.

A horse will sense what a client is doing or feeling and mimic the client, Mike said.

“The horse becomes a mirror, and the client is reflected in the horse,” he said. “The horse gives a more correct reflection. Any hidden fears or anxiety or any anger you didn’t want to know about will come out through the horse.”

Those reflections become a topic of conversation in the post-obstacle discussion, where clients begin to see metaphors to their lives, Mike said.

“I’m extremely pleased that it’s working as well as it does,” he said. “I’m confident that we have divine guidance to help us get the maximum benefits and results.”

Ginger Kelley said that after the 40-day stay, a relationship has formed between horse and client.

“They come in sometimes fearful,” she said. “But after the 40 days, they’ve bonded. The clients take pictures with their horse, they show their families their horse. It becomes a real bridge to recovery.”

Visit jacksonsun.com and share your thoughts.

- Tracie Simer, 425-9629

In the early weeks of treatment at Spirit Lake, I took the men on a hike through a section of our 66 acre woods.  It wasn’t what I expected.  And I’m sure it wasn’t what the men expected, either.

I’ve spent plenty of time in the woods in my life, hunting and hiking and exploring.  And although I’d never actually been on this part of the property of Spirit Lake, I had no apprehensions about leading a hike.  (In recovery, I think that is called “overconfidence.”)

What I expected to be a short forty-five minute hike, turned into a two hour grueling, arduous journey.  We followed a ditch that was at one moment full of running water, then dry ground.  And just when you thought the ground was firm, your leg would sink two feet into mud.

There were felled trees and stumps to crawl over and under.

The ditch twisted back and forth, never straight for any distance.  You never knew what was to greet you around the next turn.

After two hours, I finally called a halt and we climbed out of the ditch on our hands and knees.

We were a sight!  Wet and muddy from head to toe.

We sat on a log and reflected on our hike.  Good natured fun was poked at each other’s misfortunes.  Skinned chins and bruises were added up.

There was a sense of pride at having accomplished such a difficult journey, especially for some who had never hiked in the woods before.

I asked them what we should name the trail.  Several ideas were bantered about until someone said, “It should be called ‘the Disease.’”

Immediately everyone understood the implications of the name.  Traversing the disease is about unexpected turns, uncertainty, pain, confusion, frustration, anger, and fear.

It has now become sort of a “rite of passage” for everyone who stays at Spirit Lake to be taken to “The Disease.”

As the seasons have changed, the faces of “The Disease” have changed.  She looks nothing today like she did in March.  But she still remains unyielding and unmerciful in how she treats those who choose to travel her.

Check back here for periodic updates and reflections on “The Disease.”

-          David Johnson, Treatment Director

I am Mike Kelley, Director of Equine Therapy here at Spirit Lake Recovery in McKenzie, Tennessee.  Today I want to share the particulars of our program and my plan is to post often to share this remarkable therapy because it truly astounds us on a regular basis.  I hope you will find our approach to be both innovative and interesting. 

In the early stages of planning the programs for Spirit Lake Recovery we determined that we wanted to incorporate various horse activities into our equine therapy program to get the maximum benefit for our clients and from our animals and facilities.

Our research confirmed that there are major therapeutic benefits for individuals who are involved in the normal daily activities of caring for horses.  We decided to require each of our clients to participate in this basic activity that we call Equine Relationship.  Each client is assigned a horse when they enter the Spirit Lake program and they are responsible for the care of that horse during their stay.

Each morning at 6 am and again at 5 pm in the evening the clients are in the arena, cleaning stalls, grooming, feeding and watering their animals.  They are supervised by an equine specialist or a trained assistant as they perform their “Good Horse Keeping” duties.  According to each client’s physical and emotional abilities, they are involved in all elements of horse care, all the way to cleaning hoofs.  Clients who are unfamiliar with horses are carefully monitored as they learn the proper techniques and gain confidence. 

At first some clients are not excited to be shoveling “horse poop” before breakfast but within a few days the activity becomes almost fun and early morning becomes the most enjoyable time of the day.  The client’s relationship with their specific animal quickly grows into responsible affection and they look forward to their time together.

In addition, each weekday we conduct our Equine Assisted Psychotherapy activities using the EAGALA model (visit EAGALA.org to learn more).  These activities involve clients with their horse and with other horses so that they learn to deal with the various personalities, as individuals as well as in the herd.

