Utilizing Gratitude and Community Support During the Holiday Season

How does a focus on gratitude impact mental health? Research shows it can reduce stress and improve physical and psychological health. “Gratitude can provide benefits to people’s physical and mental health and improve their relationships,” wrote Nicole Tetreault, PhD, recently in Psychology Today. “The holiday season offers the perfect opportunity to stop and express thankfulness for the good things.”

According to the Healthbeat blog of the Harvard Medical School, each holiday season features “high expectations for a cozy and festive time of year. However, for many this time of year is tinged with sadness, anxiety, or depression.” Certainly, major depression or severe mental illnesses like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder require professional help. 

“But what about those who just feel lost or overwhelmed or down at this time of year?” asked the Healthbeat blog. “Research (and common sense) suggests that one aspect of the Thanksgiving season can actually lift the spirits, and it’s built right into the holiday—being grateful.” A deliberate gratitude shift means consciously focusing on what’s good instead of dwelling on what’s missing. It can be an effective tool in the treatment of mental health issues. 

Bernadette Robinson is a life skills coach and transitional living coordinator at Colorado Recovery. “For Thanksgiving, we get our transitional, outpatient, and independently living clients as well as some staff together this Wednesday for a shared meal so everybody can feel their support system through the holidays,” she says. “We’re encouraging our clients to come early and prepare some of the items together so there’s a theme of gratitude connected to cooking the meal together and realizing the life skills that come with cooking together.”

At Colorado Recovery, the holidays are about celebrating and community building, but also a little bit about health coaching. “Knowing how to cook nutritious, healthy meals and what it takes to cook together is important,” says Robinson. “We have some outpatients that come with their own ideas and ingredients. We also had meetings with our transitional clients to figure out what they wanted to make for Thanksgiving.”

Throughout the holiday season, clients are encouraged to (re)connect with their families but “we also remind them that they have a family here with us,” says Robinson. “We encourage journaling as the end of the year can be a time of reflection and contemplation of what’s important in your life and what to be grateful for.” 

Colorado Recovery approaches mental healthcare based on a path of self-reliance through developed practiced skills. This non-institutionalized social recovery offers comprehensive care supported by an expert treatment team that engages patients in increasing community participation. Boosting self-confidence with gratitude and mindfulness exercises, challenging hikes, and self-expression in art groups are important elements of our treatment approach. 

At Colorado Recovery it is our mission to help adults with serious mental health issues stabilize their illness, minimize symptoms, improve functioning, and enhance each person’s social inclusion, quality of life, and sense of meaning in life.

Colorado Recovery transitioned to a non-profit organization in June. This pivotal change underscores our commitment to providing exceptional care and support to our clients while ensuring greater accessibility through scholarships and donations.

If you have questions about our recovery model or our services to treat schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and similar mental illnesses, call us at 720-218-4068 to discuss treatment options for you or the person you would like to help. 



Fighting Stress and Trauma With Polyvagal Theory

Schizophrenia and other serious mental illnesses can be disruptive to a person’s life, making it difficult to go to school or work, socialize, and take care of themselves. “People with schizophrenia seem to be exquisitely sensitive to stress,” wrote the late Colorado Recovery founder Richard Warner, MD, in his influential book The Environment of Schizophrenia, “the life events occurring before episodes of schizophrenia, and possibly triggering the relapse, are milder than those before episodes of other disorders such as depression.”

In the Warner treatment model, therapeutic intervention and relapse prevention rely on “social recovery” from severe mental illness. The treatment program at Colorado Recovery aims to empower adults with mental illness, and those who support them, with an unrelenting optimism for recovery, purposeful involvement in the community, and an enhanced sense of meaning in life. One modality utilized to reduce stress and the impact of trauma is polyvagal theory.

WHAT IS POLYVAGAL THEORY?

Polyvagal theory takes its name from the vagus, a cranial nerve that forms the primary component of the parasympathetic nervous system. According to the Polyvagal Institute, it is “a way of understanding how our nervous system responds to different situations, like stress, danger, or safety. It was developed by Dr. Stephen Porges, a neuroscientist and psychologist, in 1994. In simple terms, polyvagal theory helps us understand how our body and brain work together to respond to stressors that are a part of everyday life” as well as more significant experiences, such as trauma.

