Weyland Consultation Services

Why Whitney Houston? – A Profesional Reflection on Her Addiction

Weyland — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 17:35:46 +0000

Whitney Houston

WHY WHITNEY? -
A Reflection on Her Possible Addictions

Whitney Houston. Wow!
What can one say, another loss to perhaps addiction?

Certainly that is what is on most people’s minds and I would guess “how senseless it is” mirrors what most feel about it!

If in fact addiction is the culprit, and the associated lifestyle that typically accompanies it seems a fit.

.
Then how do we learn from Whitney Houstons ill fated ending.

Life has not so many lessons as the act of learning how to live our day to day lives, how to love one another, and how to die gracefully without leaving harm to our loved ones, but rather leaving a life enhancing message that increases the lives of our brothers and sisters.

A life lived that does not encumber but instead allows others to live more freely by the mistakes we offer and the lessons learned by virtue of mistakes made. These we pass on to our beloved so that may benefit from our mistakes and not make them also. Again, teaching them by how we lived and most importantly by how we chose to die.

Living life with both our eyes open with honesty as our guide may be a good place to begin, but surely it does not include a life masked by rampant substance use and abuse.

So I ask myself, how then are we to honor Whitney Houston’s death and so many like her as with substances no one is special or above the devastation that is part and parcel of addiction. Should it not be by bettering ourselves, and ending life with both our eyes open instead of at half mask?

What’s involved here and what’s the ‘take away’ for us as a society?

What does Whitney Houstons death do to increase our societal health? For if nothing positive comes of her passing, is it not made worse if we do nor learn nothing! When my mother died, I was surprised to see and thus learn that she was still teaching me by role modeling how to live even as she showed me how to die with grace and dignity which is what she did. I only hope I can do it with anything approaching the level of acceptance she showed. She had faith in a power she believed in with all of her heart and in fact could not wait to meet. As such her death was met with a kind of acceptance by all who knew and loved her. I suppose we were made stronger because of how died in all its facets without fear or any seeming sense of wanting more on this plane. She was you see ready to go and had been for some time.

Not so Whitney, I suspect this was not her plan for the day she died. In fact I suspect as most of us do she lived life as though it will go on forever. Thus even those who were close to Ms. Huston were not ready although many would say they saw it coming they still are amazed that this has happened and will say things like “how could this have happened”? So, each time this happens it is both sad and disheartening. Yet I cannot help but feeling that other than signing songs and remembering how great (if being a known iconic figure makes you great then I suppose she was) these people are I fear noting will change regarding what took them from us so early and in an in such an untimely manner!

When substance use took Michael Jackson, I thought “when does it end”. I thought what if anything can I do beside mourn helplessly on the sidelines as it were. Well in this case I am doing something else. I am at least making my voice heard, and expressing my extreme sense of loss and sickening sense of helplessness at the ravages of addiction. Addiction takes hold of life and seeks to destroy it and everything close to it. In Whitney’s case there is a child and family that must find a way to muster on.

If Whitney Houston’s loss will empower someone else to fight this illness with a greater degree of fervor then maybe that’s enough. Or better stated perhaps it’s just a good start as this thing needs to be eradicated.

There seems to have developed a level of societal comfort or perhaps acceptance of this illness as one of the things we just have to live with. Yet I must ask does it have to be this way, well I hope not? While I don’t know the answer I do know we can only improve on the mega losses we are experiencing in this supposed war on drugs. A fight we do not know how to wager, nor have even a beginning sense of how to win!

How then do we go forward, and what if anything do we hope to accomplish and who shall lead us. I feel rudderless and sorely at a loss as to how to proceed, for surely before the day is a host of people not as well known as Ms. Houston will fall prey to this madness. Mothers, fathers, and sisters and brothers will cry foul at the seeming incredulity of their loss to something so lacking in meaning or import that it renders the loss to a level of despair that knows no bounds.

I confess that I don’t know the answer of what to do especially when many believe we are fighting a war that cannot be won because it is literally interwoven into the financial stability of our world society. If that is even remotely true then we are truly undone and will continue to watch helplessly as we die meaningless lives because we have not learned the simple lesson of living life from a place of acceptance which means we no longer have to turn to drugs to manage our fears of the act of living life wholly and awake for every moment.

We are literally dying as witnessed by Whitney’s loss…

If you are endowed with even an idea that might take us in the right direction then would you be as kind as to speak up. There has to be some form of redemption or maybe the idea would be some form of worldly answer to these all too frequent events. They are becoming happenstance you see, not the irregular, but rather they are becoming as common place as turning on one’s computer it’s just a part of our daily landscape. For you see the stars we hear about by no means account for all those who are not famous whom we never hear about that die daily or in some cases on an hourly basis!

