The Labyrinth—a Powerful Map for Your Recovery Journey

The original Labyrinth in Greek mythology was an elaborate, confusing structure designed by Daedalus to imprison the Minotaur monster. According to the myth, that labyrinth was so cunningly made that Daedalus could barely escape it himself after building it. 

Today, many people would call such a structure a maze while a labyrinth serves an entirely different purpose. “The labyrinth is one of the oldest contemplative and transformational tools known to humankind, used for centuries for prayer, ritual, initiation, and personal and spiritual growth,” wrote Melissa Gayle West in Exploring the Labyrinth. It’s a spiritual healing tool that has no blind alleys, dead ends, or tricks (as in a maze), and you can always see the center. “Once you set your foot upon its path, the labyrinth gently and faultlessly leads you to the center of both the labyrinth and yourself, no matter how many twists and turns you negotiate in the process.” 

“Many walkers see the pathway as embodying a deeper meaning, such as the journey of life. You walk to the center, stop and reflect, then slowly go back to your day-to-day existence,” wrote Nancy Stedman for The Philadelphia Inquirer in April. 

 Spiritual pioneer Reverend Lauren Artress has called labyrinths watering holes for the spirit. “Walking the labyrinth is a spiritual practice that shifts the metaphor of living a spiritual life. Instead of climbing the ladder of perfection, or living a rule-bound life, the labyrinth teaches us that life is a journey to arrive at being conscious in the present moment,” Dr. Artress wrote in The Path of the Holy Fool: How the Labyrinth Ignites Our Visionary Powers

Representing growth and transformation, walking a labyrinth can confer a sense of clarity, peace, and serenity—a valuable mindset on the spiritual journey of recovery from addiction. Addiction treatment at Harmony promotes physical, emotional, and spiritual healing, empowering clients to embark upon the lifelong journey of recovery.

Walking the labyrinth at Harmony serves as a symbolic representation of that journey. You mindfully walk to the center accepting the gift of recovery before returning to your day-to-day existence a changed person ready to embrace a new life of sobriety. 

At the same time, walking the labyrinth is not only a symbolic act. The meditative aspect of the walk is a powerful recovery tool to calm the mind and ward off cravings. “The mind can be stilled and attention paid to the body, the wisdom of the heart, and the graces of being rather than doing,” wrote Melissa Gayle West in Exploring the Labyrinth.

Harmony will give you many tools to cope with the mental stress and trauma that may have fueled your substance misuse. Meditation is often one of the more important tools because it can train your mind to regulate emotions better, stay focused, and overcome cravings. Walking our labyrinth can be part of your meditation practice while you’re in treatment at Harmony.

If you or a loved one are struggling with alcohol or drug addiction, or you have questions about our programs, call us today at (866) 686-7867 to get the help needed as soon as possible. Our experienced staff is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. 

How Harmony Survived the 2020 East Troublesome Fire

2020 has been a tough year for many addiction treatment providers. The COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States in the spring and has made recovery work difficult ever since—for people with addiction and their therapists. “Getting sober during COVID-19 definitely has its challenges,” says Harmony alumna Shayla E. The Harmony Foundation had to implement a number of precautionary measures to ensure staff and client safety.

In October, Harmony suddenly faced another dangerous challenge: the East Troublesome wildfire. As with COVID, the entire Harmony community rose to the challenge.

“Before October 21, the East Troublesome fire had mostly been a nuisance,” reported The Colorado Sun, “burning through dense trees and steadily gobbling up terrain.” Then it suddenly turned into a massive firestorm and on October 22, it began to threaten the Harmony campus.

The leadership team immediately came together for an emergency meeting. “There were also other fires in the area,” remembers Harmony CEO Jim Geckler. “We had carefully monitored the Cameron Peak fire earlier that week, which was unsettling enough. Then the East Troublesome fire jumped the mountain and started to burn on our side on Thursday morning (Oct 22).”

It was time to make a decision. When fire officials issued a voluntary evacuation advisory, Harmony decided to play it safe and evacuate. After the leadership meeting made the call to leave and not wait for a mandatory evacuation order, Geckler explained the situation to the clients and let them know what to bring along.

“We had solid communication between all parties involved and because we had done a lot of preparation and training in the past, we were ready to go within 45 minutes. We packed up the medical center, had a great procedure in place for moving the belongings of clients and how to move medications safely. By 12:30 we were lined up caravan-style and ready to go.”

Everything went seamlessly because everybody communicated and everybody knew what they were supposed to do. “Strong communication between the leadership team, the staff, and the clients, as well as the ability of people to make the necessary decisions, allowed us to move forward quickly,” says Geckler.

The destination was a hotel in Greeley, Colorado. With the support of staff at the DoubleTree by Hilton Greeley at Lincoln Park, Harmony was able to successfully relocate all clients and continue to provide them with quality treatment in a safe, welcoming environment.