“In contrast to fight/flight reactions, the response to life threat elicits a second defense system, which is expressed as immobilization and dissociation,” Porges wrote in The Pocket Guide To The Polyvagal Theory. “Polyvagal theory emphasizes that our nervous system has more than one defense strategy and that the decision of whether we use a mobilized fight/flight or an immobilization shutdown defense strategy is not a voluntary decision.”

According to polyvagal theory, the human nervous system has three main response states:

The first is the “fight or flight” response, activated when in a dangerous or threatening situation. Termed “mobilization” in polyvagal theory, this is our body’s way of preparing to either fight the threat or run away from it.
The second response state is the “collapse” response, activated when we feel overwhelmed or powerless. In this state, our body shuts down and we may feel numb or disconnected from our surroundings. In polyvagal theory, this is called “immobilization.”
The third response is the “social engagement” response (called “ventral vagal” in the theory), activated when we feel safe and connected to others. This is when we are relaxed and open to social interaction, and is communicated in our eyes, facial expressions, and tone of voice.

The three states represent different evolutionary stages. “Dr. Porges identified a hierarchy of response built into our autonomous nervous system and anchored in the evolutionary development of our species,” wrote Deb Dana in The Polyvagal Theory in Therapy. “The origin of the dorsal pathway of the parasympathetic branch and its immobilization response lies with our ancient vertebrate ancestors and is the oldest pathway. The sympathetic branch and its pattern of mobilization [were] next to develop. The most recent addition, the ventral vagal pathway of the parasympathetic branch brings patterns of social engagement that are unique to mammals. When we are firmly grounded in our ventral vagal pathway, we feel safe and connected, calm and social.”

POLYVAGAL THEORY AT COLORADO RECOVERY

Feeling safe, calm, and connected are major treatment goals for our clients. Angela Flynn is a registered nurse with Colorado Recovery. She runs a polyvagal group several times a year. “The first thing we do in this group is identify which state clients are currently in,” she says. The social engagement or “ventral vagal” connected state is the polyvagal response identified with well-being. “The body heals in this state,” explains Flynn. “I teach them how to recognize the safe state and how to get there.”

Although she works with people with severe mental health conditions at Colorado Recovery, Flynn emphasizes that polyvagal theory can help anybody. “It’s a tool like sleep hygiene, for example, or dialectical behavior therapy. Since polyvagal theory is somewhat complicated, I provide handouts for the group and people can ask questions related to their specific concerns.”

Building and strengthening social networks is a big part of our approach to therapy as is boosting self-confidence with challenging hikes and self-expression in art groups. At Colorado Recovery it is our mission to help adults with serious mental health issues stabilize their illness, minimize symptoms, improve functioning, and enhance each person’s social inclusion, quality of life, and sense of meaning in life.

Colorado Recovery transitioned to a non-profit organization in June. This pivotal change underscores our commitment to providing exceptional care and support to our clients while ensuring greater accessibility through scholarships and donations.

If you have questions about our recovery model or our services to treat schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and similar mental illnesses, call us at 720-218-4068 to discuss treatment options for you or the person you would like to help.

Mindfulness in Mental Health Management

“Mindfulness has been theoretically and empirically associated with psychological well-being,” wrote Keng, Smoski, and Robins in their 2013 study on the effects of mindfulness on psychological health. “The elements of mindfulness, namely awareness and nonjudgmental acceptance of one’s moment-to-moment experience, are regarded as potentially effective antidotes against common forms of psychological distress—rumination, anxiety, worry, fear, anger, and so on—many of which involve the maladaptive tendencies to avoid, suppress, or over-engage with one’s distressing thoughts and emotions.”

As a result, mindfulness can be used to manage your well-being and mental health. We all have times when we feel down, stressed, or frightened; most of the time, those feelings pass, but sometimes they develop into a more serious problem. Suffering from a serious mental illness such as schizophrenia, or bipolar disorder (BD) can certainly be stressful and frightening.