I am sorry as the article has no answer to offer and for not doing so is somewhat depressing. Yet I have nothing positive to say, nor do I know of any effort that is underway that will change these all too frequent events.

I will leave you with this thought. This fight is not someone else’s fight but rather it is a challenge to all of us. For all of us at some point or another has been and will be affected by addiction. So we must all take up the charge and perhaps by banding together we will bring enough resources to this battle to overwhelm our enemies and take back our communities and kick out the monsters who cavalierly bring this stuff to the metaphorical table of our lives.

Oh and to the question of Why Whitney?

Well the answer is, Why not Whitney! This is after all an equal opportunistic monster ‘ADDICTION’ who cares not who it takes, but rather just that it keeps taking.

——————————————————————————–
Fred Wade holds both National and State certifications as an addictions counselor. He has worked in the field of addiction since the mid 80’s, having worked in both inpatient and outpatient settings. He is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Weyland Consultation Services which specializes in outpatient treatment of addictive disorders for adults and adolescent males and females. Weyland Consultation Services is located in Walnut Creek California, and serves the greater San Francisco Bay Area.

Weyland Consultation Services offers a Discreet and Confidential Intervention and Outpatient Alcohol and Drug and Treatment Programs for adults and adolescents in the greater San Francisco Bay Area. With their office in Walnut Creek they serve the Cities of Walnut Creek, Danville, San Ramon, Alamo, Lafayette, Moraga, Pleasanton as well as the greater San Francisco bay Area of California.

Weyland Consultation Services
Walnut Creek Addiction and Recovery
2930 Camino Diablo, Suite 110
Walnut Creek, CA 94597
(Serving the greater San Francisco Bay Area)
Phone: (925) 945-7816 ext. 41
Website: http://www.weylandservices.com
Website: http://www.weylanddetoxservices.com
Website: http://www.weylandinterventionservices.com
Email: info@weylandservices.com

When Hope Is Not Enough, by Fred Wade
- C.A.S., R.A.S. Certified Addition Counselor
This book provides families reference points to refer to when and if an alcohol or chemical abuse problem were to arise with someone they love. It will provide a framework for thinking about and responding to alcohol and chemical abuse problems, as well as a means to finding answers to many unique situations.

Staying Sober During the Holidays

Weyland — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 23:26:44 +0000

Staying Sober During the Holidays

Holidays are one of the most prevalent times for people (especially people in recovery) to hurt themselves and loved ones by relapsing.

How typical is it to abuse substances during the holiday season.

Well it seems it’s one of the most prevalent times for people (especially people in recovery) to hurt themselves and loved ones by relapsing. Holidays afford us time to meet with and spend time with family, or at least that is the idea. Somehow this does not always work out, in fact many report horrid memories of time spent with family around the holiday seasons. If not that it causes us to come together with people we have perhaps had lifelong issues that yet remain unresolved.

So it is a time people in recovery must plan for and think about what they need to successfully negotiate these times of high stress. I would like to offer some tips on ways you might go about taking care of you or supporting a loved one who is in recovery to care for them.

First think about what you are going to integrate into the season that keeps you involved in your program of recovery. Will you see your sponsor, go to a few meetings, write in your journal, or all of the above. No matter what you do if you have a plan you most assuredly fair better in getting through the season clean and sober.

For those of you who tend to make a New Year’s resolution I recommend that you make instead a ‘Before Holiday Resolution’. In other words make a resolution to become or remain sober and find someone to be accountable to for the success of your resolution. The following are some simple tips to follow. I would encourage you to remember this, that not the tips but the act of planning to stay sober will have the greatest impact on your being successful.

• People who plan to stay sober do just that, stay sober, because they planned their day around that outcome. Try it, you will find it very helpful in staying on course.

• Thoughts that are relapse leaning should be shared with as many people as possible who have a vested interest in your staying sober. The more people you tell who care and understand recovery the less likely you are to use. Transparency is the great killer of cravings!

• One of the most helpful things you can do for yourself is to stop focusing on you and try to help someone else. Nothing will empower you to remain clean and sober than the act of getting into some form of service to others and letting go of you. I think you will also find it refreshing.

• Make a list of what you have to be grateful for as opposed to focusing on what you don’t have. This perspective also will underscore your seeing a reason to fight one more day for sobriety.

• Let go of yesterday and stay out of tomorrow, both of which are no longer where the bulk of your focus should be. You truly can only live one day at a time. Stay in the moment and you will be present for what is actually happening in your life as opposed to what happened, or what you think may happen, which are out of your realm of impact. It is today where you can have some true impact on your life and the life of others by what you do today and how you live your life today. Set an example for living in the moment and you will have done one good deed for today.

