Connections in Recovery

Written by MARR on April 5, 2016. Posted in MARR Articles, Resources.

By Jim Seckman, MAC, CACII, CCS

At MARR we work with people who have a very complex and powerful disease that affects every aspect of their lives. In fact, it is so powerful that it easily overwhelms all situations and people surrounding it.

How can recovery work?

We cannot effect change in our lives and get into recovery by ourselves. By working together in a community of others committed to recovery, a therapeutic community, and by trusting and relying upon God, true change and recovery can take place. It’s really the only way to fight this disease and start truly living.

The community model sets MARR apart, promoting accountability, responsibility, and acceptance. Together in a home-like setting, clients learn to live healthier lives through a connection with self, others, and a Higher Power. Balancing the daily activities of treatment, groups, employment, and home life within the therapeutic community offers the necessary life skills for long-term recovery.

At MARR, we work together with the clients to bring total and lasting recovery to addicted individuals and their families. I can’t, we can becomes the foundation for the work that needs to be done.

MARR Recognizes National Eating Disorder Week

Written by MARR on February 26, 2016. Posted in MARR Articles, Resources.

By Jessica Brothers, LPC

We want “whole-person” recovery.
While much of the nation’s focus has been on the opioid epidemic, it is also important to highlight that Eating Disorders can be just as harmful. Here in the United States, millions of people are suffering with a Substance Use Disorder, and typically only 10% seek out treatment. The same alarming statistic can be seen with Eating Disorders. The mortality rate for certain substance related deaths have quadrupled in the last decade, however, Eating Disorders continue to have the highest mortality rate of mental health diagnoses. Recent research has shown that not only is there a genetic predisposition for alcohol and substance dependence, but also for eating disorders. In fact, some of the same genes may be involved with both, having similar pathways in the brain. It is important to seek help and treat both. MARR believes it is important to recognize National Eating Disorders Awareness week because of the correlation between substance abuse and eating disorders.

MARR was established in 1975 as a residential service for men. In 1980, the founders added a similar program for women, but wanted to remain gender-separate to cater to the uniqueness of each person. As MARR grew, we found a correlation between women with substance abuse and unhealthy eating behaviors and body image issues. In the early 2000s, MARR’s Disordered Eating (DE) program was created to help educate these women on their co-occurring body image and eating disorders to their use of drugs and alcohol.

Most patients enrolled in our DE program have been previously diagnosed or currently meet subclinical criteria for an Eating Disorder. Though MARR’s primary focus is on substance abuse, it is important to address the disordered eating behaviors to prevent relapse on either. According to the National Eating Disorders Collaboration, “disordered eating is a disturbed and unhealthy eating pattern that can include restrictive dieting, compulsive eating or skipping meals,” (NEDC,2015). It extends to other behaviors, such as a pattern of excessive dieting including fasting, hiding food, eating in the middle of the night (night eating), self-induced vomiting, laxative or diuretic use, steroid use, eliminating certain foods or an entire food group from their diet, and compulsive exercise.

Many of our patients have not been active in these DE behaviors recently, as they were more focused on substance use. When their primary coping mechanism, drugs and/or alcohol, is taken away, these unhealthy eating behaviors tend to resurface. As the patient’s relationship with food and body image can become a trigger for their relapse, MARR believes it is critical to address these behaviors and thought patterns to achieve “whole person” recovery.

Generally, 30-40% of the women enrolled in our program participate in our DE Program. These women are provided with additional support; a registered dietitian to help create a healthy eating program, psycho-education groups on DE behaviors, additional weekly groups to address body image, and exploring new coping mechanisms. Because of the extra support, 60-65% of women in the DE Program successfully complete treatment, which is higher than the national average of women completing treatment.

While some patients are able to identify the harmful behaviors associated with their co-occurring disorders, many have not realized the connection between food and body image and their substance use. While at MARR, patients are challenged to explore all issues associated with addictive patterns in order to treat the whole self and support total and lasting recovery.