As a psychiatric physician assistant with Colorado Recovery, Christine Cork, PA-C, CAQ psych, uses mindfulness to encourage clients “to treat themselves with the same kindness as they would afford a friend.”

Cork models the mindfulness approach to individual needs. “When I see them doing these unkind things to themselves, I bring it back to ‘What would you tell a friend, if a friend was in that position?’”

Psychotic or manic episodes can be fairly traumatic for patients and their families. “Such episodes involve incredibly disruptive behaviors and as a result, the world may come down hard on them in a moment where they cannot fully understand,” says Cork. “Sometimes that means they’re really harsh with themselves.”

MINDFUL COMPASSION

Negative thoughts, self-blame, and feelings of worthlessness tend to induce an emotional downward spiral leading to further episodes. Cork teaches patients how to counter this unhelpful negativity.

The typical onset of schizophrenia or BD in the late teens or early twenties tends to be a particularly challenging time. “We talk about how to move forward when we have a slower processing speed or maybe feel a little bit more awkward socially. Or maybe the depression is coming on again; how can we meet that with love instead of loathing?”

Mindful compassion means to engage with feelings in a non-judgmental way. Cork helps her clients to pull away from the isolation many people with mental illness feel. “We tend to think, ‘Oh, my God, it’s only me,’ and ‘I’m feeling that way and it’s not okay to feel that.’ I like to show them that it’s okay to have those feelings. That’s the compassionate side. When we move on to how we act on those feelings, it becomes a different story. Usually, I show up for clients saying ‘It looks to me you’re feeling that and that seems normal to me’ and we take it from there.”

In psychiatry, emotional outbursts are frequently managed with medications but Cork likes to be conservative with this approach. “I use a lot of mindfulness first, saying ‘Okay you’re feeling this but what have you done in the past that’s been helpful’ and sort of let them guide where we go from there.”

Cork emphasizes that it’s often normal to feel anxious in life and she doesn’t necessarily want to suppress that with medications. “A lot of it is mindfulness. ‘Can you take a breath? Can you invite it in?’ They learn to just notice feelings in their body, find the edge, and just soften it. Or sometimes people need more active things like ‘Can you go on a walk or do you have a stretch that helps you?’ Or maybe they need therapy or call a friend.”

Building and strengthening social networks is a big part of our approach to therapy as is boosting self-confidence with challenging hikes and self-expression in art groups. At Colorado Recovery it is our mission to help adults with serious mental health issues stabilize their illness, minimize symptoms, improve functioning, and enhance each person’s social inclusion, quality of life, and sense of meaning in life.

Colorado Recovery transitioned to a non-profit organization in June. This pivotal change underscores our commitment to providing exceptional care and support to our clients while ensuring greater accessibility through scholarships and donations.

If you have questions about our recovery model or our services to treat schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and similar mental illnesses, call us at 720-218-4068 to discuss treatment options for you or the person you would like to help.

 

Backpacking For Mental Health

Getting out into nature can mean walking, hiking, biking, kayaking, or other similar activities. Stepping outside can help people keep a healthy weight or even lose weight by increasing activity levels.

Being in nature can also boost your mood and improve your mental health. Spending quality time in the great outdoors reduces stress, calms anxiety, and can lead to a lower risk of depression, according to a 2015 study by researchers at Stanford University. Many other studies have confirmed that spending time in a natural environment can reduce stress, improve mood, and enhance overall mental well-being.

With a campus only a short distance away from the spectacular landscape of the Rocky Mountains, the treatment team at Colorado Recovery understands these benefits well and utilizes the great outdoors as part of the treatment programs for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and other mental illnesses. Exposure to the healing power of nature is part of the treatment philosophy.

Colorado Recovery held its second annual backpacking trip in July. Led by executive director Terry Stiven and community organizer Peter Kamback, the three-day excursion up and around the Buchanan Pass area in Colorado created an attitude of team spirit as everybody felt they were all together in this challenge.