These thoughts are not meant to be all inclusive, but rather to act as a beginning template for thoughts that may be of use to you as you negotiate the holidays. Take a stab at making your own list and be willing to share it with someone else who may benefit from your thoughts. From all of us at Weyland Consultation Services we wish you good cheer and safe tidings as you safely go through the ins and outs of the holidays ahead. Remember you’re a winner if you choose to win, so choose!

Fred Wade holds both National and State certifications as an addictions counselor. He has worked in the field of addiction since the mid 80’s, having worked in both inpatient and outpatient settings. He is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Weyland Consultation Services which specializes in outpatient treatment of addictive disorders for adults and adolescent males and females. Weyland Consultation Services is located in Walnut Creek California, and serves the greater San Francisco Bay Area.

Weyland Consultation Services – Discreet and Confidential Outpatient Alcohol & Drug Treatment serving the San Francisco Bay Area, including the Cities of Walnut Creek, Danville, San Ramon, Alamo, Lafayette, Moraga, and Pleasanton California.

Weyland Consultation Services
Walnut Creek Addiction and Recovery
2930 Camino Diablo, Suite 110
Walnut Creek, CA 94597
(Serving the greater San Francisco Bay Area)
Phone: (925) 945-7816 ext. 41
Website: http://www.weylandservices.com
Website: http://www.weylanddetoxservices.com
Website: http://www.weylandinterventionservices.com
Email: info@weylandservices.com

Book Excerpts

Why Use Weyland as Your Alcohol and Drug Treatment Provider

vantage — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 16:33:18 +0000

Our Mission Statement captures it all.

WEYLAND MISSION STATEMENT

It is also our goal to help you understand and deal with the problematic behaviors, beliefs, feelings and long-term consequences of substance use. To this end, we bring an array of tried and true clinical skills to underscore your recovery from substance abuse. It is our primary goal to always be accessible and prepared to offer the highest standard of care possible.PHILOSOPHY

While we know that addiction negatively impacts the very fabric of our society. We also know that addiction is a treatable problem from which people are recovering daily. When you seek counseling from us, one of the greatest gifts we have to offer is our core belief in your ability to get better.

This Mission Statement does really capture not only how we think about treating substance use disorders, it more importantly lends clarity to how we think about and value our clientele. It is our belief that people who suffer with substance use problems can be helped while treated with dignity and respect as all human beings deserve no matter the situation they have gotten themselves into. Addiction is one of the only fields in the healing arts that appear to typically treat its clients as though they are guilty until proven innocent!

Well here is a specific area in which we differ greatly. We see the lies that are told by addicts and other such behaviors as just a part of the illness and not a personal assault, as seems to be the response of many providers who work with this population. Why is this important, well in large part because it allows our clients to feel safe enough to open up with us thereby increasing the needed engagement that will support and incite the change required to bring about the emotional and psychological environment in which recovery will flourish.

Just as addiction is seen by us as a relational issue so too is recovery. The relationship between provider and client is the core element of all success and failure in the treatment of addiction. It is for this reason that we use the concept of engagement in understanding the needs and underpinnings of recovery.

We believe that engagement is commensurate to change as love is to sustaining a good relationship. Without love no relationship will ever truly be satisfying nor will it have the foundation to go the distance. Well, this is also true of recovery. Without a foundation of engagement and connection, the treatment process will eventually falter, and most likely end if there is no connection that binds it and incites both the client and provider to show up on a daily basis to try again and again until such time as they finally succeed.

So with all our hearts and a firm belief in there always being a chance for redemption we offer all of our client’s unconditional regard as it relates to their ability to bring about change in their lives. We sincerely believe that our belief in our clients as well as our ability and desire to have a real foundation of engagement make our potential for success all the more viable.

It is with this belief at the heart of all that we do that the installation of hope comes into fruition. Lending itself to helping our clients to risk to begin to believe in themselves again, probably for the first time in years. Without this fledgling belief they will not stay the course that might allow them to achieve recovery someday. So you see, it is no small thing and is equally necessary to the process of change as is engagement.

Give us a chance and we will treat you in the manner you deserve, for the simple act of trying to get sober, for we have not lost sight of what the act of trying means and how courageous it is to take the first step. After you take that step we will take it from there by acknowledging that your thought and ideas about your situation should be listened to.

We will not act as though we know more about you than you. In fact we will attempt to create an environment in which we learn from you even as we attempt with you to find a path to recovery that is unique to your specific needs. We will not create or take a one size fits all approach with you or your family. We will remember that your story is yours and not someone that came before you.

