We got this delightful message from Annie Umbricht MD, a general internist at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.  What she says about how difficult it is to introduce healthy behavior change to patients is something we can all relate to.  

And the way she responded to her patient who had his heart set on a Xanax refill for his panic attacks, was nothing short of brilliant, if you ask us.

She writes:

Hi,
Although not all my patients follow through and listen to the guided imagery CDs, those who do are really doing well. 

Dear Belleruth or HealthJourneys staff:

I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who has been using your Meditation to Support Recovery from Alcohol & Other Drugs for 7 years now in the day treatment program of Kaiser Permanente's Addiction Medicine Department in Los Angeles. (Actually, I "inherited" the cassette - subsequently upgraded to CD - from my predecessor, who had used it for several years.) For most day treatment patients, it is their first introduction to meditation of any kind, and the vast majority love it.

I will soon be starting a series of classes in the clinic that I am calling Mind-Body Recovery Techniques. It will incorporate Tai Chi, Qigong, and Mindfulness (and other forms of meditation).  Participants will include members of the clinic's Chemical Dependency Recovery Program and Codependency Program. I am writing to ask which CD you might recommend and to get a few more details about the numbers and timings of tracks than the website descriptions provide.

In this population-based, cross-sectional study, researcher-epidemiologists from Walter Reed Army Institute of Research examined the prevalence of depression and PTSD in over 18,000 U.S. Army soldiers (4 Active Component and 2 National Guard infantry brigade combat teams), using several definitions, including functional impairment, as well as the comorbidity of alcohol misuse and aggressive behaviors. Additionally, they compared rates between Active Component and National Guard soldiers at the 3- and 12-month time points following deployment.

Question:
I have a young friend in the Army who has picked up the habit of dipping snuff. This is widespread in the Army, at least among warriors deployed in Afghanistan. He would like to break this habit, but is finding it very difficult. Would your smoking cessation CD be helpful to him?  If not, do you have anything else you might recommend?
Please post this.
B.D.C.

Question:

I love your tapes. I use Anger and Forgiveness in dealing with my feelings concerning my husband’s ongoing battle with alcoholism. He is sober for 8 or 9 months and then back out again.. I wonder if you have any other support for the person married to or dealing with an alcoholic? I am in desperate need of more support... I use Panic Attacks and Depression, but wonder if you had anything more specific or would be doing something like that in the future.... Thanks.

Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore investigated the efficacy of adding qigong to a residential treatment program for substance abuse. 

Qigong, which blends relaxation, breathing, guided imagery, inward attention, and mindfulness to elicit a tranquil, healing state, was introduced into a short-term residential treatment program.  At first clients chose to participate in qigong meditation on a voluntary basis during their evening break.  Later they chose to participate in either meditation or Stress Management and Relaxation Training (SMART) twice a day as part of the scheduled treatment.

Weekly questionnaires were completed by 248 participants for up to 4 weeks, to assess changes in treatment outcomes.  Participants in the meditation group were also assessed for quality of meditation to evaluate the association between quality and treatment outcome.

A friend found this encouraging message about using guided imagery for help with chemical dependency posted at a website called How Cocaine Destroys Lives for people seeking recovery from cocaine use.  

It’s in the context of a review of our CD for Alcohol and Other Drugs, and it’s the kind of comment you love to hear, because it’s the best possible outcome - that the imagery is not just helping with the substance abuse (although that by itself is fine with us), but with more global issues and attitudes as well - kind of like the proverbial halo effect. 

So thanks, A. Baranowski, wherever you are, for your hopeful words and kind assessment!  I am glad you do not think I’m a silly person!! Same backatcha!! I wish you continued success and joy!!

Harvard researcher, psychiatrist and leading chemical dependency expert, George Vaillant, reviewed the research on effective treatments for alcoholism and assessed recovery in two community cohorts of adolescent males, followed from 1940 through the present day.

He concludes that AA is effective because of four different factors inherent to the program that have been widely shown to reduce relapse prevention for addiction: (1) external supervision, (2) substitute dependency, (3) new caring relationships and (4) increased spirituality. He adds that AA serendipitously follows the principles of cognitive behaviour therapy for relapse prevention.