*I observed that some of our clients who struggle with social interaction seemed to feel comfortable talking and sharing their challenges and experiences,” Stiven recalls. “This is not an easy hike and our clients came home with a sense of confidence that they achieved some really hard hikes, braved cold weather, and got by on basic necessities.”

Like last year’s outing, everybody felt this year’s trip was a big success. “We had five clients join us this year including two new clients and three returning clients,” says Kamback. “Preparation was similar to last year’s trip. We encouraged everyone going on the trip to join us for our hiking group each week to condition themselves physically.”

They also learned what to expect on the trip in terms of weather conditions, temperatures (day and night), food, gear, safety, wildlife, and proper leave-no-trace waste disposal practices.

“We also asked them to consider what to do with their time away from technology and the modern conveniences of their daily lives,” says Kamback. “As last year, this was the biggest adjustment for most clients on the trip. I think it was incredibly valuable to have them removed from their phones, social media, and the countless other digital distractions they have grown accustomed to.”

All hikers agreed that even though giving up the smartphone was difficult at first, they all developed an appreciation for the peace, quiet, and beauty the natural world provides.

“Another great benefit of the trip is that it allows our clients to learn something about themselves,” explains Kamback. “They had the opportunity to discover that when faced with a challenge they can handle and overcome it.”

Hiking on the trip was no easy task. “As much as we tried to keep weight in our packs to a minimum, the strain of the packs became burdensome after a few miles on the trail,” Kamback remembers. “Everyone faced fatigue and frustration—inevitable aspects of any backpacking excursion. The physical and mental challenges were real and the clients had to discover—individually and as a group—how to face these challenges.”

Nighttime also offered difficult situations the clients were not used to in their daily lives. “Some of them experienced less than comfortable sleeping conditions including cold temperatures and primitive bedding,” recalls Kamback. “Again, these are all normal experiences of a backpacking trip. These expectations were clearly expressed in preparation for the trip. However, the reality is usually not fully understood until experienced. But at the end of the day—or night—our clients became aware of their ability to endure and grow as a result of hardship.”

The excursion wasn’t all hardships, either. “We had plenty of time to enjoy the tranquility of nature as well as each other’s company,” Kamback remembers. “We experienced ideal weather conditions on a day hike to a beautiful lake only a couple of miles from camp. We welcomed each morning together by making warm beverages on a stove. We also enjoyed cooking our meals as a group and spending some time around a campfire in the evenings. Many clients found it pleasant to simply sit by the creek or explore the surrounding woods during their free time.”

“Having a sense of accomplishment on the trail significantly boosts our clients’ self-esteem,” says Kamback. The self-confidence necessary for clients to succeed in the wider community can be strengthened on a wilderness trail. At Colorado Recovery it is our mission to help adults with serious mental health issues stabilize their illness, minimize symptoms, improve functioning, and enhance each person’s social inclusion, quality of life, and sense of meaning in life.

Colorado Recovery transitioned to a non-profit organization in June. This pivotal change underscores our commitment to providing exceptional care and support to our clients while ensuring greater accessibility through scholarships and donations.

If you have questions about our recovery model or our services to treat schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and similar mental illnesses, call us at 720-218-4068 to discuss treatment options for you or the person you would like to help.

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Colorado Recovery is Now Non-profit.

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Colorado Recovery’s Art Group Allows Clients to Explore Their Feelings

Art can be helpful in healthcare, whether as prescribed therapy, something you participate in for fun, or simply as part of the environment. “Creative arts therapy is used to help treat mental health conditions because it can improve focus, assist with processing emotions, improve communication, and increase self-esteem,” wrote the Mayo Clinic press editors last year. 

Colorado Recovery approaches mental healthcare based on a path to self-reliance through developing practical skills. Art is also part of the healing process facilitated at Colorado Recovery. 

Peter Kamback is our vocational rehabilitation specialist and community organizer. He also leads a popular art group. “Recently we worked on creating artwork on a banner roll of paper,” he says. “We left it on display in our Treehouse to let people know that this is the kind of thing we’re doing and to get them to interact with it if they chose to do so. It’s a work in progress and anybody can contribute to it.”