Ours will be an approach that assures one thing which is that we are working with you rather than an idea of you fostered by an industry wide standard approach for treating addiction. When you come to Weyland we welcome you to a treatment plan built around you and your specific needs which by definition increases our chance of success.

We look forward to meeting you and learning all that you will teach us as you seek to create your pathway to recovery and a better life.Author:

Fredrick Wade, CAS, RAS
Certified Addiction Specialist
Registered Addiction Specialist

Weyland Consultation Services offers Substance Addiction Assessment Services as well as Discreet and Confidential Intervention and Outpatient Alcohol and Drug and Treatment Programs for adults and adolescents in the greater San Francisco Bay Area. With their office in Walnut Creek they serve the Cities of Walnut Creek, Danville, San Ramon, Alamo, Lafayette, Moraga, Pleasanton as well as the greater San Francisco bay Area of California.

Book Excerpts

SUBSTANCE ADDICTION ASSESSMENT

Weyland — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 15:38:49 +0000

SUBSTANCE ADDICTION ASSESSMENT SCREENING

The purpose of a Substance Addiction Assessment in any situation is to better understand how a thing works and or perhaps what its needs are. When we are talking about addiction assessments help us to better understand the proper level of care for a person based on their presenting use patterns. It also helps us to have a beginning understanding of any medical or mental health issues that may interfere with our ability to help the person we are trying to serve.

COMPRENENSIVE SUBSTANCE ADDICTION ASSESSMENT

With their office in Walnut Creek they serve the Cities of Walnut Creek, Danville, San Ramon, Alamo, Lafayette, Moraga, Pleasanton as well as the greater San Francisco bay Area of California.

No One, and I mean no one should enter treatment without an assessment screening to help the treatment provider grasp the clinical needs, treatment approaches to be employed, and how much the person is vested in getting sober for them. It is crucial to creating a possible treatment plan that is really specific to the person with whom you are working now versus a boxed one size fits all approach to treatment.

These concerns are at the very root of the beginning of a treatment episode that is based on understanding the person with whom you are working, and to what extent you can help them. And, how best to provide treatment to them will be an outgrowth of this information. So, if we ideally agree that there is a consistent need for an introductory assessment to properly plan treatment and author how best to bring it about.

Then we should also agree that the process of assessment and engagement should continue throughout the treatment episode if we want to have any real chance of success. And success in this situation is imperative because a literal life is at stake if you believe as I do that one of addictions primary goals is to put you to sleep ‘for keeps”. After all addiction in its most primal presentation is about checking out correct, well then it follows that the ultimate goal of addiction is to finally once and for all check out for good. Thus we never take our eye off the ball so to speak, and we continue to assess what is happening and what is needed to afford us the greatest chance for a successful treatment outcome.

Here at Weyland it is our primary belief that a key component of the assessment process is that of Engagement. For the client who is not engaged will not benefit from your services or overtures of support. So, not only do we continue to assess our clients’ needs, we also continue the process of engagement as well thereby assuring that on some level our client will have a greater potential of buying into what is being done or offered to him or her.

One of the core issues of addiction is ambivalence. If you agree with me that this is so then you will also see the need for ongoing engagement and how it plays a primary role in keeping your client involved and active in his or her treatment. Being a passive participant (often an outgrowth of ambivalence) in addiction treatment will not cut it. People die from this illness and since that is so we cannot be passive as providers and must not allow our clients the skewed luxury of passivity in their engagement in getting the help they so desperately need.

So, we assess and engage, and we don’t stop till treatment ends. We never stop doing so, for to do so could cost someone their life and allow addiction to win as opposed to recovery. Recovery and reengagement with our society as productive members of that society is our goal. The goal of addiction is to end lives, literally. Our goals are to save lives, and not let the addictive process win. So we stay vigilant by continuing to assess client needs and how best to provide those needed services, as well as continuing to help our clients remain active participants in their own treatment by ongoing Engagement.

Author: Fredrick Wade, CAS, RAS
Certified Addiction Specialist
Registered Addiction Specialist

Weyland Consultation Services offers Substance Addiction Assessment Services as well as Discreet and Confidential Intervention and Outpatient Alcohol and Drug and Treatment Programs for adults and adolescents in the greater San Francisco Bay Area. With their office in Walnut Creek they serve the Cities of Walnut Creek, Danville, San Ramon, Alamo, Lafayette, Moraga, Pleasanton as well as the greater San Francisco bay Area of California.