When Harmony’s chief marketing officer Gina de Peralta Thorne called ahead from the road, the only questions were ‘what do you need?’ and ‘when do you need it?’ “I told them we needed 28 rooms and conference space and that we were 20 minutes out,” remembers Thorne. “They were just remarkable at giving us what we needed to keep clients safe in their recovery. We even used the situation in therapy, discussing how the environment in the hotel was very different from the Harmony campus and how that worked for them.”

The medical team had to quickly build a makeshift detox facility in one of the rooms with an ironing board as a reception desk.

“We managed in an emergency setting,” says Jim Geckler. “I’m proud to say we had uninterrupted client care, every single decision throughout the evacuation was made around client care. It was inspiring to see how people rose to the occasion.”

“Our client-focused culture is collaborative. Over the past seven years or so, we worked diligently to integrate better with other care providers in Colorado,” says Geckler. “We make sure we’re there when they need us and there wasn’t a moment when we didn’t feel supported by others. I received lots of text messages inquiring whether we’re okay, some of them just saying let me know what you need—that made it manageable for us. We had deliveries every day of treats, bottled water, and games. People kept asking how can we be of assistance?”

Once in place in the hotel, the focus was on keeping clients safe. “Usually our patients are in a safe, relatively controlled environment but near the hotel, we had locations where people do drug deals and some clients told us the park was a trigger for them,” remembers Gina Thorne.

Even though the hotel was safe from the wildfire, the Harmony team now had to contend with other dangers. “There was a bar in the hotel, for example, and we had to make sure clients would not be able to order alcohol from their rooms,” explains Thorne. “But the hotel staff learned quickly to work with our unique population. There was never any negative reaction to our clients, the staff was gracious and courteous, they really bent over backward to make sure we got what we needed.”

Again, the open environment was used for therapeutic effect. “We talked about it all the time,” says Geckler. “We made the experience a celebration and congratulated clients on a regular basis. We talked with them and made sure they understood the exceptional circumstances.”

Geckler is convinced that this group of clients will have an exceptional recovery because they are connected in ways other people are not. “It was a bonding experience, and the clients have really embraced it.”

Harmony stayed in Greeley for a whole week, finally returning to Estes Park on October 29. “We now have faced two unbelievable situations this year and we never considered shutting Harmony down,” says Geckler. “Our role is to be of service to our clients who are looking for help—we couldn’t just abandon them. We were able to keep stability for our clients and we were able to celebrate their achievements under difficult circumstances. Everybody stepped up and simply asked what they can do to help. In years to come, I will look back with pride on what we accomplished during this fire emergency.”

Rutgers Study Links Tobacco Use with Other Substance Use Among Sexual and Gender Minority Populations

Cigarette smoking is associated with frequent substance use and poor behavioral and physical health in sexual and gender minority populations, according to Rutgers researchers.

The study, published in the journal Annals of Behavioral Medicine, examined tobacco use by sexual minority men and transgender women to better understand the relationships between smoking tobacco, other substance use, and mental, psychosocial, and general health.

The Rutgers researchers surveyed 665 racially, ethnically and socio-economically diverse sexual minority men and transgender women, 70 percent of whom reported smoking cigarettes.

They found that smoking was associated with race/ethnicity, marijuana, and alcohol use, and mental health concerns of the participants. Current smokers were more likely to be white and reported more days of marijuana use in the past month. The study also found that current cigarette smoking was associated with more severe anxiety symptoms and more frequent alcohol use.

“Evidence also tells us that smoking is associated with worse mental health and increased substance use, but we don’t know how these conditions are related to each other, exacerbating and mutually reinforcing their effects,” said Perry Halkitis, dean of the Rutgers School of Public Health and the study’s senior author.

LGBTQ+ people are more likely to smoke than their cisgender and heterosexual peers to cope with an anti-LGBTQ+ society, inadequate health care access, and decades of targeted tobacco marketing. Those social stressors drive the health disparities they face, which are compounded by a lack of LGBTQ-affirming healthcare providers, research shows.

“Our findings underscore the importance of holistic approaches to tobacco treatment that account for psychosocial drivers of substance use and that address the complex relationships between mental health and use of substances like alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana,” said Caleb LoSchiavo, a doctoral student at the Rutgers School of Public Health and the study’s first author.

The study once again illustrates the strong correlation between severe stress—especially trauma—and substance use disorder (SUD). LGBTQ+ and transgender people continue to be exposed to strong social stigma—and even physical violence—simply because of their sexual choices or gender identities, leaving many of them severely traumatized.

As a webpage by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) about LGBTQ+ health warns that, “Stigma comes in many forms, such as discrimination, harassment, family disapproval, social rejection, and violence,” putting LGBTQ+ people at increased risk for particular negative health outcomes.

