She has been an educator of addiction counselors in many schools including the University of California at Davis in the Addiction Studies Program, and the University of Nevada/Bureau of Alcohol and Drug summer school for Employee Assistance Professionals for 15 years. Dr. Willis has studied and presented at national conferences on multi-generational trauma and addiction.”
We are pleased that Dr. Willis took the time to share her insights on the importance of trauma informed care:
Co-morbid. No, it’s not a Halloween term. It means that someone has multiple diagnosable disorders.
The Toronto Sun ran an infuriating story on a teen who has been denied treatment. Actually, it’s worse. She’s being forced into the wrong kind of treatment. Who is forcing her? The Ministry of Health. Why? Because they have no concept of what co-morbid means.
I have been researching mental health services in Canada for the past four years. What I’ve found is that most of their treatment is monochromatic. If you have anorexia, they can treat you. If you have depression, they have services for that. But if you have anorexia AND depression at the same time (heaven forbid – what are the odds??) then you are out of luck.
One Toronto psychiatrist I spoke with this summer – Dr. Anthony Levitt (a fantastic individual) – told me the story of a girl who had an addiction and anorexia. She got treated in Toronto for addiction, but her anorexia flared. So, they sent her to an eating disorder clinic. Her anorexia improved, but her addiction issues spiked. Guess what? There was nowhere else to send her in all of Ontario. No one treats both anorexia and addiction.
And don’t get me started on the paucity of teen treatment options in the UK, in South Africa, Australia, Bermuda, Singapore, etc.
But wait. America is no better. Have you looked at adult addiction treatment centers lately? In the last half-decade it’s like they awoke from a dream and realized, “Hey! People who are addicted also suffer from trauma. Maybe we should treat both!” Thank heavens there are some who are realizing that a 45-day program can’t cure addiction because it can’t address co-morbidity in that short of a time.
We are Neanderthals afraid of fire. The tragedy is this: we have no excuse. Research shows over and over again that people with family problems typically also suffer from depression and anxiety. People with eating disorders usually are depressed. Bi-polar disorder rarely occurs in a vacuum. So, we are more like Neanderthals surrounded on all sides by an advanced alien race. We’re staring and drooling and scratching our backsides, all the while ignoring the advances in mental health all around us.
I had an excellent conversation over dinner two weeks ago with Peter Goodson. He just got involved with Beacon House, one of the oldest adult addiction centers in the country. Check it out at www.beaconhouse.org He understands the limitations of short-term treatment, and so he is addressing that issue in a novel way: his aftercare program is out-of-this-world! Contact them to find out about it. They’re going to address co-morbidity in the right way, even with the limitations of short-term treatment.
As human beings, we are complex entities. Doesn’t it just make sense that we need to stop focusing so much energy and money and time on symptoms? Let’s get down to the root of the problem. Let’s get co-morbid!
