Fear… “This short word somehow touches about every aspect of our lives. It was an evil and corroding thread; the fabric of our existence was shot through with it”.  From the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous page 67.  
 
Should you avoid treatment because of these fears? As an internal Employee Assistance Representative I see these fears in the faces of those so desperate for help. When employees come to me with substance abuse problems, they seem real hesitant to disclose the full nature of their problem. Aside from stressing the concept of complete confidentiality with a person, I try to alleviate the fear of job loss right from the start. I explain to them how we have safeguards in place to protect them from termination. I then point out how their health care covers the issues dealing with treatment for alcohol and/or substance abuse.  Hospitalization for substance abuse is treated like any other illness that may befall our employees. It is only by the voluntary signing of a release of information form that a supervisor   should know the nature of a person’s hospitalization. Most employees are returned to the same job they were performing before hospitalization. Exceptions can be made in the case of safety sensitive jobs such as Captain of an oil tanker, railroad engineer, school bus driver etc… in which case you would be placed in a comparable position until deemed appropriate.
 
On a personal note, when I disclosed that information in September of 1987, I too had those same fears. Not only did I retain my job but I was a much better employee as a result of treatment. Furthermore, I was able to return to school with an enthusiasm that led to job promotions and better career opportunities.
 
Alcoholism and other drug addictions are potentially fatal diseases if left untreated.  Meanwhile, employees in desperate need of substance abuse services are afraid to seek help because they fear negative consequences from their employer. They may fear losing a license, failing to get promoted or even termination. However, in light of the proven case histories of the consequences in store for an active substance abuser, treatment seems to be the best choice. I urge anyone with alcohol or other substance abuse problems to seek the available help. Sacred Heart has a reputation in the recovery community of providing that help. It is my hope that anyone abusing substances step from the bridge of fear to the shore of faith. Treatment works!

--James Skelton, UAW-GM EAP, ADAPT, JTR REP, Powertrain Warren

The holidays are often difficult times for clients and their families. All the pressures of holiday celebration, that come to bear on average folk, are even more pronounced in the lives of early recovering clients and their families. The pressures are many and may include everything from limited resources to traumatic memories. The recovering person with a family may be faced with increased levels of guilt and shame (fellow travelers of addiction) during the holidays. If you add to that hard financial times, the holidays can become a time of deep despair and even relapse.
 
Recovery from addiction is a family business and including family members in every aspect of treatment makes it much more likely that the business will be successful. One of the difficult hurdles to this inclusion of family in treatment is the idea that exposing, particularly children, to the recovery process is in some way unsavory or lacking in moral standing. This belief is often expressed in not wanting children to know anything about the how the addictive process unfolded even after the recovering person has started on the road to health. Statements like, “I would never take my kid to an AA or NA meeting” or “kids don’t belong at a methadone clinic”, suggest a separation of family and treatment that we at Sacred Heart would like to bridge.
 
This holiday the Sacred Heart staff of the Adult Residential Opiate Treatment Program held a party for the children and other family members at the Richmond facility. The party was made more festive by the participation of several community organizations as well as numerous unaffiliated individuals. These groups and individuals contributed approximately seventy wrapped Christmas presents ranging in price from five to fifteen dollars making it possible for every child of an Opiate Treatment Program client to receive a gift.

The gifts were under a tree decorated by both clients and Sacred Heart staff and when children arrived they were given the presents by clients who volunteered to be elves. There were treats and wrapping paper every where. Newborn babies were seen sporting new blankets and knitted caps. The blankets and hats were made by children who were given an explanation of the importance of the idea of the Gift as a spiritual part of the holiday festivity.

The message that the Sacred Heart staff of the Adult Residential Opiate Treatment Program was trying to send is that this program is family friendly. A client coming to us is welcome and so is his family. The idea that you can’t do recovery alone means that the staff of Sacred Heart, the community at large, your AA and NA bothers and sisters and your loved ones will join you in this journey. You are not alone.

-Sacred Heart Therapist

Methadone replacement therapy works because it fulfills three basic requirements of any program of recovery from drug and alcohol addiction. The program, to be effective, must
(1) reduce access to drugs and alcohol. It must provide a
(2) supportive structure as well as make the client
(3) accountable to dependable persons other then themselves.
 
