Understanding The Role of Grief and Loss in Addiction Recovery By Robert Weiss, LCSW, CAS Addicts and family members in the early stages of recovery may not consider the strong role that the grief process plays in their experience. There are obvious times when we consider grief to be a natural reaction to life circumstances…

What are eating disorders? Eating disorders are abnormal eating behaviors, which include anorexia and bulimia. Anorexia is defined as the refusal to reach or to keep a weight that is considered to be the minimum required for a person’s height and age. Hence bulimia is an eating pattern of repeated occurrences of binge eating followed…

Coepying with Comfort Foods Ah, food! A great way to forget your troubles and be happy — or so it seems. Actually, good nutrition can be a way of reducing stress, but, unfortunately, stress has the ability to alter your eating patterns for the worse. Many times the result is more stress, not less. The…

Understanding Common Club Drugs MDMA (ecstasy), Rohypnol, GHB, and ketamine are among the most common club drugs used by teens and young adults who are part of a nightclub, bar, rave, or trance scene. Raves and trance events are generally night-long dances, often held in warehouses. Many who attend raves and trances do not use…

Understanding Suicide- Frequently Asked Questions What should you do if someone tells you they are thinking about suicide? If someone tells you they are thinking about suicide, you should take their distress seriously, listen nonjudgmentally, and help them get to a professional for evaluation and treatment. People consider suicide when they are hopeless and unable…

INTRODUCTION Suyemoto and MacDonald (1995) reported that the incidence of self-mutilation occurred in adolescents and young adults between the ages of 15 and 35 at an estimated 1,800 individuals out of 100,000. The incidence among inpatient adolescents was an estimated 40%. Self-mutilation has been most commonly seen as a diagnostic indicator for Borderline Personality Disorder,…

Scientists and nonscientists alike have long recognized a two-way association between alcohol consumption and violent or aggressive behavior (1). Not only may alcohol consumption promote aggressiveness, but victimization may lead to excessive alcohol consumption. Violence may be defined as behavior that intentionally inflicts, or attempts to inflict, physical harm. Violence falls within the broader category…

A Comprehensive Approach to Anger and Self-Talk One important part of an anger control plan is “self-talk”. If you struggle with anger and Self-talk is the conversation you have with yourself inside your head, in other words your thoughts in response to a situation. For example, if you are deciding whether or not to eat…

The Family Survey What happens when students go home? It seems like a simple question. My name is Mike Petree and I’ve been working for RedCliff Ascent for over a decade. I’m wrapping up a graduate program in counseling psychology. While in school I’m contracted with RCA to do follow up and research for the…