In many cases, smoking tobacco, and using other psychotropic drugs and alcohol are so strongly correlated because they are symptoms of the same kind of psychological stress. The more intense the stress, the greater the likelihood that a SUD will develop—and LGBTQ+ and transgender people generally experience higher levels of stress than their cisgender counterparts. They are simply trying to alleviate their stress with maladaptive coping skills.

Negative life experiences—especially in childhood—and persistent stress also increase the probability of developing mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and panic disorders—all currently intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic and all in turn correlated with substance use disorder.

The Rutgers scientists correctly emphasized the “importance of holistic approaches to tobacco treatment that account for psychosocial drivers of substance use.” Evidence-based addiction and mental health therapy must address all underlying conditions to achieve a positive outcome.

Harmony has provided cutting-edge treatment at its Estes Park center in Colorado for half a century. Our modern, holistic approach to addiction treatment acknowledges the important role mental health conditions and psychosocial factors play as drivers of substance use disorders.

If co-occurring conditions are not comprehensively addressed, clients are more likely to relapse because they may continue to use psychoactive substances to self-medicate those issues. All staff at Harmony have been trained in trauma-informed care. Modern addiction treatment requires a holistic approach that addresses all mental health issues relevant to the SUD and provides a solid foundation for sustained recovery from addiction.

If you or a loved one is struggling with substance use disorder, or you have questions about our programs, call Harmony today at (888) 986-7848 to get the help needed as soon as possible.

States Trim Mental Health Programs Amid Global Health Crisis

It’s been a tough few months for many Americans. A once in a century pandemic has so far killed more than 140,000 people in the United States, causing untold grief and distress while sending the economy into a tailspin.
As if painful isolation from friends and family and anxiety over catching a deadly virus wasn’t bad enough, May and June saw the addition of social unrest and protests over widespread racism. This kind of prolonged, relentless stress cannot remain without consequences.
Mental health and addiction professionals across the United States are now warning that the need for behavioral health services is growing. But while the need for services is growing, many states are faced with budgetary shortfalls. “Colorado is cutting spending on a number of mental health and substance use treatment programs,” Markian Hawryluk reported for Kaiser Health News and The Denver Post in July.
“In Colorado, lawmakers had to fill a $3.3 billion hole in the budget for fiscal year 2020, which started July 1. That included cuts to a handful of mental health programs, with small overall savings but potentially significant impact on those who relied on them.”
Tragically, state legislatures have been forced to consider healthcare cuts and delay new health programs even in the midst of a healthcare crisis. But many lawmakers and health experts are concerned the cuts needed now to balance budgets could make the situation far worse down the line.
“Healthcare cuts tend to be on the table, and of course, it’s counterproductive,” Edwin Park, a health policy professor at Georgetown University told Colorado Public Radio. “When there’s a recession, people lose their jobs and health insurance the very moment when people need those health programs the most.” Some of those cuts were offset by $15.2 million in federal CARES Act funding allocated to behavioral healthcare programs. Some programs, however, were completely defunded.
Doyle Forrestal, CEO of the Colorado Behavioral Healthcare Council, worries that resources won’t be there for an emerging wave of mental health and substance use disorders unleashed by the pandemic. “People who are isolated at home are drinking a lot more, maybe having other problems — isolation, economic despair,” she told Kaiser Health News. “There’s going to be a whole new influx once all of this takes hold.”
Isolation and despair are indeed widely acknowledged drivers of addiction and mood disorders. At the same time, physical distancing measures implemented to contain the COVID-19 outbreak have made it more difficult to provide treatment. A lot of therapeutic face-to-face engagement cannot simply be replaced with an online platform. Harmony continues to serve people suffering from a substance use disorder and has implemented a number of precautionary measures to ensure staff and client safety. Delaying addiction treatment—even during a pandemic—is not a good idea.
Harmony has provided cutting-edge treatment at its Estes Park center in Colorado for half a century. Our modern, evidence-based approach to addiction treatment acknowledges the important role mental health conditions play as drivers of substance use disorders. People may misuse drugs and alcohol because of mental health issues like trauma, depression, and anxiety—all currently intensified by the pandemic.
If co-occurring conditions aren’t addressed, clients are more likely to relapse because they may be tempted to use substances to self-medicate those issues. All staff at Harmony have been trained in trauma-informed care. Modern addiction treatment requires a comprehensive, holistic approach that addresses all mental health issues relevant to the substance misuse and provides a solid foundation for sustained recovery from addiction.

COVID-19: Keep Connecting During The Pandemic

The current global coronavirus pandemic has presented serious challenges for people in recovery from addiction. Self-isolation, the threat of unemployment, no access to 12-Step meetings, and deep anxiety about an invisible disease spreading across the country—these are all possible relapse triggers.