The Treehouse is a social-vocational center run by and for Colorado Recovery clients. The program helps prepare our clients for success in relationships, volunteer work, education and training, internships, and job placements.

“Looking at a blank piece of paper presents the daunting decision of what to do with it,” explains Kamback who made the project collaborative. “Each client contributed a line to the paper and as we continued to add lines, it built this design. Once we had something down on paper, we could fill the spaces however we wanted to. We could explore and had the freedom to express whatever we’re feeling.”

Sometimes clients add art into their theme days. “We talk about things that are happening in our lives or how we feel about something and then express that in drawings or paintings.” Kamback often asks clients to focus on specific things. “It allows them to block out the chaos in our environment and focus on one thing—even if it is very simple like coloring in. We’re all doing it together; we’re all engaged in the same activity. It levels the playing field and makes everybody feel a little more calm, a little more comfortable.”

Conversations tend to start naturally at that point. Kamback avoids planning sessions of the art group too meticulously. “I don’t want to make it look contrived but it also helps me learn what gets people engaged and involved.“

As people in the group collaborate they can see what the person next to them is doing and that may influence how they feel about it and how they want to interact with other people. “It’s a very open-ended exercise that allows participants of the group to explore within a basic framework.” Kamback participates himself to show clients that he does not represent a superior role that could be intimidating. I’m just another human like the rest of them.”

The art group is just one of many activities to promote inclusivity, socialization, and community building. Other recreational activities at Colorado Recovery include movie nights, talent shows, trips to the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, client-initiated activities, and even go-kart excursions.

“Groups are very valuable to our clients,” says Kamback. “They are safe spaces to feel comfortable and interact with one another.” Creative socializing such as the art group is an integral part of the groundbreaking approach to mental health treatment pioneered by the late Colorado Recovery founder Richard Warner. Recovery from serious mental illness requires that patients retain a sense of empowerment—a belief in their ability to take charge of their lives and manage the complex challenges of their illness.

At Colorado Recovery it is our mission to help adults with serious mental health issues stabilize their illness, minimize symptoms, improve functioning, and enhance each person’s social inclusion, quality of life, and sense of meaning in life.

If you have questions about our recovery model or our services to treat schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and similar mental illnesses, call us at 720-218-4068 to discuss treatment options for you or the person you would like to help.

Applying the Power of Ketogenic Diet, Exercise, and Wellness for Mental Health

When working with our clients, we continually stress that their illnesses can be managed and that they can maintain a sense of normalcy in their lives if they work on five basic skills that contribute to managing their conditions.

  • Sleep
  • Diet
  • Exercise
  • Staying on medications and collaborating with their care provider
  • Staying off addictive substances 

Over the years, there have been studies and increasing interest in alternative approaches to managing mental health conditions.  Among these, the ketogenic diet, coupled with wellness practices and regular exercise, has garnered attention for its potential benefits in alleviating symptoms of various mental illnesses. While traditional treatments such as medication and therapy remain cornerstone interventions, exploring adjunctive methods like dietary changes and lifestyle adjustments offers a holistic approach to mental wellness.

UNDERSTANDING THE KETOGENIC DIET

The ketogenic diet is a high-fat, low-carbohydrate eating plan designed to induce a metabolic state called ketosis. In this state, the body primarily burns fat for fuel instead of carbohydrates, leading to a shift in energy metabolism. Typically, the diet consists of ample healthy fats, moderate protein intake, and minimal carbohydrates, forcing the body to produce ketones for energy.

Mental Health Benefits of Ketogenic Diet

Improved Cognitive Function

The brain thrives on ketones, which serve as a more stable and efficient energy source than glucose. Research suggests ketosis may enhance cognitive function, improve focus, and support mental clarity.

Mood Stabilization

Stable blood sugar levels, often achieved through a ketogenic diet, can help regulate mood and minimize mood swings associated with conditions like bipolar disorder and depression. Moreover, ketones may exert neuroprotective effects, potentially mitigating neurological symptoms.

Reduced Inflammation

Chronic inflammation is increasingly implicated in the development and exacerbation of mental health disorders. The ketogenic diet’s anti-inflammatory properties may help alleviate symptoms by reducing inflammation throughout the body, including the brain.

