“Not everything that is faced can be changed.
But nothing can be changed until it is faced.”
James Baldwin
“Truth lies in Paradox.” Alex G, Brumbaughh
Bernard J. Monks, MA, LCDP, ADS. CADC
[email protected] 609-827-2649
Contents
 1. Journey
 2. Homecoming – Safe and Comfortable
Focus Behavioral Health
FBH Acudetox
 3. Obstacles – Threatening and Unsettling
 4. Strategies For A Frontier
 5. NADA Delaware
 I have been inspired and informed by the book,
TRANSFORMATION AND RECOVERY by Alex G.
Brumbaugh whose thoughts have influenced this
presentation. Also available THE PRAXIS OF RECOVERY
by Alex G. Brumbaugh
Journey - One’s destiny is often
found on the road taken to avoid it.
Seeking everything I found nothing. In nothing was the gift of everything.
 Fragmented, compartmentalized thinking is characteristic of addiction both in
individuals and systems. Failure to make connections is a form of denial. History of the
denial of the existence and interrelationship of risk factors for delinquency, poverty,
criminality, domestic and sexual abuse, mental health disorders, addictive disorders to
each other and to physical health and spiritual wellbeing is tragic.
In 2011, I was soon to discover a treatment that could integrate diseased parts into a
healthier whole person by supporting homeostasis. A treatment that embraced the
holism of human wellbeing and the innate human capacity to attain and enjoy it.
Simple, dignified, spiritual, respectful, integrative, ACUDETOX, NADA Protocol.
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Family Therapist MeadowWood Hospital
EMDR
BAYVAC – San Francisco
Acupuncturists Without Boarders – Military Stress Recovery – Trauma Healing
NADA Protocol Training and Certification
Acu Detox Specialist License- Medical Board Delaware
Homecoming – Safe & Comfortable
“Lost in the wilderness between
true awareness and the senses,
I suddenly woke inside myself.”
Lalla, Naked Song
ACUDETOX AURICULAR ACUPUNCTURE
Nature lives by the rules of energy.
An INNERVENTION which invites the individual’s
attention to one’s own inner energy resources
for healing and change.
Acudetox Auricular Acupuncture is based on the
belief that there are points for the entire body’s
energy systems on the ear’s surface.
Practitioner:
Bernard J. Monks, MA, LCDP, ADS
FOCUS BEHAVIORAL HEALTH
1601 Concord Pike Suite 92-100
Wilmington, DE 19803
Tel: 302-762-2283
Acudetox Auricular Acupuncture is used to treat
the following conditions:
Compulsive Smoking
Physical and Emotional Trauma
Anxiety Disorders including PTSD
Substance Use Disorders
Focus Behavioral
Health
Caring, Compassionate, and
Comprehensive Psychiatric Services.
410 Foulk Road Suit 103
Wilmington, DE 19803
Ranga Ram MD, CEO, Medical
Director
Former Medical Director, Division of
Substance Abuse and Mental Health,
Delaware Department of Health and
Social Services
Journal of General Internal Medicine
2016 Boston University School of
Medicine Study
SAMHSA
The Prevelance Of Comorbid Conditions
 Trauma – MH- Addictions- Pain
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50% MH DO have SUD
60% - 80% Female SUD have Trauma
43% PTSD, Teens 59%, Vets 75% SUD
70% SUD have trauma exposure
40% childhood trauma – SUD 4x
53% SUD have MH DO
81% Opiate UD - Pain
79% At Risk ETOH UD – Pain
32% Chronic Pain & 57% 65yo Pain – SUD
“ Our most severe illnesses are
manifestations of the deepest needs of our
soul.”
FBH Acudetox
Benefits
Needs Improvement
Patients have reported:
 Feeling better, less anxiety
 Improved motivation
 Stress reduction
 Improved coping
 Sense of connectedness
 Easier withdrawal
 More confidence in healing
 More patience
 More hope
 Gratitude for staff participation
 Continuity
 Availability
 Flexible Scheduling
 Staff Awareness
 Staff Participation
 Physical Environment
 Data Collection
 Research
 Community Awareness
Obstacles Threatening &
Unsettling
“The junkie can not start to heal until
he recognizes his true condition.”