Book Excerpts

Changes in Alcohol and Drug Treatment

vantage — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 17:02:28 +0000

Outcome Changes in Alcohol and Drug Treatment

High Bottom VS Low Bottom

I’d like to think we are more advanced today than ever before when it comes to getting people sober. It was an outgrowth of this very hope that the terms High Bottom vs Low Bottom originated.

What they are about is the idea or hope that we can get people into recovery with less consequences than ever before. The concept that people needed to almost die or lose everything and everyone of value to them to get sober is no longer true. I for one think this is wonderful and that it also speaks to the efforts of many fields/ and disciplines of endeavor that bring us to this point in time and state of being.

It is truly the blending of many modalities, such as psychiatry, general medical practitioners being more aware and catching things during general office visits, and a greater sense of what to look for than ever before that is allowing us to be more cutting edge in our approaches which in turn has supported all disciplines to work more collaboratively thereby creating a greater container for this population than ever before.

We therefore have a greater understanding and know that when addiction is at play we should always rule out possible psychiatric issues that may attend the substance use disorder. This way if someone is Dual Diagnosed (Addiction & a Primary Psychiatric issue), that suffers with a substance use and co-occurring psychiatric disorder we are more apt to catch this reality sooner than later. By so doing we bring relief to our patient because we are more informed of their needs and make good clinical decisions at the outset as opposed to finding out later and trying to play catch up.

I reference all of this because these are the very things that allow for that higher bottom while decreasing the incidence of psychological and physiological damage resulting from long term alcohol and drug addiction. It is also nice to note that we are adjunctively experiencing a lower incidence of legal problems or so called social norm violations especially among younger ages ranging from 17 – 23 years of age.

All of these factors point to the repeated assertion that treatment works and that more people are positively impacted by having sought treatment than not having done so. The purpose of this opinion article is not to make a case for treatment as I think that has already been done. Rather it is to highlight the ongoing need for ever increasing methods to make getting into treatment more accessible for he or she who does not have insurance or monetary support for treatment.

We need also to look at more eclectic methods of funding treatment programs as well as more government sponsored options again increasing accessibility for all who are need of a basic treatment options to the more complex Dual Diagnosed treatment settings those with primary mental health disorders.

At Weyland Consultation Services we believe that without a aggressive understanding and approach to creating accessibility for patients more people are left in harm’s way than not. For this reason we do all we can to work with people to make our services as accessible as possible so that we never have to turn anyone away if humanly possible. It is our core belief that if the person wants help, it’s our job to provide it.

We do this with an eye toward what works for our potential patient and that which will work for us. In so doing we hope to find that somewhat happy medium that allows all of us to work together in helping all who need it to get some form of help. The moment the process of help is initiated the potential for a higher bottom is realized.

Author: Fredrick Wade, CAS, RAS
Certified Addiction Specialist
Registered Addiction Specialist

Book Excerpts

Alcohol and Drug Addiction Interventions for Executives

vantage — Fri, 20 May 2011 18:24:49 +0000

ALCOHOL AND DRUG ADDICTION INTERVENTIONS FOR EXECUTIVES

Business Executives with a Chemical Dependency will begin to under function in variety of ways, often experiencing a loss of creativity and productivity.

Alcohol and other Drug Addiction is a life threatening illness that impacts every aspect of a Business Executive’s life, destroying relationships, negatively affecting one’s vocation, causing long-term health problems and destroying dreams while eating away at one’s resolve to seek help.

Chemical dependency is also an illness of ambivalence that will thwart a Business Executive’s efforts and desire to take action.

Business Executives with a Chemical Dependency will begin to under function in a variety of ways that nevertheless have some specific outcomes that are often experienced as a loss of creativity and productivity.

Drug Addiction Interventions for Executives are specifically designed for Senior Managers who have developed destructive habits resulting from alcohol or other drug abuse.

Weyland Consultation Services provides Orchestrated Alcohol and Drug Interventions with the specific goal of getting the identified abuser into treatment. It is their belief that such services should only be employed when a qualified counselor has made the assessment that it is the only option left for the business and/or family.

When performing an Executive Drug Addiction Intervention, many of the same steps are employed when working with families, but instead of family members as participants, often selected Senior Management and colleagues form the intervention team. It is important to note that when indicated the Executive’s family may be involved if the interventionist and team members think it will positively impact the intervention outcome.

DISCREET AND CONFIDENTIAL
Because of the exceptional need for privacy in these Drug Intervention situations, a strategy of discretion and confidentiality would be custom tailored for the Executive’s particular situation.

