Creative Care Celebrates National Recovery Month September is National Recovery Month and Creative Care welcomes the opportunity to share our expertise and experience in an effort to increase awareness of an issue that affects all of us. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, over 20 million Americans were diagnosed with a substance use…
The Complicated Genetics Behind Substance Use Disorders Researchers at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine have begun to parse out the complicated genetic architecture that increases the risk of alcohol abuse and other types of addiction. By using the new genomic computational tool, H-MAGMA, combined with data from genome-wide association studies, Hyejung Won,…
Overdose Deaths on the Rise The CDC recently released drug overdose data from 2020 and highlighted some disturbing findings. 2020 saw 91,000 drug overdose deaths, an unprecedented 30% increase from 2019. However, overdose deaths increased by 44% among Black people and 39% among American Indian and Alaska Native people. Compare this to the 22% increase…
The Dangers of Medical Marijuana A recent article in the Harvard Gazette examines a new study by Massachusetts General Hospital linking medical marijuana use to an increased risk of substance use disorders (SUD). Moreover, the research also shows that individuals who use medical marijuana to alleviate symptoms of certain mental health conditions are at an…
CDC Highlights the Need for Dual Diagnosis Approach A recent article in The Hill examines the latest Morbidity and Mortality Report from the CDC. For their assessment, the CDC used 2019 NAVIPPRO data. The National Addictions Vigilance Intervention and Prevention Program (NAVIPPRO) Addiction Severity Index-Multimedia Version (ASI-MV) tool is a self-administered, computerized, structured clinical assessment…
Mindfulness as a Relapse Prevention Tool The topic of relapse is unavoidable when the recovery of co-occurring substance use disorders, and a strong relapse prevention plan is a pillar of successful dual diagnosis treatment. This week we will be looking at mindfulness as a relapse prevention tool via an analysis by F. Curtis Breslin, Martin…