Tristan Hayes

Substance Abuse Treatment in the Time of Corona

A Physician's View / By

The coronavirus pandemic has turned much of society upside down, and those with substance/alcohol use disorders (SUD/AUD) are embedded in the chaos that has resulted. Central to treatment for addictions is reconnecting people with individuals and groups that provide positive reinforcement supporting durable recovery. This includes family, friends, peer support groups, and other social structures. Unfortunately, precautions to prevent the spread of covid-19 push people into social isolation cutting them off from those who would otherwise offer invaluable support. When individuals are under “social isolation,” especially in a dysfunctional family unit, stress levels increase and for those who deal with such stress by self-medication, the tendency to use drugs or to use more drugs (relapse or overdose) increases. This is what was observed in the first spike of covid-19 illness in the spring (especially April-May in the mid-South) and what seems to be happening now in a second spike in covid-related illnesses.

IAC Associates is dedicated to helping our clients … Read more

The opposite of addiction is …

Social Worker Thoughts / By

Everything you think you know about addiction is wrong

Johann Hari

Most people are familiar with the difficulties that result from active addiction. Whether it is from first-hand experience or watching a loved one destroy their lives, it is widespread for people to witness first-hand how drugs/ alcohol lead a person down roads that are better left untraveled. It may not be immediately clear what causes a person to decide to cause such harm to themselves and others. Addiction is fraught with disappointment, disillusionment, and destruction. Many times, the addict is the last to find out that they have a problem. Denial is a trademark of active addiction.  The addict will look for every reason other than their drug use to explain why they have lost everything.

Many times, people come into recovery and are unable to identify what led to their using. It is common to hear phrases such as “I was bored” or “I just wanted to have … Read more

My Name is Candice Lock and This is My Story

Patient Stories / By

“I suffered tremendous loss in the loss of my husband and then the death of my son. My journey since then has been hard due to the decision making (or lack thereof) process. I had never experienced loss or pain such as that and had none of the tools I needed. Which led to my drug-use, incarceration and being shot. During this time I had developed an F-it attitude.” 

“Meeting Dr. Hamm/ Dr. Blackstock has helped me to gain sobriety and they have stuck by me. When I relapsed repeatedly, they never stopped caring or judged me based on my addiction and once I began to really take my sobriety seriously, they continued to go above and beyond for me. 

Ross Nagler (Case Manager) has introduced me to Mr. Steve Nash (co-owner of Advance Memphis) and I have since then started and completed their work-life program and received my forklift certification. I also was able to deal with some core … Read more

Early Treatment Results

A Physician's View / By

Our team is tracking the results of patients with addiction to improve the quality of care for patients across the MidSouth. This is “Real live data” about the impact of our treatment plans on our patient’s lives.

We collected data in several different areas: 

  • Health – visits to the emergency room or hospitalizations
  • Retention in Treatment – time in treatment, attendance at scheduled treatment visits, urinary drug testing results, and relapses
  • Education/Workforce Participation – participation in an educational program or securing a stable job
  • Contact with the Criminal Justice System – arrests, incarceration, court appearances, or legal issues
  • Social Stability with family and friends

A scoring system was developed based on the above outcomes and patients were placed in three groups: 

  • No Change
  • Mild-Moderate Positive Change
  • Exceptional Positive Change

We have divided the patients that work with our case manager into two groups: 

  1. Compliant Patient Group – those who come regularly to appointments and consider/act on the suggestions they receive.
… Read more

The Path to Recovery

Patient Stories / By

Opening-up & Getting Honest

“My experience with IAC has been life changing. They’ve given me encouragement and made me feel comfortable and confident that there is life beyond active addiction. I have hope for a more productive future. I have set goals and through their knowledge and info. I have been able to accomplish those goals. The atmosphere has made me feel understood and at ease about opening-up and getting honest. I can truly be myself. The staff at IAC has played a huge part in my early recovery. I am and always will be truly grateful.”   ~Pam

Listen Intently & Strive to Help

“I’ve been a patient at IAC for 2 months now. I’ve seen many Drs., therapists, and case managers throughout the years and I have never met a more caring, compassionate and loving team. They listen intently and genuinely strive to help me succeed in life.”  ~Alie… Read more