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Executive Treatment Center
Telephone: (877) 498-2709
info@jasongilesmd.com
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Jason Giles, M.D.
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|  | | | |  People come to Executive in state of crisis. They come because they are losing the war in their daily lives. They need new direction, guidance, a place into which they may retreat and regain their bearings, & direction.
We started Executive Treatment in contradistinction to the traditional chemical dependency treatment paragidm. Beginning in 1935 with the start of Alcoholics Anonymous, a pioneering vision was achieved: Treat alcoholics as if they had an illness rather than a moral failing. This idea served for a long time until people realized that they would no more rather be diseased than demonically possessed. The idea that they are sinners, and must repent is persistent and found in the idea of powerlessness. In Alcoholics Anonymous it is prescribed that only divine intervention from a higher power can save a person from his own wanton destruction. They have a different view of things than we do.
Alcohol dependence and drug addiction are really only symptoms of the problem. The real problem lies deeper; the underlying issue is always a failure of a person to accept himself. Whether it is events of the past, ongoing situations, regrets or misbehaviors, what each of these conditions has in common are that the person cannot accept themselves or what they have done. Faced with a fundamental internal contradiction, the pain becomes unbearable.
Everyone we have treated did not intend to become an alcoholic or drug addict. The intention of all of our clients was to use a substance for purposes of relaxation or heightened enjoyment of the moment. Each of these substances be they drugs, alcohol, or even certain experiences produced extremely high levels of dopamine release in the pleasure center of the brain called the ventral tegmental area. Evolutionarily our species is groomed to experience pleasure. Any intensely pleasurably activity stands a very high chance of being repeated. Most of the people we help at Executive are extremely accomplished in their individual fields of endeavor. The alcoholic in the gutter with wrinkled trench coat and brown paper bag is not the appropriate image to bear in mind.
The extraordinarily accomplished individuals are particularly attuned to experiencing pleasure. They may have additional receptors for pleasure chemicals such as dopamine and serotonin. Once the intensely pleasurably experiences associated with neurotransmitters brought in the body from outside (alcohol and other drugs) are experienced, the comparative feeling of the bodyÕs own chemicals seems weak and inadequate. Over time a personÕs ability to experience pleasure is damaged.
This is not the end of the line. The bodyÕs native reward system can recover. Pleasure and indeed joy can be experienced again. This recovery takes time. The brainÕs delicate neuro architecture is permanently affected by chronic exposure to drugs and alcohol. Receptor down regulation and excitatory neurotoxicity are two of the mechanisms involved in this permanent adaptation. This is not the end of the story. In much the same way the brain can recover from head injury or stroke, given enough time the brain will recover from the ill effects of chronic drug or alcohol exposure. As it turns out, the aspect of the brain most significantly affected in the early to middle stages of chronic drug dependence is the judgment center. Located high and forward in the frontal lobes, the judgment center of the brain is particularly well developed in successful people. Split-second and intuitive decisions about complex issues are the bread and butter of our clients. Under the chronic oppressive influence of drugs and alcohol, the decision center of the brain begins to function in a distorted manner. Typically abundant evidence has accumulated that the use of drugs of alcohol for our clients is a bad idea. Others can see it and in fact business partners, family members, and friends often urge our clients to get help. From the perspective of the person suffering, their own judgment does not seem impaired. They are often the last to know how deeply they are hooked.
If you have read this far, it is likely that you or someone you love is suffering from drug or alcohol dependence. You may have even been to treatment. If you have been to treatment and you are reading this it is probably the case that something did not work out as expected. The traditional model of treatment is based on a 12-step approach found in Alcoholics Anonymous. While the support and camaraderie found in an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, if it is your cup of tea, is unlike any other, both AA and standard treatment approach do a poor job at achieving long-term sobriety. Beyond the failure to look at the underlying conditions, these programs have two significant major failings.
First they are simply too short. It takes a significant amount of time for the adaptive changes in the addicted brain to recover. Duration of time depends upon multiple factors including the age of the subject, duration of exposure, specific drugs exposed, and other psychiatric and medical conditions. The timeline is on the order of months to years rather than days to weeks. Traditional treatment duration is 28 days as most insurance companies will pay for this much in-patient treatment. It simply takes longer than this to Òget used toÓ being sober.
Second reason traditional treatment fails has primarily to do with the setting. Most people who go through rehab can learn the local rules in the treatment center, adapt to exposure to groups, and Òget throughÓ their 28-day term. There is a tenet that people behave in treatment as they do in life. While this may be true, what I believe it refers to is learning how to manage a stressful situation with the available resources at hand. It does not mean that if they are telling the truth in rehab that they will be telling the same truth back in the office or back in their family. People quickly learn the skills to adapt and manage in the rehab environment and staying sober while in treatment is in fact quite easy. Most rehab centers have a policy against bringing in drugs and alcohol and the general mood bullies a person to continue to maintain sobriety while an inpatient. The treatment centers actively foster the idea that if you come to them and stay there for a month you will be all cured. In the same way you cannot stay clean today on yesterdayÕs shower, a durable recovery and abstinence from drugs and alcohol depends on daily renewal.
Our program tackles these two glaring faults in traditional treatment by focusing on reintegrating a person into the challenges in their life and maintaining contact and connection with our treatment team for at least one year. Our standard program is 365 days with the goal of lifelong sobriety and joy. The year program begins with 2-4 weeks of a residential stay (which can be accomplished in your own home, if appropriate). Complete physical and addiction evaluation takes place and your program of treatment is developed. No two client treatment programs are the same. Of course it is all delivered in a first-class ocean view mansion. We both know that while the setting can be conducive to treatment, it is not the mansion or the thread-count that makes a person sober. It is the quality of the staff and the persistence of the follow through. We believe we have the best in the world of both.
After the residential component in either your home or ours, the same therapists and counselors you poured your heart out to for the preceding few weeks stay with you for the whole year. We remain available through all of the anniversaries, holidays, birthdays and seasons. You will have regularly scheduled sessions with the Executive Treatment team for the whole year. No other program comes even close to this level of commitment by the staff.
Please begin your new life immediately and call Dr. Giles directly at 310-774-6601. It is not too late for your story to change.
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