We are careful to limit the dangers of duel relationships and keep our Equine Relationship activities separate from our Equine Assisted Psychotherapy activities.  The therapy team, which includes our licensed mental health therapists and our equine specialists, communicate daily regarding all events, comments, actions and reactions of individual clients that are relevant to their therapy.  This communication promotes a synergy between all treatment modalities and allows an individual treatment plan to be tailored to the needs and progress of the client.

The frequency of activities with the horses is allowing rapid progress in our clients.  Issues that are dealt with regularly include:

·         Responsibility

·         Boundaries

·         Risk management

·         Communication skills

·         Anger Management

·         Problem solving

·         Self-Esteem

Clients are able to confront these issues and develop skills that become habitual and natural which allows these skills to be used in their life after Spirit Lake. 

This work has proven to be life changing, and not just for our clients, but for me and our staff. I feel very blessed to be a part of this powerful therapy and I hope that those who read about it can glean a bit of what makes it so special and effective.

Obviously this is a new blog and I’ve been spearheading the movement, but I really wanted the staff here at Spirit to get involved in blogdom as well.  Our staff is passionate and committed to our mission and I’d love for visitors to our site to get a sense of that.  After a conversation about the blog, our office manager/insurance liaison/admissions coordinator/go to gal for everything, Katrina, sent me an email sharing some things she’s been thinking about so I asked her to share in blog form. She has worked in the A&D field before Spirit Lake and has a huge heart for this work.  Below is her post.  ~Ginger

So this will be my very first blog……not the first blog for Spirit Lake….my first blog EVER; needless to say, I am very new at this.  I just had a few thoughts on my mind that I wanted to share.  I worked in Outpatient before God pushed me down my path to Spirit Lake.  In Outpatient, I saw people(….clients, as we refer to them at work….family, as we think of them personally)……every day, 4 times a week.  I came to know and love these people like they WERE my family.  I still talk to several of them to this day, one of them being one of my very good friends or BFF’s, as we would joke (though meaning it deeply).  But to see these people every day, all day is a new world for me! 

It is amazing to me to see our clients/family after getting sober.  You originally see them, the trouble they have encountered, the pain they have felt and caused, the shame they feel like they will never get over…….but you give them 40 days of sober time, 40 days of the hardest work you will never know if you have never been in that situation, 40 days of accomplishments, of accountability, of FREEDOM……you see a different person.  You see them talking, and laughing, and sharing…..HEAD HELD HIGH.  They learn to embrace these things they did, the people they hurt, the lies they told; not PROUD of them, but ACCEPTING them.  They realize that those things don’t make them a terrible person, those things are just something they did while struggling with a disease!  And there’s much more to them than the negatives and they start seeing the good in them.  All those things make you better able to help the next person.  Those things make you a story to save the next person’s life.

So imagine…..if 40 days could give you a sense of hope, a sense of “maybe I CAN do this”, a sense of “I am NOT alone in this disease”…..just imagine what 60 days or 90 days of sobriety can give you……..I guess what all this babbling is about is this: IF YOU DON’T HAVE IT, YOU CAN GET IT…..& IF YOU HAVE IT, YOU CAN HOLD ON TO IT……JUST FOR TODAY!

Katrina

Just think, how many people were at your local high school graduation?  I went to my niece’s graduation in a small town recently and there seemed to be about 150 students there.  That would make 30 of her classmates in need of treatment and only 3 of them receiving the treatment they need.  The acting administrator for SAMHSA, Eric Broderick, had a great quote saying, “Substance use disorders are preventable and treatable yet we continue as a Nation to allow the lives of 1 in 5 young people and their families be torn apart by substance abuse.  As a nation we must redouble our efforts to prevent substance abuse in the first place and ensure treatment is available to those in need.”   I hope we can turn the tide.

Blessings,   Ginger

 Young Adult’s Need for and Receipt of Alcohol and Illicit Drug Use Treatment: 2007 is based on 2007 data drawn from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, involving responses from 22,187 persons aged 18 to 25.

The full report is available online at http://oas.samhsa.gov/2k9/157/YoungAdultsDrugTxt.cfm.  Copies may also be obtained free of charge by calling SAMHSA’s Health Information Network at 1-877-SAMHSA-7 (1-877-726-4727) or at   http://ncadistore.samhsa.gov/catalog/productDetails.aspx?ProductID=18140.  For related publications and information, visit http://www.samhsa.gov/.