Businesses and families are typically afraid, and at their wits end when they decide that they are in need of an Executive Drug Intervention. It is the job of the trained interventionist to clinically assess both the need for an intervention, and when indicated, the levels of intervention that will best serve.

Weyland’s approach to an Executive Intervention is generally a less restrictive and certainly a less intrusive intervention approach, as well as entertains the idea that there are often intermediate or gradations of intervention strategies that may be employed.

Weyland prides itself on providing intervention services and ongoing Outpatient Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment Services that are custom tailored to the needs of the Executive’s situation. Their Interventions are performed with an eye toward avoiding additional harm to the dependent person, their work environment and family.

Weyland Consultation Services specializes in designing treatment programs that address the values and beliefs of the people they serve, thereby increasing their ability to engage and participate as active collaborants in their treatment. This open ended and person specific approach has proved to be a strong deterrent to behavioral and chemical relapse.

With the experiential knowledge they have gained from working with many Executives over the years, Weyland has created Drug Intervention and Rehabilitation Programs that are inviting, easily accessible, and that fit into an Executives life in such a way as to make coming into treatment more palatable.

INDIVIDUALIZED TREATMENT PLANS
Weyland Consultation Services prides itself on creating individualized Discrete Outpatient Alcohol and Drug Treatment Plans when needed to meet Executives specific needs. There are times when the requirements of career and/or family just won’t allow the Executive to fit into one of their pre–designed plans. In such cases, they will thoroughly discuss and professionally evaluate the particular situation to make every attempt to create a plan to meet the unique needs. More importantly they are designed to encompass your values and beliefs as an intrinsic part of how they provide services.

With entirely Individualized Intervention and Rehabilitation Programs there is not a specific cost applied. Therefore, the cost of these services will be defined by their various service rates and what treatment is required.

Weyland Consultation Services offers a Discreet and Confidential Intervention and Outpatient Alcohol and Drug and Treatment Programs for adults and adolescents in the greater San Francisco Bay Area. With their office in Walnut Creek they serve the Cities of Walnut Creek, Danville, San Ramon, Alamo, Lafayette, Moraga, Pleasanton as well as the greater San Francisco bay Area of California.

Book Excerpts

Weyland Consultation Services – Discrete Outpatient Alcohol & Drug Treatment

Weyland — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 01:21:11 +0000

Weyland Consultation Services
Discrete Outpatient Alcohol & Drug Treatment

Weyland Consultation Services - Discreet and Confidential Outpatient Alcohol & Drug Treatment serving the San Francisco Bay Area, including the Cities of Walnut Creek, Danville, San Ramon, Alamo, Lafayette, Moraga, and Pleasanton California.

Weyland Consultation Services offers a discreet and confidential outpatient drug and alcohol treatment alternative for adults and adolescents in the greater San Francisco Bay Area. With their office in Walnut Creek they serve the Cities of Walnut Creek, Danville, San Ramon, Alamo, Lafayette, Moraga, Pleasanton as well as the greater San Francisco bay Area of California.Weyland Consultation Services utilizes a Cognitive Behavioral approach to substance use disorders, providing a compassionate and individualized treatment approach to recovery that is specifically tailored to their needs.

Weyland Consultation Services specializes in designing treatment programs that address the values and beliefs of the people they serve, thereby increasing their ability to engage and participate as active collaborants in their treatment. This open ended and person specific approach has proved to be a strong deterrent to behavioral and chemical relapse.

Weyland Consultation Services are found to be particularly successful with the following populations:
• Those new to recovery
• Those with a chronic relapse history
• Those desiring discreet treatment founded on respect for who you are
• Those who seek an alternative to the one size fits all approach

Learn about our Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) A multifaceted, comprehensive and highly individualized program designed to help individuals address chemical dependency issues while remaining in their homes.

Book Excerpts

When Hope Is Not Enough!

Weyland — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 20:46:45 +0000

When Hope Is Not Enough!
A Response to a Substance Abuse Problem.

This book provides families reference points to refer to when and if an alcohol or chemical abuse problem were to arise with someone they love. It will provide a framework for thinking about and responding to alcohol and chemical abuse problems, as well as a means to finding answers to many unique situations.

Families all over the world, each and every day are confronting the full blown or developing chemical abuse problem of someone they love.

What should they do and how should they cope?

While the answer to this question is as varied as the situations that you may encounter when dealing with a substance use disorder, there are some concrete responses one may take.

In the book ‘When Hope Is Not Enough!’, Fred Wade will provide a framework for thinking about and responding to these substance abuse problems when they arise, as well as a means to finding answers to your unique situation.

Fred Wade will also provide families’ reference points to refer to when and if such a substance abuse problem were to arise with someone they love.