Integrating Wellness Practices

Mindfulness and Stress Reduction

Practices such as mindfulness meditation, deep breathing exercises, and yoga can complement dietary interventions by promoting relaxation and stress reduction. Lower stress levels contribute to improved mental well-being and may enhance the effectiveness of other interventions.

Quality Sleep

Adequate sleep is crucial for mental health since it allows the brain to recharge and process emotions. Prioritizing good sleep hygiene, including maintaining a consistent sleep schedule and creating a conducive sleep environment, can optimize mental wellness outcomes

Exercise for Mental Health

Physical activity is a powerful tool for managing mental health conditions, with benefits ranging from stress reduction to neurotransmitter regulation. Incorporating regular exercise into one’s routine can:

Boost Mood 

Physical activity stimulates the release of endorphins, neurotransmitters known for their mood-enhancing properties.

Reduce Anxiety and Depression

Exercise has been shown to alleviate symptoms of anxiety and depression by promoting the production of serotonin and reducing levels of stress hormones like cortisol.

Enhance Cognitive Function 

Particularly aerobic exercise improves cognitive function, memory, and overall brain health.

While the ketogenic diet, wellness practices, and exercise offer promising benefits for mental health, it’s essential to approach their implementation with caution and individualized consideration. Consulting healthcare professionals, including dietitians, therapists, and physicians, can help tailor these interventions to suit individual needs and ensure safety. 

By embracing a comprehensive approach to mental wellness that integrates dietary modifications, holistic practices, and physical activity, individuals can empower themselves to proactively manage their mental health and enhance their overall quality of life.

Colorado Recovery offers comprehensive outpatient care for people with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and other severe mental illnesses in a community-integrated treatment environment designed to meet their needs. We also accept admissions at the transitional living level for those who may have attended another program but are interested in support while living more independently.

Our mission is to help adults with serious mental health issues stabilize their illness, minimize symptoms, improve functioning, and enhance each person’s social inclusion, quality of life, and sense of meaning in life.

If you have questions about our recovery model or our services to treat schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and similar mental illnesses, call us at 720-218-4068 to discuss treatment options for you or the person you would like to help.

 

The Benefits of Using Equine Therapy in Mental Health Treatment

Animals can provide great emotional support for human beings. Beyond the loving pet-owner relationship that many of us have experienced, animals are also used in therapeutic settings to help clients navigate challenging emotional experiences.

As the name indicates equine-assisted therapy incorporates horses into the therapeutic process. “People engage in activities such as grooming, feeding, and leading a horse while being supervised by a mental health professional,” explained Jodi Clarke, MA, LPC/MHSP on Verywell Mind in January. “Goals of this form of therapy [include] helping people develop skills such as emotional regulation, self-confidence, and responsibility. With mature horses weighing anywhere in the range of 900 to 2,000 pounds or more, it might feel a bit intimidating to have such a large, majestic creature participating in your therapy sessions. However, equine-assisted therapy is growing in popularity due to its experiential approach and some burgeoning evidence of its effectiveness.”

Bernadette Robinson, MA, is Colorado Recovery’s transitional and independent living coordinator. She supervises equine therapy sessions for our clients at the Colorado Therapeutic Riding Center (CTRC) in Longmont, CO. Colorado Recovery teamed up with CTRC in 2022 to be able to offer this service to clients. The Colorado Therapeutic Riding Center is the oldest therapeutic riding center in the Centennial State and has been operating since 1980. 

“Each client creates a special bond with their assigned horse,” says Robinson, “gaining trust, learning boundaries, nourishing a connection.” Working with horses “provides a sense of accomplishment as each client grows more comfortable and confident around the animals.”

On its 39-acre campus, CTRC offers therapeutic horsemanship, equine-assisted therapies, and equine-assisted mental health services. “The horses are really the modality of treatment,” says CTRC’s executive director Michele Bruhn. “Clients are not necessarily learning how to ride a horse as our therapists work on different goals for each individual client. We evaluate our clients’ affect and body structure and then match the right type of horse with that person.” All CTRC instructors are certified through Path International.  

