Good Counseling Comes to the Broader Community

Good counseling costs a lot of money.   But not always, thanks to Dr. Michael Leach.  He has opened Richland Oaks Counseling Center right in the middle of a multicultural area and commits to providing services that are

     accessible,

     effective

     and culturally responsive for all who participate.

Right across the street from Richland College near Abrams Road and Walnut St., “ROCC” provides easy access.

How does he do it?  First, he focuses on social justice rather than making a lot of money for himself.  That’s the kind of guy he is.  A highly trained and skilled therapist and educator himself, he opts to supervise doctoral students and master’s level students from Argosy University and other graduate schools in the Dallas area.

He holds to a vision of a community in which staff, clients and various community organizations join in supporting persons with mental health needs so that all persons have the opportunity, including the necessary services and supports, to participate, with dignity, in the life of the community, with its freedoms, responsibilities, rewards, and consequences.

So, here’s a good man doing a good thing in the community.  How can you benefit from this service?  Give them a call at 469-619-7622.  Check out their Facebook page by clicking here .  Then, give them a try.  Some cynics say about counseling, “What you want, you can’t afford and what you can afford, you don’t want.”  Here’s a refreshing exception.

“Understanding the Male of the Species”

Kelly G. Antwine, M.Ed., LPC

Kelly Antwine presented a verbal time-lapse picture of how the “Male of the Species” developed into what it is today.  Cultural pressures have shaped the roles in the home.  Prior to World War, 27% of the families lived on what they could produce on less than 100 acres of their homestead.   Neighbors helped each other.  Children worked along side their parents.  After the War, we clustered into the new invention called “suburbs.”
On the negative side, he explained how men have deteriorated relationally after returning from the War.

• Men no longer worked with their sons out on the farm producing the family’s sustenance.  Instead, they worked in the factory, away from the family.

• Men no longer worked cooperatively with one another in mutual assistance.  Instead, they competed for the ever-narrowing opportunities for advancement.
• Men no longer valued their worth on the blessings that provided dignity.  Instead, they turned to status defined by income and material possessions for their worth.

On the positive side, he called for restored manhood by

• sharing emotions and vulnerability with one another, implying that transparency builds intimacy.
• taking back the responsibility of training our sons how to be persons of integrity, refusing to outsource that responsibility to “professionals” like daycare workers and teachers.
• entering into a personal relationship with God that is genuine and authentic, resisting the temptation to just going through the motions of religious rituals that have little personal meaning.

Lots of good food for thought.  The North D/FW Chapter of the Christian Counselors of Texas organized the meeting which deserved more attendance than came.  Kelly is a Licensed Professional Counselor at Preston Place Counseling in Dallas.  He has a lot of experience with addiction recovery and can be contacted at 972-960-2222 or Kelly@PrestonPlaceCounseling.com.

Helping Kids Out of Sex Trafficking

Truly righteous people respond to the needs of the vulnerable members of our society to meet their needs and to restore them to a place of dignity and effective coping.  They often do so with remarkable compassion and great sacrifice to themselves.  We have two such people in our community.  Two professors from Dallas Baptist University, Doctor Shannon Wolf and Doctor Dana Wicker, presented their work to our local CAPS (Dallas/Fort Worth) chapter.  They specialize in helping young girls (ages 10-19) find deliverance from their entrapment in sex trafficking.

Dr. Wolf

Dr. Wicker

As many as 300,000 young girls are forced into sexual slavery in the US every year.

One out of every three children who are homeless are sold into sexual slavery within 48 hours.

More hotline calls come from Texas than any other state in the country!

Praise God for Doctors Wolf and Wickern who explained the effects of trauma on young girls, how to assess their wounds, how to set treatment objectives and how to make appropriate clinical interventions.

I also met Alisa Jordheim, the Safe-house Development Director of “Traffic 911,” a two-year-old organization in Fort Worth to help fight human trafficking.  The human trafficking hotline number to report abuse is 1-888-373-7888.

“. . . what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8).

We have seen an example of what this looks like in this community.  Thanks Dr. Wolf (shannonw@dbu.edu) and Dr. Wicker (dana@dbu.edu).  If you’d like to receive a file copy of the handouts for this workshop, drop an e-mail request to either of them.

Click here for Animoto video of the meeting.

Choices

Jeremy Ezell just moved from Dallas to Austin.  He’s an excellent counselor.  Any of you looking for a counselor in the Austin area, give him a call.  I know he’s good because I watched him grow like a weed here in Dallas.  I had the privilege of supervising him for part of his LPC license requirement.  He started a blog which I’m now following.  It’s thoughtful.  It’s well written.  Check him out.  I copped this picture from his post which wrestles with the problems that accompany our freedom of choice.  We all want freedom, but yell loudest at what we want freedom FROM.  We need to get clear on what positive goals we have in mind . . . using freedom TO.  Reminds me of the Berkeley students in the early 60′s hollering for “free speech” when it seemed to me they had plenty of freedom but not much to say.