He hopes with this book to lend to you a framework to what you are seeing and how you might most effectively respond to various substance use disorders.

All of the information in this book, that in his opinion is of real value, he learned from all the clients he has worked with over the past 25 yrs and literally over a thousand clients and their families

One of the things that he finds most painful to watch is the befuddlement, fear, anger, shame, and sadness of families when dealing with a loved one who is abusing substances.

The families desire to make sense of what they are seeing and experiencing can reach incredible levels of desperation.

Families often have no concept or prior experience by which to understand the addict, and therefore have no means by which to have hope in a situation that often appears hopeless. Or, they unfortunately have all too much experience with such problems and historically have not been able to intervene, and have helplessly watched as someone they care dearly for succumbs to the progressive ravages of the addictive cycle.

Fred Wade will also address in this book the signs and symptoms of abuse in adults and adolescents. Fred will review and perhaps more importantly provide some tools that families may employ to care for themselves, in addition to some thoughts and direction about how to interact with the addicted person.

Families will learn how to define appropriate boundaries when dealing with a loved one who is substance dependent.

‘When Hope Is Not Enough!’ will provide information about choosing an addictions therapist or treatment program when needed, and what you should ideally look for while exploring the use of Orchestrated Interventions, their efficacy, when to use and interventionist, and how one might best choose one.

Obviously this book cannot entertain or anticipate all of the experiences you may encounter when dealing with an addicted person, nor the multitude of questions you may have as a result of your unique experience.

This book should not be seen as a replacement for the use of a qualified addictions counselor, or face to face consultation. Rather, I would encourage you to see it as a resource that you may refer to when needed, or as a tool to help the family until they can consult a qualified addictions counselor, therapist, or physician.

Dealing with addiction on any level can be a horrific experience and is not something you would wish for anyone. However, the journey to recovery despite the pain that is caused by the addictive process can bring about gains and growth for families that are not readily seen or anticipated.

Whatever the case, Fred Wade wishes you and your family the very best, and hope that this book will provide you with some clarity, psychological and emotional surcease, as well as useful information in this your time of need.

When Hope Is Not Enough!
by Fredrick Wade
C.A.S., R.A.S.
Certified Addiction CounselorA framework for responding to a substance abuse problem.

Fred Wade holds both National and State certifications as an addictions counselor. He has worked in the field of addiction since the mid 80’s, having worked in both inpatient and outpatient settings. He is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Weyland Consultation Services which specializes in outpatient treatment of addictive disorders for adults and adolescent males and females. Weyland Consultation Services is located in Walnut Creek California, and serves the greater San Francisco Bay Area.

Chapter 1 – I Think Somethings wrong!

Weyland — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 15:58:07 +0000

In the work of treating addictions a variety of treatment modalities are employed by providers.

When Hope Is Not Enough!

Chapter One (Excerpt)

I Think Somethings Wrong!

How do we know when someone is drug addiction, an alcohol abuse or another chemical dependency problem?
Well, the answer is we don’t.

Unless there is a historical precedent with associated behaviors to inform us of something being askew, we have no reason to even suspect a substance abuse problem. Yet, we know our loved ones and can certainly notice when things seem out of sorts.

Over time, even the most trusting person will notice when things become so behaviorally erratic that they can no longer ignore what they are seeing.

You find that you no longer feel comfortable writing off what you’re seeing, or experiencing as just another bad day at work or school.

Perhaps you begin to find things such as hidden alcohol bottles, drug paraphernalia or pill bottles.

Someone outside the family asks “what is wrong with him or her?”

You eventually ask your loved one if they’re okay, and they respond with anger, or simply question your questioning them.

You feel as if they did not answer or address your question, or to put it more aptly, you feel they avoided your question.

People have told me that at this point they began to wonder if the person might be having an affair!
Well, in a sense they are!

It is certainly accurate to say that they are focused on something other than you and the family. This is because they are beginning to have, or develop, a primary relationship with something outside the family. In this case however it is most likely an object (drugs or alcohol) or an event (gambling, pornography, sexual acting out, etc.) with which they are developing a relationship.

Here we come to the heart of the problem and the beginning of one of the worst nightmares a family may encounter.

We sense, or in many cases know there is a problem, and have reason to suspect that it is drugs or alcohol.

What do we do?

To whom do we turn?

How should we interact with the person while seeking a way to cope with this unfolding family crisis?

What’s helpful, and what are some of the things we should not do that may be harmful to our hopes of intervening?

While there are no right answers as each situation is unique unto itself, there are some steps to be taken once we are assured that we are dealing with a drug or alcohol problem.

