On March 15, NCPSG hosted a monthly Pathway Session on Transitional Recovery with Timmy Brooks of Synergy Houses, based in the Philadelphia area. During the session, Timmy shared his life story from prep school lacrosse star to facing 10 drug-related felonies and jail time. While he found support from his family, including his dad who has over 29 years of …
“This is going to hurt”. I realized the speeding car I was travelling in was not going to make the turn. Then impact! My good high school friend Carter and I connected with a large oak tree. The car flipped. Total chaos. Now everything was quiet. I remember in these moments of silence thinking “so this is what it’s like …
Life has been beautiful and sad and exciting and mundane. Starting in my early teens, I felt an intense inner sadness and a deep level of isolation. I had no desire to continue with my life. To self-medicate my pain, I turned to drugs and alcohol.Quickly, things got out of control. I began facing consequences and those closest to me …
Parents with loved ones struggling with mental health and addiction disorders face tremendous financial challenges, despite the mental health insurance parity laws that have been passed at both the state and national level. Insurance coverage varies by insurer, the specific plan, and the state. The appeals process for overturning denied claims differs as well. There are several organizations who for …
On February 15, NCPSG hosted a monthly Pathway Session on Collegiate Recovery Programs with Lisa Arnold of Fairfield University and Amy Boyd Austin of the University of Vermont. During the session, both Lisa and Arnold described how they’ve successfully led collegiate recovery programs which are the “gold standard” in their respective states. One key to these programs is they offer …
On Thursday, February 9 Attorney General Tong announced a Delta-8 THC crackdown, to try to rid Smoke Shops, gas stations and CBD Strores of all the impairing THC edible products catering to children. It’s a great start. Here is an example of a civil summons vs. a Mini Mart upstate. As we’ve discussed in previous blog posts including this one …
In late January, Francesca and I met with Brian Dolan, the new Director of SHU’s Collegiate Recovery Program (CRP), at the program office (4980 Park Avenue, Bridgeport). NCPSG has written about SHU’s program in the past, after it started up in 2019 with a big boost from Bill Mitchell of Mitchells of Westport. SHU’s CRP in 2019 was the “new …
On Wednesday, January 18, our support group hosted David Fiellin, MD of Yale in a virtual Pathway Session. Dr. Fiellin is the director of the Yale Program in Addiction Medicine. He’s a strong advocate for treating addiction in primary care settings and reducing the stigma of using medications to treat addiction. During his talk, David discussed the role medications can …
It was 4:30 a.m. on a cold January morning, I crept down the stairs of my 1927 center hall colonial praying that the creaky old house wouldn’t give away my departure. I could see the lights of the car that had just pulled up in front of the house, waiting for me. It was a scene that probably wasn’t unfamiliar …
Today, Tuesday January 10, marks to first day that marijuana can be sold through state-licensed retail outlets in CT. This is a sad day, in my opinion. Based on the legalization act, commercial enterprises will have the incentive to sell stronger, more-potent THC products to young adults and older members of the population. Therefore, the public health consequences will be …