References
Disordered Eating and Dieting. http://www.nedc.com.au/disordered-eating (2015)
National Eating Disorders awareness. http://nedawareness.org/about (2016)

Individualized Treatment Plan

Written by MARR on May 24, 2015. Posted in MARR Articles.

At MARR we develop an individualized treatment plan unique to each client. Although the disease of addiction has many common characteristics, each client comes to treatment with their specific history and clinical needs.

The individualized treatment plan structures the client’s care around specific issues connected with and underlying their substance abuse. The treatment plan then lays out goals and objectives for addressing each of these problems. This structured approach ensures that the clinical team’s interventions address the client’s core issues that have historically led to relapse.

Psychosocial Assessment

One of the primary tools used to develop the individualized treatment plan is the psychosocial assessment. This is one of the first items we work on with a client when he or she comes to MARR. Using this evaluation, the primary counselor talks with the client and takes notes on his or her life history, family background, medical history, and history of substance abuse, among other things.

From the psychosocial assessment, the clinical team works with the client to generate the list of problems that will be addressed during their time in treatment. Some examples are:

Inability to maintain sobriety
Inability to understand feelings
Inability to understand addiction
Relationship problems
Spirituality problems
Sexual trauma
Other forms of trauma
Depression
Anxiety
Disordered eating

Implementing the Individualized Treatment Plan

For each problem listed in the treatment plan, there is also a stated goal for the client’s treatment. Aligning with that goal, the individualized treatment plan specifies objectives and plans of implementation. Writing these out ahead of time provides the clinical team a guide to ensure that the client’s core issues are addressed throughout their time at MARR.

At the end of Phase I, the clinical team reviews the treatment plan with the client and assesses the progress that they see in meeting the client’s treatment goals. The treatment plan also serves as a point of reference for clinicians who interact with the client in the group or individual setting. Therapists leading groups or working with clients individually can use the treatment plan to ensure that the interventions they are using address the overall goals for the client’s stay in treatment.

Successfully and thoroughly addressing the issues that extend beyond substance abuse allows our clients to live a life of meaning and connection that they had not been capable of before treatment.

Expressive Therapy at MARR Expressive Therapy at MARR

Gardening as Expressive Therapy

Written by MARR on May 24, 2015. Posted in MARR Articles.

Expressive therapy, sometimes referred to as “experiential therapy”, is an approach to therapy that comes out of the holistic wellness model. By using physical and creative expressions like art, music, or play, expressive therapy helps clients to process emotions in a way that enhances and supports other forms of therapy that we provide at MARR like individual talk therapy, groups, and skill-based approaches.

Involving the physical body and creative expression allows clients an opportunity to work through emotions that they might not be able to in traditional talk therapy.

Gardening as a Recovery Tool

One of the ways that we implement expressive therapy at MARR is through our community vegetable gardens. Physically engaging with the life cycle of the plants facilitates a deep level of learning about the patterns of growth and development that translate into their lives outside of treatment.

Like gardening, recovery is a long, extended process that requires attention and care. It doesn’t happen overnight. It often involves setbacks and disappointments as well as moments of excitement and surprising growth. The patience required for both can be frustrating. This is particularly the case in the early days when there is not much to show for their efforts. Like the seed going into the soil, a new life in recovery starts from a humble place.

Through gardening, all of these lessons are learned deeper than one learns them by reading or hearing these metaphors. By getting their hands in the soil, our clients have an opportunity to learn these realities in a tactile way. The creative act of moving the dirt around puts them in touch with the pattern that all of life follows.

Normalizing the Process of Growth

One of the tricks that addiction plays is convincing the addict that their situation is absolutely unique to them. To counter this, the process of planting seeds and nurturing them as they grow allows our clients to physically experience that all the natural world follows the pattern of death and rebirth. They are not alone. The lessons they are learning through their struggles in early recovery are deeply tied to the pattern of life itself.

This daily activity of caring for something over the course of time carries a wealth of experience that translates into a life in recovery.