I received a comment from a blog reader, Michael, asking if I was going to blog about Michael Jackson.  I must say he has come up in so many conversations lately and especially within the treatment community.  I won’t comment on any specifics because I’m not sure what really happen, nor am I sure any of us ever will.  But all the reports I’m seeing now point to dependence on prescription drugs.  I know he suffered injuries in his work and had a doctor with him almost constantly.  So often, people in legitimate medical need of prescription pain pills find themselves on a very slippery slope that leads to substance abuse and dependence.  The fact that these pills are legal when prescribed gives a false sense of safety. to many.  We think these pills are “safe” or “safer than street drugs” simply because they have brand name and prescription bottle.  Even before I worked in the treatment community I saw so many friends and friends of friends who simply got injured, were prescribed pain pills and then they found themselves out of control.  They are good people, not seeking a “high” but seeking to feel a sense of normalcy they can no longer feel.  Again, as I’ve said in other posts, I am not a therapist or counselor; I am speaking from my own life experience when I share here.  However, I am an equine specialist here at Spirit Lake and I often have the opportunity to work with clients and our horses here.  Often an activity as simple as walking a horse through an obstacle course can trigger a client to share an experience from their own life.  Obstacles may represent friends, feed buckets represent the temptation of alcohol/drugs, a spooked horse now represents their own fear of relapse.  It is so moving to be a part of it and see the clients apply the lessons they learned through their own experience.  So when I see someone in my life or even on TV struggling or sadly, losing the battle with addiction, I think of how lessons can be learned and lives recovered.  I’ve been blessed enough to see it happen.  To bring it back to Michael Jackson, I pray for peace for him and his loved ones and I wish he could have gotten the treatment he needed.  But I do hope, as I always do when I see famous people splashed in the headlines dealing with addiction and its dire consequences, that it will move others to seek help.  Maybe the veil of shame associated with this disease will be lifted even more and those struggling will realize, like in Michael’s song,  “you are not  alone” and go to a meeting, start or restart treatment, and never, ever give up.    Blessings, Ginger

I just read this article about the increase in alcohol abuse by U.S. Army soldiers.  These men and women make the ultimate sacrifice and I can’t imagine a more stressful environment than the combat they experience.  It’s no wonder that the stress often leads to substance abuse.  Even more worrisome is the talk of the increase in suicide rates.  I have learned how substance abuse and suicide are so often connected and pray that those who feel that sense of hopelessness can get the support they need.   While the increase in numbers of those in treatment is an indicator of a growing concern, I hope that it also means that the government recognizes the benefit that treatment provides.  I hope they continue to invest more in caring for the well being of those who fight for our continued safety and freedom every day.  God bless all the men and women in the armed forces and their families.  I am just one of the many indebted to you and I thank you for what you do for all of us.      Blessings, Ginger

Click here to read the entire article:

http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1708762/us_army_engages_in_combat_against_alcohol_abuse/

A news release from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) indicates some disturbing numbers.   http://www.niaaa.nih.gov 
 

Alcohol-related deaths among U.S. college students rose from 1,440 deaths in 1998 to 1,825 in 2005, along with increases in heavy drinking and drunk driving, according to an article in the July supplement of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.
 
The special issue describes the results of a broad array of research-based programs to reduce and prevent alcohol-related problems at campuses across the country.  These studies resulted from the Rapid Response to College Drinking Problems Initiative, a grant program supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health.
 
“This supplement is a valuable resource that underscores the growing number of research-driven strategies that college administrators and health officials can put in place to address serious student drinking problems,” says Acting NIAAA Director Kenneth Warren, Ph.D.
 
Reviewing the magnitude of the college alcohol problem, Ralph W. Hingson, Sc.D, M.P.H., director of NIAAA’s Division of Epidemiology and Prevention Research, and colleagues analyzed data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other government sources. They found that serious problems persist, as indicated by the increase in drinking-related accidental deaths among 18- to 24-year-old students, which resulted mainly from traffic-related incidents. In addition, the researchers found the proportion of students who reported recent heavy episodic drinking — sometimes called binge drinking, defined as five or more alcoholic drinks on any occasion in the past 30 days — rose from roughly 42 percent to 45 percent, and the proportion who admitted to drinking and driving in the past year increased from 26.5 percent to 29 percent.