The first requirement is that access to drugs (in this case opiates) is limited. A methadone maintained client loses his craving for opiates because the methadone sticks to the opiate receptors in the brain and won’t let any other opiates get by them. While the methadone is playing spoiler, it activates the receptors thus reducing the desire for opiates (sort of like when you don’t want to eat because you are full) at the same time that it prevents the sickness of opiate withdrawal from occurring. This process occurs slowly so that the intoxicating effects on the nervous system are minimized. In this way, the first requirement of a program of recovery is fulfilled as far as opiates are concerned. Other drugs and alcohol continue to have to be avoided to prevent active addiction on top of methadone maintenance. The primary goal for all other drugs of abuse and alcohol, while in methadone maintenance, is complete abstinence. As a client is stabilized on methadone, opiate intoxication no longer occurs. This leaves the client, who greatly misses the intoxication effect, vulnerable to the abuse of other drugs and alcohol to replace the loss of his usual opiate high.
 
The second requirement of a program of recovery is supportive structure. An addict whose life has been dominated by chasing drugs needs to replace the old order of things with a new order of things. In a methadone maintenance program, structure is maintained by the need to acquire the methadone as well as a schedule of mandatory therapeutic services. In the early stages of recovery, the structure is implemented by requiring that a client attend the clinic daily to pick up the medicine. The intensity and frequency of therapeutic services is high for the first 90 days to a year. Participants may be required to attend groups and individual sessions weekly, but as the client is in the program longer services may become less frequent. At first, the methadone clinic may be the sole source of structure for the client, but as time passes other sources begin to emerge such as deeper involvement in the 12 step program, work, healthy exercise and family involvement. As normal life structure begins to develop the methadone clinic reduces its role in the client’s life. The ultimate goal of a therapist is to do away with the therapist.
 
The third requirement of a program of recovery is accountability. A new client needs to find ways to make her self accountable to dependable outside authorities. The nature of recovery from addiction is to realize that when an addict is left to his own devices he will not be able to keep himself straight. He needs guard rails. The methadone clinic provides these guard rails by providing a regular monitoring service. Clients are tested for drugs and alcohol so that when the clinic staff and the client say that the client is free of illicit drugs, the evidence is objective.  The client is also required to bring in any prescriptions for evaluation in order to prevent the client from abusing licit drugs. It is much harder to use or abuse drugs or alcohol when you are in a relationship with an objective and observant person and that person has the ability to manage positive and negative rewards to keep you on track.
 
For any program of recovery to be successful these three aspects of a TX program, limiting access, providing structure and accountability must be implemented along with encouragement to find a more effective philosophy of life.

-Sacred Heart Therapist

As I arrived to my destination, I peered up through my moon roof only to confirm the rain was here to stay. I sighed and thought to myself, “Is it too late to change my major?” That is a little question I jokingly ask myself when my career places me in non-ideal situations.I swished across a huge drenched field while eyeballing the port-a-potties and thought, “You could have been anything you wanted to be but no, you had to major in marketing.”

This particular day my marketing career brought me to Belle Isle for the 2008 Celebrate Recovery Walk. It turned out to be more of a swim if you catch my drift.

As I stood bewildered, I was approached by one of our outpatient team leaders and he introduced his waterlogged wife. We exchanged laughs and I thought “for better or worse”, this woman is a trooper; he is definitely going to spend the rest of his weekend doing whatever chores his wife conjures up.

I scanned the rest of the field and saw a group of ten of our clients sporting Sacred Heart tee shirts we had given them. The tee shirts were five shades darker than when I last saw them dry. If you were to ask them to exchange them for something dry I am sure they would shoot you a look as if you must be crazy; the tees were now one of their most prized possessions.

I also noticed there was a shortage of tents and there were four people to an umbrella. I learned from our clients and Howie, one of our Residential Care Technicians (RCT) that our tent has not yet arrived and it is estimated it will take an hour to assemble. I opened my umbrella and a female client readily accepted my invite along with two others, the rest were adorned in garbage bags.  

“Great,” I thought as the rain attacked my once dry shoes and attire. “How could this possibly get worse?” But the chain of events that followed next never let me find out the answer to that question.

I text messaged our C.E.O. and stated that “I wish to put in my two weeks notice, I am drenched and on Belle Isle.” He replies, “So am I…I’m at trhe bridge”.  I excused his typo because his hands were probably as pruned as mine and I produced a grin.

Once the clients, Howie and I saw them bring our tent we rushed over to claim our new shelter from the rain. Our clients and staff member didn’t hesitate to offer their assistance. I beamed with pride and dripped with rain.