At MARR, the creative and expressive act of gardening is a therapeutic activity that allows our clients to work through and see the beauty of the rebirth they are experiencing in early recovery.

addiction treatment boundaries in recovery addiction treatment boundaries in recovery

Family Dynamics | Boundaries in Early Recovery

Written by MARR on April 27, 2015. Posted in MARR Articles, Resources.

Boundaries in Recovery: A Two-Way Street

Setting boundaries in recovery is essential. We often hear about the family members’ need to set boundaries. We don’t as often hear about the importance of this for people in early recovery.

It takes two people to make a codependent relationship. For this reason, boundaries are a two-way street. As part of our programming, we work with our clients on setting boundaries.

Family members become consumed by the addict’s emotional ups and downs. The addict learns that the variations in their emotional, mental, and physical state have a powerful effect on their loved ones.

The addict begins managing or reacting to their loved one’s concerns about them. This often leads to them hiding their addiction from their loved ones. It also frequently leads to fighting.

Boundaries Help Shame and Skill Building

Conflict with family members about their addiction contributes to a sense of shame for the addict. Healthy remorse about these actions can certainly help bring change. But shame is crippling and undermines recovery. Addiction has a way of writing a shame-based story. It traps the person within it. There is a time for making amends in recovery. Attempting to do so too early often becomes self-serving. Reconciliation is something the addict needs to build toward.

Codependent loved ones also become the “rescuer.” They pay debts. They bail the addict out. And they do whatever is needed to manage the consequences of the disease. The addict’s problem-solving skills and distress tolerance atrophy. They become overly dependent on their loved ones coming to the rescue.

One of the first steps for clients is learning to reach out to others beyond their codependent loved ones for help. They learn that they have other means of support during distress than counting on their family members to rescue them.

Boundaries Give Time to Heal

Family dynamics during early recovery are almost always strained. Clients want to “make things right” before they themselves have begun to heal.

By limiting contact with family members early on in treatment, we help our clients focus on their own recovery. This also allows family members the time to focus on their own emotional well-being.

The space created between the clients and their families during treatment often feels difficult for both parties. It can seem like they are not able to love or be available for their family members. However, we see this as a necessary break from the chaos of addiction.

This transition period gives both the clients and family members time to begin practicing healthy boundaries. Although difficult at times, this reorientation period can lay the foundation for healthier family dynamics in the years ahead.

A Heart for People

Written by MARR on January 8, 2014. Posted in MARR Articles, Resources. 2 Comments on A Heart for People

Keeping the spirit of volunteerism alive at MARR

There is an article on Facebook that has recently gone viral: 37 Things You’ll Regret When You’re Old by Mike Spohr. In the twentieth spot: ‘Not Volunteering Enough.’ Spohr writes that “nearing the end of one’s life without having helped to make the world a better place is a great source of sadness for many.” In fact, many people believe the best way to serve God is by serving others.

In the Beginning
Since its humble beginnings 40 years ago, MARR has remained close to the core values on which the organization was founded. One of MARR’s six guiding principles, People Come First, promotes a healthy and strong recovery community from within, including clients, families, alumni, staff and volunteers. Every person plays an important role in bringing lasting recovery to drug- and alcohol-addicted individuals. It’s a team effort.

Volunteers Make a Difference
From the time MARR came into existence in 1975, to where it stands today, volunteers have always been a vital part of the program. “Early on, MARR recognized the benefit of having volunteers join our clients in group therapy,” says CEO Guerry Dyes. “It’s a way for community members to understand the disease of addiction and for clients to break out of isolation.” The Junior League of Atlanta (JLA), an organization of women committed to promoting volunteer work, helped launch the volunteer division of MARR’s treatment facility. These individuals devoted themselves to offering love, tolerance and acceptance to the clients of MARR. They helped bring chemically dependent men and women out of seclusion and into connection with others.