“Some of the activities, such as guiding their horse around various obstacles, can represent a powerful metaphor for overcoming their own personal obstacles in their individual recovery process,” explains Robinson. “Overcoming fear was a big obstacle for me, personally. I’m historically terrified of horses. I had to face my own fear and move through it in order to be at CTRC with our clients.” 

For clients who don’t like to share a lot about themselves and their personal lives, equine therapy may provide an outlet to be vulnerable. “It’s a safe place to be vulnerable,” says Robinson.  

Engaging activities such as working with horses are all part of the groundbreaking approach to mental health treatment pioneered by the late Colorado Recovery founder Richard Warner. Recovery from serious mental illness requires that patients retain a sense of empowerment—a belief in their ability to take charge of their lives and manage the complex challenges of their illness.

At Colorado Recovery it is our mission to help adults with serious mental health issues stabilize their illness, minimize symptoms, improve functioning, and enhance each person’s social inclusion, quality of life, and sense of meaning in life.

If you have questions about our recovery model or our services to treat schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and similar mental illnesses, call us at 720-218-4068 to discuss treatment options for you or the person you would like to help.

Alcohol Awareness Important For People With Mental Illness

April is Alcohol Awareness Month, an opportunity to update your knowledge about alcohol use disorder (AUD) and the adverse impact of alcohol misuse on health and society. Alcohol-related problems continue to take a heavy toll on individuals, families, and communities.

Researchers estimate that each year there are more than 178,000 alcohol-related deaths, making alcohol a leading preventable cause of death in the United States. In addition, more than 200 disease and injury-related conditions are associated with alcohol misuse.

Alcohol use disorder frequently occurs in people with serious mental illness (SMI), such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, and can exacerbate their psychiatric, medical, and family problems. “Many of the people with serious mental illnesses whom we provide services for misuse alcohol or other addictive substances,” confirms Colorado Recovery’s clinical therapist Julie Owen, MA, LPC. “Once we are able to stabilize the psychosis aspect with therapy and medication we can also start to address any alcohol misuse.”

Like other people with an alcohol use disorder, patients with a serious mental illness are frequently self-medicating with addictive substances such as alcohol. “People who suffer from psychotic episodes often have voices in their heads, there’s a lot of thinking happening in their minds that is difficult for them to shut off,” explains Owen. “That’s very hard to live with 24/7. So they’re reaching for something they can do to calm down those voices and slow the noise in their heads. And sometimes alcohol is the thing they are reaching for.“

Reaching for a readily available “remedy” such as alcohol may happen before a person has been diagnosed with a mental health condition and prescribed medications by a medical professional. Not seeking psychiatric help and proceeding with self-medication can be a dangerous path. “Initially, it might have worked to some extent but over time the alcohol actually worsens the mental health issues,” says Owen. “So, it ends up exacerbating those issues as opposed to providing relief.”

Even when patients with SMI are stabilized with medications and therapy, they often still experience social anxiety. “They feel that other people view them as ‘weird’ and different or they fear they may say the wrong thing and embarrass themselves,” explains Owen. “So sometimes alcohol is used to lower inhibitions and help them feel more comfortable in certain social settings—become the life of the party rather than someone too afraid to chat.”

As with other people, repeated and frequent use of alcohol may lead to symptoms such as tolerance—the need to drink more to achieve the same effect or craving, a strong desire or urge to use alcohol. “With our patients, alcohol can really exacerbate the symptoms of their mental health condition and will eventually make everything much, much worse,” Owen says.

“We have quite a few clients who go to meetings and some who work with sponsors in 12-Step programs,” says Owen. “We encourage a sobriety-first approach. I do a group once a week where we talk about various support strategies around sobriety as well as introducing some other therapeutic techniques to help with both mental illness and alcohol use.”

Colorado Recovery clients are encouraged to become part of a community supporting each other, including going to meetings together. “They prepare meals together that don’t involve alcohol, they play cards and other games together without drinking alcohol, and generally begin to experience aspects of life sober,” says Owen. “That is sometimes the most powerful element of the healing process.”