The clients, Howie and I all set up our table and extracted our drenched brochures and our give away items from my tote bag. We then waited for the walkers to cross the bridge and come back to us. The clients took turns using my umbrella to stroll around and check out the other exhibits, always asking permission for the umbrella and the stroll.

You could see the flashing police escort and hear the rumble of the band. I said to our clients, “Are you ready to defend our dry tent? Here come the walkers.” They laughed and said, “Yes,” with conviction as the walkers came rolling in.

I soon felt a tap on my shoulder and it was the soaked C.E.O. of Sacred Heart, Grady. His tennis shoes spout water from their ventilation pores on top and his glasses beaded with precipitation. He greeted all of the clients from Memphis and rejected my two week notice request as he bopped me on my soaked MSU cap. He said he walked right behind our New Life Home for Recovering Women clients, whom melted right into our dry quarters and befriended our Memphis clients, and thanked us before we could thank them for coming.
 
What happened next was astounding. As Grady and I passed out our materials to the walkers, we were slowly being overcome by our clients taking on the same task. Our clients were talking to other clients from competing organizations and telling them how much they love Sacred Heart and how lucky they were to take part in our treatment program; how hard people worked to find them funding and how their therapist and other staff will not give up on them; that they were sorry that the person they were talking too didn’t make it into our program; and if they need to get treatment again to “try us and take this brochure and gift, it’s from Sacred Heart”. That’s right they said try “us”.  
 
I looked over at Grady and he already knew what was happening. He said, “Do you remember the question you asked me at our last conference? As a professional in this industry how do I keep my spirits up and motivation decade after decade?”  He looks at our table being manned without us and said “this motivates me.” As if he were just recharged for another decade. He continued in his ever mentoring way “We have no idea how many people we touched today. One tiny brochure that you designed can spark a lifetime of sobriety.”
 
We could have been anything we wanted. But we chose to work for Sacred Heart. An organization where our C.E.O. stands wet, shoulder to shoulder with our clients, whom sell our company for us and keep us all in their hearts forever.

-ESTEE WEBER, Sacred Heart Marketing Services Coordinator

I should begin with a confession. My first contact with methadone maintenance therapy was when I was invited two years ago to participate in the development task force that created the Sacred Heart Opiate Treatment Program. I suspect that that the reason I was invited to participate in the task force was to provide a sobering influence on the committee since I was brought up in the 12-step abstinence model.
 
Secretly, I felt a like a poison pill. Up until this point in time, “I HAD ALWAYS SEEN METHADONE MAINTENANCE AS UNACCEPTABLE. THE TRUTH IS I HAD NEVER REALLY GIVEN IT MUCH THOUGHT BEYOND AN OFF-HAND DISMISSAL.” I began my work on the task force by plowing through research study after research study. I was really looking for evidence that the methadone medication-assisted model was not good practice. I didn’t find it. The preponderance of evidence supports methadone maintenance. There is solid evidence for the practice of methadone replacement therapy that has accumulated over a very long period of time that can be found even by an old skeptic like myself.
 
The evidence for methadone maintenance therapy shows reduction in illicit drug use, criminal activity, needle sharing, risky sexual behavior, suicide, and overdoses as well as improvements in health conditions, productivity, retention in therapy and cost-effectiveness.
 
The body of evidence that supports these conclusions is based on matching the client to the appropriate treatment and providing that client not only with medication but also structure, accountability and therapy.
 
My second contact with methadone medication assisted therapy was when I was asked to be the program therapist for the Sacred Heart Opiate Treatment Program. I discovered in the clients of the Sacred Heart Opiate treatment Program confirmation of the evidence provided by all that research. “EVERYDAY I SAW MIRACLES. MEN AND WOMEN, WHOSE LIVES HAD BEEN RAVAGED BY HEROIN OR PRESCRIPTION DRUG ADDICTION, BECOMING HEALTHY, GOING TO WORK AND TAKING CARE OF THEIR FAMILIES.” I saw these individuals at various stages of their recovery.
 
Pregnant women whose maternal instinct was to protect their babies, but who could not escape the overwhelming power of their addiction, stabilized on methadone, bringing them and their fetus into a medically controlled support system.
 
New clients would come into the clinic beat down by their disease after many fervent attempts at quitting. Most had undergone more than one detoxification episode only to return to illicit use because they never really felt normal without some sort of opiate augmentation in the same way that a diabetic never really feels normal without insulin.
 
Truly, methadone maintenance is a program of progress not perfection, but through medication assistance and persistent therapy, science is transmuted into life.

-Sacred Heart Therapist