Several days per week, I set aside time to stroll around our campus. Not only does this allow me to enjoy the sunshine and fresh air, but it gives me the opportunity to interact with staff, visiting parents, and most importantly, our residents. Six weeks ago, I found myself standing alongside Anna*, a resident in … Read More
September is National Recovery Month. It is a time designed to bring awareness and increased understanding of mental and substance use disorders and celebrate those in recovery. At Timberline Knolls we have the greatest respect for those women and girls who have completed treatment, and sustained their commitment to their recovery months and years after … Read More
The expression “it takes a village” is often bandied about; it is used to indicate how difficult it will be to accomplish a task. Today, the United States is in the grip of a very dangerous epidemic. In order to turn the tide on opioid addiction, it will take far more than a village, it … Read More
It has been a great feat for the USA Olympic team in Rio. As we watch our favorite athletes, old and new, exude confidence through their strength and resilience on their quest for the gold, one starts to wonder. What does it take to be the fastest, the greatest, the best? What level of attention … Read More
Many decades ago, organized sports were synonymous with males; athletics were mostly made up of boys, not girls. Today, teen girls participating in sports is becoming more common. On so many levels—physical and emotional health, positive self-esteem and body image, improved brain function – this is a positive trend. Every moment a young girl is … Read More
A recent article in the Chicago Tribune reported that the federal government intends to increase access to methadone and buprenorphine. These are drugs currently taken by hundreds of thousands of Americans to fight opiate addiction. These medications help control drug cravings and withdrawal symptoms. The government has spent $94 million to allow health centers to serve 124,000 … Read More
Everyone knows the drill: within seconds of entering a doctor’s office for a routine check-up, someone sticks a thermometer in your ear, pumps up a blood pressure cuff, records your respiratory rate and takes note of your heart rate. These are your vital signs; if any one of your vitals is abnormal it serves as an … Read More
Many parents grapple with the same question: If my child is overweight, should I talk to her about it? A new study offers a degree of guidance regarding this issue; the conclusion is “no.” Published in the Journal Eating and Weight Disorders, the study concluded that parents’ comments regarding weight, even though well-intended, often lead to … Read More
The Big Book, essentially the “bible” for Alcoholics Anonymous was first published in 1939. From that year until the present day, spirituality, in the form of developing a working relationship with a Higher Power, has been considered an essential component of addiction recovery in the 12 step program. Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith, the founders … Read More
We write often about the epidemic of opiate abuse throughout our country. The mass addiction, broken families, the death toll rising. But one key group of victims that has seemingly gone by the wayside until now: babies, those unfortunate infants born to mothers who are opiate addicted and therefore, are brought into this world with … Read More