Malcolm X
“ It’s good to remember that we are
dealing with the addictive system in
all its most glaring manifestations. As
we begin to interface with this system
we will witness the institutional face
of codependent enabling in its most
highly crystalline state…. (Our) own
personal issues will be triggered and
(we) will be invited to play (our) own
dysfunctional role.” Alex Brumbaugh
Mine:
Heroic, pain relieving, people
pleasing equilibrist.
“ Never play leapfrog with a unicorn.”
An addictive system is :
 Dishonest
In Denial
 Dysfunctional
Resistant
 Dualistic
Rigid
 Avoidant
Exclusionary
 Incessantly Controlling
 Compartmentalized
 Fragmented
 Cunning, Baffling, Powerful, Seductive
“That portion of society which sees itself as
non-addicted is the greatest difficulty.”
Mindy Fullilove ‘96 NADA Conference
Strategies For A Frontier
Stages Of Change Model
PRECONTEMPLATION Stage:
Denial
Resistance
CONTEMPLATION Stage:
Ambiguity
Uncertainty
Maybe
PREPARATION Stage:
Decision To Act
Increasing Motivation To
Change
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Empathy – Patience- Compassion
Education – Literature
Successes
Advantages
Non Confrontational
 ID and Point out contradictions
 Benefits and Rewards
 Develop Plan & Problem Solve
Prochaska & Di Clemente
“Time is nature’s way of keeping
everything from happening at once.”
Unknown
“ Believe more deeply. Hold your head up
to the light , even for the moment you
do not see.”
Bill W
NADA Delaware – Fertile for
Acudetox
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Substance Abuse Treatment Programs
Behavioral Health Programs
Criminal Justice
Law Enforcement
First Responders
Crises Response
Pain Management Programs
Veterans Programs
VAMC
Shelters
Educational Programs
“Remember, your program will be sicker
than your sickest client.”
Can we be both part of the problem and the
solution?
New Castle County – Delaware
Kirkwood Detox
Focus BH
MeadowWood Hospital
Hogar CREA
Rockford Center
Sodat
Wilmington Hospital Psych Crest
Gateway Foundation
TASC
Gaudenzia Fresh Start
Federal P & P
VAMC Elsmere
Open Door
NET Outpatient
Pathways
Connections CSP
Del Tec
Brandywine Counseling
Wilm. College
Home Of The Brave
Ferris DC
Aquila/Argo Institute
Plummer CC
Claymont Treatment Center Baylor WCI
Horizon House
Hope Houses
Jewish Family Services
Home of Brave
Psychotherapeutic Services Inc. PACE
Sunday Breakfast Mission Baylor CC
Survivor Skills
Be The Person You Need…
The ProgramTo Be.
“ Hold fast to dreams for if dreams die,
life is a broken winged bird that
cannot fly.” Langston Hughes
“ Let go and trust in the Universe to
solve the problem effortlessly.”
Laura Cooley
“ If you can put yourself aside- then
you can do things for the whole
of the world. And if you love the
world like this, then you are
ready to serve it.” The Tao Te
Ching
Stay connected to family, friends,
colleagues.
Row your boat gently.
Enjoy Acudetox – NADA protocol
“It is important … to keep one foot in our
woundedness and one foot in our
recovery. The arrogance that comes
with forgetting this is an anathema to
effectiveness on any level and can
cause us to hurt further those we
would help.”
Alex Brumbaugh
Nurture the soul.
Easy Does it.
Wisdom
“ We have learned in our work that the transformation and healing of addictive institutions
is the primary purpose and highest use of acupuncture in the treatment of addiction….
We are on a frontier.” Alex G. Brumbaugh
“ One of the reasons recovery is so difficult is everything around us supports addiction.”
Anne Wilson Schaef
“ The willingness to grow is the essence of all spiritual development. We have found
nothing incompatible between a powerful spiritual experience and a life of sane and
happy usefulness.” Bill W.
Row, Row, Row, your boat gently down the stream. Merrily, Merrily, Merrily,
Life is but a Dream!