Weyland Consultation Services
Discrete Outpatient Alcohol & Drug Treatment

Chapter 2 – The Mind of an Addict

Weyland — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 16:44:28 +0000

In the work of treating addictions a variety of treatment modalities are employed by providers.

When Hope Is Not Enough!

Chapter Two (Excerpt)

The Mind of an Addict

It is most useful for us to begin by reviewing what is a substance use, abuse, or dependence problem before we even attempt to respond to it.

The following excerpt was taken from a bibliography written by David Hazen in 1993. Mr. Hazen describes chemical dependency as follows,

“Chemical Dependency (alcoholism and drug addiction) is the compulsively repeated alteration of brain chemistry by means of a toxin (drugs or alcohol) in order to produce temporary relief from frustration, grief, or pain quickly without changing the thoughts or behavior that cause these negative feelings.”

I find this to be a good description of chemical dependency that omits only two things:

• The first being that the dependent person develops a relationship with his or her substance of choice.
• The addicted person has had what they would describe as positive experiences with chemical use, that had nothing to do with seeking relief from frustration, grief, or pain.

Thus, when attempting to separate the person from their drug of choice it is crucial that the relational implications of their abuse or dependence is considered and incorporated into our efforts to intervene. Their motivation to change, as well as their view of themselves has been effected by the relationship they now have with their substance.

The abuser will often continue to have varying levels of positive regard for their substance use intermixed with their disillusionment with it.

This is pertinent information that will help you understand and anticipate how the addict may respond to the varying types of interventions that may be employed now and in the future. Here things get a little tricky because what I am asking you to do is to be non-confrontational of their internalized positive ideas about their drug of choice.

Do not get caught up in the struggle of trying to get them to see the error of their thinking regarding this and other similar issues at this juncture. After all, in order for someone to become addicted to something, they must have derived some real or imagined pleasure from it, especially in the earlier periods of use.

To argue such issues at this juncture is foolhardy and wasteful in terms of what we are attempting to do. Rather, let us focus our attention and the attention of the addict on the obvious (here and now) harm caused by their drug of choice.

No matter your response to this issue the point is to not get stuck or side tracked by concerns or behaviors that are not immediately relevant to initiating change.

The addicted person has, or is developing a maladaptive relationship with a mood altering substance. And this relationship has or is becoming a primary relationship.

The importance of understanding it as a primary relationship is that we can therefore anticipate that the person will take steps to protect this relationship. While this may fly in the face of common sense given the pain that the addictive process causes, we must remember that to attempt to view this situation through the lens of normalcy is to misread and misunderstand the problem from the outset.

Once you have established that you are dealing with a chemical abuse or dependence problem, and are agreed that there are relational components to this problem, we are ready to begin the discussion of how to respond.

Weyland Consultation Services
Discrete Outpatient Alcohol & Drug Treatment

Weyland Consultation Services

Why Whitney Houston? – A Profesional Reflection on Her Addiction

WHY WHITNEY? - A Reflection on Her Possible Addictions

Whitney Houston. Wow! What can one say, another loss to perhaps addiction?

Staying Sober During the Holidays

Why Use Weyland as Your Alcohol and Drug Treatment Provider

SUBSTANCE ADDICTION ASSESSMENT

SUBSTANCE ADDICTION ASSESSMENT SCREENING

COMPRENENSIVE SUBSTANCE ADDICTION ASSESSMENT

With their office in Walnut Creek they serve the Cities of Walnut Creek, Danville, San Ramon, Alamo, Lafayette, Moraga, Pleasanton as well as the greater San Francisco bay Area of California.

Changes in Alcohol and Drug Treatment

Outcome Changes in Alcohol and Drug Treatment

High Bottom VS Low Bottom

Alcohol and Drug Addiction Interventions for Executives

Weyland Consultation Services – Discrete Outpatient Alcohol & Drug Treatment

Weyland Consultation Services Discrete Outpatient Alcohol & Drug Treatment

When Hope Is Not Enough!

When Hope Is Not Enough! A Response to a Substance Abuse Problem.

Chapter 1 – I Think Somethings wrong!

When Hope Is Not Enough!

Chapter One (Excerpt)

I Think Somethings Wrong!

Chapter 2 – The Mind of an Addict

When Hope Is Not Enough!

Chapter Two (Excerpt)

The Mind of an Addict

WHY WHITNEY? -
A Reflection on Her Possible Addictions

Whitney Houston. Wow!
What can one say, another loss to perhaps addiction?

Weyland Consultation Services
Discrete Outpatient Alcohol & Drug Treatment

When Hope Is Not Enough!
A Response to a Substance Abuse Problem.