Recovery & Prevention Resource

•Many other insurance plans allow individuals to go outside of their networks for care and services, and reimburse them following treatment.

With over 140 years of combined experience, our professional staff of licensed therapists, social workers, and chemical dependency counselors works as a multi-disciplinary team to offer personal, proven treatment options. We offer intervention and outpatient substance abuse and mental health treatment services by qualified, experienced and caring professionals to address your needs and ensure privacy and confidentiality. Our agency meets and exceeds both state and national standards of care and is accordingly certified by the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, and is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities.

Stages of Use and Dependency

Nobody starts out intending to become an addict. Every individual who uses drugs or alcohol begins with experimental use. As a result some people decide to continue. They then move into the second stage, which is often called "social use" in our society. While many people remain at this stage, others progress to more problematic or harmful use. While it is uncertain why some people become addicted to alcohol and other drugs and other people do not, it is believed that genetic, psychological, and environmental factors play a role. Such people cannot safely use drugs or alcohol—even socially—and begin using them in place of normal coping skills. This leads to more frequent abuse and puts them on a path towards addiction or alcoholism.

Experimental Use

•Curious about chemical effects
•Excited about doing something new and different
•Excited because it may seem wrong or bad
•Learns that a good feeling can be produced by using substances
•Uses occasionally to infrequently
•Uses at parties, under peer pressure, or on weekends
•Easy to get drunk or high, due to a lack of built-up tolerance
•Believes that euphoria happens every time—trusts the effects
•Controls the frequency of use
•Regulates quantity to control mood swings
•Detects no adverse behavioral effects
•Substance has not yet interfered with lifestyle

Social Use

•Actively seeks “high” (good feelings) through planned use
•Planned use involves buying substances
•Develops initial tolerance and needs more for same effect
•Use may still be controlled and effect is anticipated
•Uses substance only at appropriate times and places
•Develops self-imposed rules, such as "not before 5" or "not around family"
•May suffer slight problems, such as hangovers

Substance Abuse

•Frequency of use increases
•Uses to get drunk/loaded/smashed/wasted
•Sometimes uses when alone
•Increases in quantity
•Changes lifestyle—may rearrange life in order to use more
•Uses to cope with feelings of anger, guilt, fear, or anxiety
•Sneaky about getting, using, and hiding substance
•May be irritable or easily angered
•Rationalizes behavior to avoid responsibility
•Attributes problems to other people, things or circumstances
•Experiences harmful consequences in relationships, work, money
•May give up other interests and activities
•Decreases in self-esteem

Chemical Dependency

•Needs significantly more to achieve desired effect
•Uses substance to feel normal and avoid pain
•Blacks out
•Desires above all to use the substance
•Loses interest in most other activities
•Demonstrates lying patterns—value system changes
•Loses control, resulting in arrests, theft, prostitution
•Experiences physical and health problems
•Experiences paranoid thinking and fear of insanity
•Feels very alone and isolated
•Loses desire to live and may have suicidal thoughts
•Withdraws
•Continues to use in spite of harmful consequences
•Increases time spent obtaining, using, or recovering from use
•Tries unsuccessfully to cut down or control use