Clients also go on hikes together, there is a movie night, and we offer other activities that allow people to connect with each other and meet needs that previously led to attempts to fill those needs with alcohol use.

Our mission is to help adults with serious mental health issues stabilize their illness, minimize symptoms, improve functioning, and enhance each person’s social inclusion, quality of life, and sense of meaning in life.

If you have questions about our recovery model or our services to treat schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and similar mental illnesses, call us at 720-218-4068 to discuss treatment options for you or the person you would like to help.

Colorado Recovery: A One-stop Shop to Move Forward!

At Colorado Recovery, clients learn how to live successfully with their mental illness in an atmosphere of caring support.

Here at Colorado Recovery caring support looks like an experienced, educated staff, and a treatment model of inclusion in which our clients are active participants in their ongoing care and treatment teams. With the outpatient Supportive Transitional Living and psychiatric rehabilitation services available through our program, we focus on client’s finding meaningful work and developing the ability to live independently in the community. Individualized outpatient treatment modalities support clients who have achieved stability to integrate within the community.

“We are here to help our clients move forward and achieve their goals,” says clinical therapist Julie Owen, MA, LPC. “We provide the stabilizing medications, skills and resources they need to manage their illness successfully.”

One-stop Shop

The team at Colorado Recovery offers a wide variety of services including vocational counseling and life skill coaching. We can help clients with motivation and setting up routines.

“We believe that we have the opportunity to offer a variety of necessary services to help our clients move towards independence. These services not only include case management and vocational services, but we offer health management with our on staff nursing, so we can administer medications if needed,” explains executive director Terry Stiven, MA, LPC. “We can give injections if needed, we can set up the labs, we can make sure that labs are done. As a team, we can help provide all of that.”

It’s not easy for people with serious mental health conditions such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder to find a place that provides a vocational counselor, a case manager, individual and group therapy, and other services in a single facility.

“You may not need a case manager every day but if something comes up with insurance or Medicaid or Social Security disability payments, we have the staff who can help with that,” says Stiven. “The team can also help with grocery shopping or setting up medical appointments, sometimes even accompanying them to a doctor’s appointment.”

Colorado Recovery clients are usually comfortable here. “It’s nice that they can get almost everything they need at Colorado Recovery, rather than coming here for therapy and then having to go to a hospital for their injection,” says Owen. “Here they encounter familiar faces. It’s easy for them to talk with us and they can do the whole range of requirements in one place.”

Client Choice

Colorado Recovery offers clients choices. “You don’t have to go to all our groups, you can decide whether you want a social-connection type group one day or acceptance and commitment therapy, or maybe just join in for a meal in the evening,” Stiven explains. “And if there were an episode of instability we would know how to help and surround that person with more service options.”

In any given week, clients can decide what pieces they want to participate in, depending on their current situation. “Recently, we had a client who felt pretty isolated. He chose to come to several groups and is now in the transitional living program,” Owen says. “Other clients may decide to participate in our outdoors excursions.”

Making choices for themselves about their needs and how to best manage them is very empowering for people with mental illness.

“As part of the Warner model, we don’t dictate a lot of “have to’s”: telling them ‘you have to go to this, you have to show up for that.’ They have a say in their plan, an opportunity to think things through and make choices about their lives,” says Owen. “That’s very empowering. That’s a pretty strong piece of living independently which is our ultimate goal for them. They’re working on making decisions for themselves while they are with us, and as a result, they have the necessary skills as they move forward.”

Colorado Recovery offers outpatient care for people with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and other severe mental illnesses in a community-integrated treatment environment designed to meet those needs. We are also accepting admissions at the transitional living level for those who may have attended another program but are interested in support while living more independently.

Our mission is to help adults with serious mental health issues stabilize their illness, minimize symptoms, improve functioning, and enhance each person’s social inclusion, quality of life, and sense of meaning in life.

If you have questions about our recovery model or our services to treat schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and similar mental illnesses, call us at 720-218-4068 to discuss treatment options for you or the person you would like to help.