By James K. Rotchford, MD MPH
Board Certified in Addiction Medicine

This handout is for all patients, especially those who have a concern about alcohol/addiction in themselves or family/friends. The handout intends to help you find the help which is inevitably helpful.

Books:

Recovery involves much more than just an intellectual understanding. Nonetheless, books help guide the individual who is in or is anticipating recovery. Here are a few of my favorites.

1. Addiction and Grace, Gerald G. May, MD. A psychiatrist, Dr. May not only explores the biological but the spiritual implications of dealing with addictions. He has written extensively on the subject and his books are highly recommended.

2. Freeing Someone You Love from Alcohol and other Drugs: A Step-by-Step Plan Starting Today by Ronald I. Rogers and Chandler Scott McMillan. This book is unfortunately out of print but used copies can often be found used. Wonderful information for family but there is also great information for the alcoholic/addict who have had limited exposure to recovery and what is involved in it.

2. Seven Weeks to Sobriety, Joan Mathews Larson PhD.

This book is probably the current bible for patients who want to approach alcoholism and addiction from primarily a "nutritional/supplement" standpoint. I do recommend it for any patient in recovery or considering recovery. It spells out a specific program of recovery with I think valuable dietary information. Although the results Dr. Larson gives are impressive there is in the research jargon "a significant selection bias." That is, the people that succeed in their program are required to give up nicotine, caffeine, and refined sugars. Those individuals capable of such efforts are likely for a host of reasons to better able to abstain from alcohol. I think recovery involves more than abstention and I encourage patients to apply what they learn in recovery to benefit all areas of their lives. Moreover, Bio-Recovery Incorporated, the company which promotes the book, also includes a strong sales pitch for their own nutritional supplements. I suspect one might easily find comparable supplements for much less money but the convenience is valuable.

The book sells for $12.95 and includes a $2 discount if you order via the internet at www.HealthRecovery.com or call 1-800-247-6237 to place an order by phone.

3. Bradshaw on: The Family: A New Way of Creating Solid Self Esteem by John E. Bradshaw.

This book is one of many on the subject of alcoholism as a family disease. Healing the Shame that Binds Us, another book by the same author, gets into some of the psychological aspects of addiction.

4. http://bookstore.hazeldon.org The bookstore at the www.hazeldon.org website has hundreds of books and articles to choose from.

5. The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous. This book gives the story of alcoholics who have recovered thanks to the twelve-step program of AA. It has helped many an alcoholic to achieve sobriety. At least it provides some hope for the alcoholic and/or family that still suffers from alcohol.

Counseling:

At a minimum everyone in recovery should have someone they can talk to openly about addiction and their associated feelings and struggles. Formal counseling is clearly indicated in the early stages of recovery. Some feel that a woman does best with a woman counselor and a man with a man counselor; my opinion is that both sexes bring something useful to the counseling relationship regardless of the client's sex. Local resources in Jefferson County include:

1. OAMS & Turning Point Recovery 710 Van Buren St. Port Townsend, WA
Office: 385-4855. Comprehensive outpatient drug and alcohol treatment. www.oams.org

2. Safe Harbor Recovery Center, Inc. A locally and privately owned organization, it has a fine reputation among the recovering population as having excellent programs and counselors. It is subsidized by county, state, and federal funds so can work with patients in financial need. Tel: 385-3866

3. Private Counselors: We are fortunate to have a number of good counselors in Port Townsend. The best counselors, unless they specialize in drug abuse, will often refuse to see clients until they are abstaining.

4. Physicians: There are medicines which can help in the recovery process. Talk with your primary care provider and if need be get a referral to specialized services.

Residential/In- patient Care:

Because alcoholism and addiction are life threatening diseases, I invariably recommend intensive residential treatment programs. However, they are not always necessary and are relatively expensive and interfere with family living. Nonetheless, they seem to be the most effective initial treatment. Commonly an alcoholic/addict will need several visits to an inpatient facility in order to achieve long term abstinence.

1. Our first choice is Highland Courte in Port Angeles, WA. Brochures are available at the office.

2. Sundown Ranch in Selah, WA near Yakima is one of the nation's finest recovery centers. Their phone # is (509) 457-0990. The staff can arrange nearby assessments and determine whether a person is a good candidate for residential care. They tend to be very stringent about complete abstinence and avoiding any psycho-active medications. For patients without co-morbid mental conditions or who don't have opiate dependency as their primary addiction they are one of the best facilities in the country.

2. Residence XII in Bothell, Washington caters only to women in recovery. Their phone # is: (425) 823-8844.

3. Except in special cases the expense of going out of state is probably not worthwhile. Yet, Hazelden's recovery center in Minnesota is excellent and there are centers designed for special needs, for example, physicians, dual diagnoses patients, etc. The Veterans Admnistration also has some good programs for alcohol/addiction problems but only veterans qualify. Sometimes, however, for financial reasons a person can't be too choosy about where to get treatment. Generally, I think residential treatment facilities within our state, regardless of the provider, are worthwhile. If money were no object I would recommend residential treatment for all alcoholics/addicts. Repeat visits are commonly indicated.

Self Help Groups:

A group of people who come together with a common goal that is powerful beyond any one of the members. The therapeutic benefits of the group approach are especially strong in alcohol/addiction situations. The majority of patients with alcohol/addiction problems generally abhor the idea of speaking about their problems in front of a group or being stigmatized by the label of an alcoholic or addict. I personally felt this when I first started to attend AA meetings. At the time I was the only physician in a small rural community and was concerned about what people might think. But a result of working the steps of AA and attending meetings regularly, listening to and sharing with others, I no longer have a concern.

1. Alcoholic's Anonymous: The father of all twelve step programs. By promoting spiritual growth rather than perfection it has helped many an alcoholic achieve sobriety. Call 385-0266 for a schedule of meeting times in East Jefferson County. My office also generally has an updated calendar.

2. Narcotic's Anonymous: People with cocaine, heroin, or marihuana addictions often are helped more by NA than AA. Again call 385-0266 for a schedule of meetings.

3. Al-Anon: This is a twelve step program for family members of alcoholics/addicts. I highly recommend it to anyone who has a family member dealing with addictions.
Local schedules can be found at the PT Alano Club, OAMS, or other treatment facilities.

4. Rational Recovery: In larger communities there are groups that don't use the twelve steps of AA but approach alcohol from a "rational" standpoint. I know relatively little about these groups. I've had patients who have been helped by them so I'm confident they have a place in recovery options. I am unaware of such groups in the Port Townsend area.

Online Resources are extensive and any search regarding your primary dependency will bring up a host of links. Here are two to get started with:

1. www.hazelden.org is the home page of Hazelden Inc. This is a well know resource for helpful information dealing with recovery. There is a bookstore, chat rooms, etc. A good place to start.

2. www.ncadd.org is the home page of the National Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse. Much helpful information here including an extensive link page under Resources and Referral Guide.

Finally, if some of the information on this handout is outdated or needs correcting please call 360-385-4843 with your input.

Partially Updated 8/2008