Back to Jeremy.  He’s Jeremy the Counseling Pastor at Austin Ridge Bible Church.  You can reach him at jeremy@austinridge.org and is part of the Hyde Park Baptist Church Counseling Center

Drug Treatment in the Midst of Life

I visited the offices of I360 recently and was impressed by several things.  Most obvious was the intelligence and competence of Dr. Kevin Gilliland and his entire staff.  They think outside the box, while embracing the virtues of standard approaches like Alcoholics Anonymous.  They’re very positive about what they do without trash-talking anybody else’s approach.   They’re very unique, but not exclusive.  They dovetail with other treatment specialties around town and across the country.  This is clearly an upscale operation that is not just the same ol’ enchilada.  What do I mean by all this?  Read how staff member, Chris Epstein, describes their services:

Chemical dependency touches every aspect of a person’s life.  Addiction treatment has to help recovering addicts prepare for the multitude of challenges that await them.  I360 is different from other addiction treatment centers in that we help individuals build and apply the skills necessary to live a new life, free from alcohol and drugs. We take treatment outside of the traditional setting to make it personal and customized to your unique needs and situation. The following vignette gives an example of I360 in action:

Steve is a high level executive with XYZ Inc, a father of 3 boys, a husband to a wonderful wife, Pattie, for the past 15 years—and yet has been battling an addiction to alcohol.  He has seen how his addiction has affected multiple facets of his life. If Steve shows up to work drunk one more time he will lose his job.  His boys are embarrassed by dad’s angry outbursts at their

Addiction Recovery

Sometimes individuals needs to get away from it all to focus all their energies on recovery from their addiction.  A ranch setting north of Dallas provides a pastoral setting to do just that.  I visited “Enterhealth” a few months ago and could not imagine a more attractive facility to work on the issues of drug and alcohol addiction that are quite unattractive.  Whether inside or out, this is a place where you can rest and reflect.  Click here for a more complete photo-tour.   I was impressed by two aspects of their program beyond the sheer beauty of the place: (1) medical attention is available 24-7 and (2) following discharge, online recovery tools 24 hours a day from anywhere in the world.  I asked their marketing director, Deborah Phillips, to highlight some of the aspects of the program that make it unique.  Here’s what she said:

Enterhealth: Personalized Addiction Disease Management

At Enterhealth, we offer a better a way to recover from alcohol and drug addiction.  With a personalized recovery plan that includes best-in-class addiction therapies, advanced anti-addiction medications and online continuing recovery support, we can address each individual’s unique needs.

Enterhealth succeeds where other methods have failed by approaching addiction as a chronic brain disease – utilizing traditional behavioral therapies while also taking into account the physical, psychological, neurological, relational and spiritual aspects of each person.

Enterhealth understands that addiction and the recovery process are different for each person. That’s why our comprehensive alcohol and drug treatment program is customized on an individual basis. We believe that each unique situation calls for an equally one-of-a-kind plan of action to achieve lifelong sobriety.

At Enterhealth, we treat the whole person, through an individualized approach, in every element of our recovery program. We offer a full range of personalized addiction disease management services from withdrawal stabilization (detoxification) to trauma resolution to co-existing conditions/dual diagnosis to after care and online recovery support.   We also have a two addiction psychiatrists on staff.

The Ranch: Renaissance in Recovery

At The Ranch, a premier adult residential treatment facility located just north of the Dallas/Fort Worth area, we put all of the Enterhealth program elements into practice. In a comfortable, supportive environment, we blend the most effective science-based clinical tools with innovative psychotherapeutic techniques.  Our amenities, activities and services are combined with comprehensive support sessions hosted by experienced and caring staff.  We offer private rooms, 24-hour nursing supervision and numerous activities to keep you in shape during your stay.

Online Recovery Support Program

To enhance the recovery process, Enterhealth provides the support needed for lifelong recovery success, and helps make the transition from residential treatment back to everyday life just a little easier.  Our online recovery program can be used by clients and clients’ support networks (friends, family, therapists, etc.) long after discharge from residential support. Intended to prevent/predict relapse and supply the needed continuity of care, the e-learning recovery is meant to be used to enhance the effectiveness of any alcohol and drug addiction treatment program. This online resource is intended to prevent/predict relapse and supply the needed continuity of care on an ongoing basis so that should a client relapse, he/she can easily and quickly get the support needed to return to sobriety.