International Overdose Awareness Day: Get Involved
International Overdose Awareness Day has been observed since it was founded in Australia in 2001. Overdose, both fatal and non-fatal, is one of the world’s worst and most baffling public health crises. It occurs when the body ingests more of a drug, including alcohol, than it can process, leading to an overload of its systems. […]
Case Study of a Young Adult’s Journey From Crisis to Achievement
This is the case study of an 18-year-old transgender male client living in South Florida who entered into his first residential stay in treatment immediately upon discharge from a local hospital where he’d admitted himself voluntarily four days prior due to significantly increased depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation over the previous month. Client presented as […]
Ambien Is Effective, but Is It Safe?
Insomnia is a symptom rather than a disease or a stand-alone diagnosis, affecting up to 50 percent of the population. The Sleep Management Institute points out that women are affected by insomnia more often than men, partly due to the often-excessive responsibilities of home, family, and work. Counting sheep to no avail is a serious problem in […]
Meet Keli Karbowski, Director of Quality Assurance
Tell us a little about your background and what inspired you to pursue the career you have today I have always been interested in psychology and helping others from a very young age. I began my career in inpatient hospital settings where I had the opportunity to work in various roles and grow into leadership […]
Drug Use and Mental Illness
A co-occurring illness, also known as a dual diagnosis, is when someone has a substance use disorder (SUD) and a mental illness. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, close to 50 percent of people with a mental illness or SUD will have a co-occurring disorder at some point. Dual diagnoses are common, but […]
Meet Bridgette Fong, Clinical Director
What brought you to the field of addiction and mental health treatment? When I was in high school, I enrolled in a psychology class as an elective and ended up being fascinated with everything I learned. As I furthered my college education, I became more interested in working with children; I then began my internship at […]
OCD 101: The Signs and Symptoms of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a mental disorder affecting around 2.3% of the population characterized by experiencing overwhelming obsessions, which lead to repetitive compulsions completed to provide the sufferer with temporary relief from the obsession. The exact cause of OCD is still unknown, and though some treatments have proven very effective, there is no known cure. […]
Case Study: Mid-Twenties Client Admitted for Medical Detox
The client was a 26-year-old African American female that entered treatment with Destination Hope for medical detoxification. Before admission, the client had been abusing Xanax, Adderall, Heroin, and Methamphetamine. The client began using substances in adolescence and had continued for ten years. As a result of her substance use, the client lost legal custody of […]
How to Deal With Peer Pressure as an Adult
Many people think peer pressure is something we left behind in our grade school days. But it is just as present in adulthood as in childhood; it’s just harder to spot sometimes. Peer pressure can be defined as ‘any attempt by one or more peers to compel an individual to follow in the decisions or […]
Compulsivity vs. Impulsivity: What’s the Difference?
Impulsivity and compulsivity get a bad rap, but at their roots, they are vital to brain functions and essential for human survival. They help the human brain handle challenges in a healthy state of mind. Though different, impulsivity and compulsivity can become problematic when they go into overdrive. This can result in issues like obsessive-compulsive […]