While MARR strives to stay ahead of the curve in the educational arena of addiction treatment, the organization also stays true to its traditions and the recovery methods that have been proven effective for many years. This not only includes the 12-Step Program, the importance of spirituality and the value of the therapeutic community, but also the volunteers who have been such an integral part of MARR since the beginning. “Our volunteers are more than just individuals who give their time to help those who are struggling with addiction,” says Dyes. “They have a true heart for people. They keep the spirit of MARR alive.”

If you would like more information about how to become a volunteer, as well as our next volunteer training, please visit our Volunteers at MARR page. We appreciate your willingness to serve our recovery community!

MARR was named ‘Top 10 Places to Volunteer in Atlanta’ by GreatNonProfits.org! Read more.

From Our Volunteers

Stacee F.
My name is Stacee and I have been a volunteer at MARR since May 2008. I participate in the Men’s Spiritual Group at Peachtree Presbyterian Church on Monday evenings; Family Support Group and Family Spiritual Group, both on Tuesday evenings; and Men’s Spiritual Group at Tucker First United Methodist Church on Wednesday nights.

My son, Skylar, came to MARR as a client in October 2007. Because the organization had done so much for him, my husband and I wanted to give back; volunteering seemed the perfect thing to do. Then, Skylar overdosed and died just two weeks before volunteer training was to begin. I wasn’t sure if I should continue pursuing the volunteer path, but something gave me the courage to go. I now know that ‘something’ was God and Skylar.

Spending time with the clients, especially in the beginning but even today, helps me find answers to my son’s struggles that I would not have found otherwise. I better understand the disease of addiction and, more importantly, the loving souls within each of these tortured men and women. I also experienced my own recovery, though not a drug or alcohol addict. I learned how to live life on life’s terms and come to a place of acceptance. Clients allow me to share such an intimate part of their struggles and nurture their recovery in a way that satisfies my maternal instincts.

Aside from being a loving mother and wife, volunteering is the most important thing I have ever done. I have gained so much from my time at MARR and the extraordinary people I’ve met (staff and clients), including peace and serenity no matter what life may bring.

Terry F.
My name is Terry and I have been a MARR volunteer for more than four years. I participate primarily in Wednesday groups and activities, when the clients of the Men’s Recovery Center visit Camp Donnie Brown. When time permits, I also join the Men’s Spiritual Group at Peachtree Presbyterian Church on Monday evenings; Family Support Group and Family Spiritual Group on Tuesday nights; Men’s Spiritual Group at Tucker First United Methodist Church on Wednesday evenings; and the Grief Group at the Men’s Recovery Center on Thursday nights. I am also present during Family Week at MARR, when my wife, Stacee, shares her own story of family recovery.

The most unexpected thing to emerge from volunteering at MARR was the awareness of my own brokenness and culpability. When I read the AA Promises for the first time, I realized just how flawed my own life had become. I wanted the Promises for myself. Through this process, I have received the gift of honesty. I never imagined I could regain some sense of honor in my life.

I would recommend volunteerism to any and all individuals who express an interest, be it through MARR or wherever. The experience of giving back the gift you received yourself is priceless.

Service Work in Recovery
Bill W. and Dr. Bob, founders of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), created the entire Program of AA around service work, in addition to the 12 Steps, meetings, sponsorship and a connection with a Higher Power. Page 102 of the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous states, “Your job now is to be at the place where you may be of maximum helpfulness to others, so never hesitate to go anywhere if you can be helpful.” Thankfully, for those who suffer from the disease of addiction, there is a solution; recovering alcoholics/addicts are encouraged to give back that which has been so freely given to them by sharing their experience, strength and hope to the alcoholic/addict who still suffers. To AA’ers and other members of related fellowships, service work is more than just volunteerism—it’s their lifeline.MARR’s Volunteer Program is made up of people who are both in recovery and others who are not. The purpose of having volunteers is to help create a loving environment in which clients feel safe and accepted as they reconnect and recover from addiction. MARR believes lending a hand to another human being—and expecting nothing in return—is the true meaning of joy.