While these risks should certainly not be underestimated, they could also be treated as an opportunity to strengthen recovery efforts.

“We are clearly facing a very difficult situation at the moment but just like everything else in life, this too shall pass,” says Michael Arnold, alumni community relations manager at Harmony. “I believe we now have a great opportunity to work on ourselves while also being of service and reaching out to help others.”

Connection is crucial for a sustained recovery and nothing disconnects like a lockdown in a pandemic—or does it? With stay-at-home orders across the US, meetings and counseling sessions for those who struggle with addiction have now largely moved online.

“With the help of modern technology, we have the chance to be more connected than ever before,” says Arnold. “The time COVID-19 is giving us at home is actually the greatest gift that our recovery can receive. If you are concerned about being isolated at home, pick up the phone, tablet, or use your computer to reach out to someone. When we choose to connect with people we are helping our own recovery just as much as we are helping the person on the other end of the link-up.”

These types of resources are incredibly valuable right now, say addiction professionals, mental health counselors, and individuals in recovery from substance use disorders. “The peer support group means so much to me,” says Harmony alumna, Spring B. “It’s essential for recovery especially in this period of time to stay connected. It’s super nice to see all the alumni. This group gives me an invisible link to people that understand and support me.”

If you are unsure how to proceed, Alcoholics Anonymous has provided a web page devoted to online options. Narcotics Anonymous offers similar information on its website.

“I don’t know what I would have done if I had been in this situation when we didn’t have access to virtual meetings,” a New Yorker who participates in Alcoholics Anonymous told CNBC. The 26-year-old woman from Brooklyn was 62 days sober at the time and planning to attend 90 meetings in her first 90 days of sobriety. She said a recent meeting she attended through video conferencing had over 1,000 participants.

“It’s so cool that technology enables us to attend meetings with friends in recovery that do not live anywhere close to us,” says Harmony’s Michael Arnold. “Even while we are physically isolated, we have the opportunity to be of great service to one another. When we come together, we can recover. I invite you to see this present moment of crisis as the best time to work on your recovery. Embrace this pause in life and fully engage in your journey of recovery.”

Harmony Foundation continues to serve clients during the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) outbreak and is taking new precautions to ensure staff and client safety. These include strict hand-washing protocols, heightened and ongoing disinfection of all areas at facilities, as well as updated admission assessments to consider previous travel, potential exposure, and health status. All new admissions will have additional medical screening upon campus arrival.

Harmony Foundation Upgrades Mental Health Services

Mental Health Team

by Michael Rass

Harmony has provided addiction treatment at its Estes Park center in Colorado for half a century. In the beginning, Harmony was a place where alcoholic men could “dry out,” attend AA meetings, and then return home. Over the years, this first treatment approach was expanded to include group therapy sessions, the expertise of a physician, and a treatment protocol based on the Minnesota Model.

Beginning in 2008, Harmony expanded its detoxification facilities and revised its protocol to include Subutex detox methods for opioid addicts. More recently, Harmony added the HOPE Program which offers medication-assisted therapy using buprenorphine to clients with opioid use disorder.

Led by chief clinical officer Annie Peters, Harmony has now upgraded its dual diagnosis capabilities. Dr. Peters developed a roadmap for Harmony to become a dual-diagnosis capable facility serving clients with SUD and co-occurring mental health disorders. Dual diagnosis (also referred to as co-occurring disorders) is a term used for patients who experience a mental illness and a substance use disorder simultaneously. Harmony is now fully dual diagnosis capable.

This modern, evidence-based approach to addiction treatment acknowledges the important role mental health conditions play as drivers of substance use disorders. People may misuse drugs and alcohol because of mental health issues like trauma, depression, and anxiety. “If co-occurring conditions aren’t addressed, clients are more likely to relapse because they may be drawn to substance use to self-medicate those issues,” says Dr. Peters.

People with addiction may also have traumatic experiences as a result of their substance use. “When people are using substances, they may find themselves in dangerous, potentially traumatizing situations that cause further emotional pain, which then leads to more substance use,” says Peters. “This is a difficult cycle for people to pull themselves out of without help.”

Traumatic life experiences are extremely common among patients with substance use disorder. Many suffered adverse childhood experiences. “Studies of drug addicts repeatedly find extraordinarily high percentages of childhood trauma of various sorts, including physical, sexual, and emotional abuse,” writes Canadian physician Gabor Maté in his seminal addiction study In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts.

Because of this strong correlation, trauma-informed care is an important part of addiction treatment. All staff at Harmony have been trained in trauma-informed care. “When people come to treatment, they often have few coping skills to deal with traumatic memories and emotional pain,” says Peters. “Our primary goals are to help them feel safe in the world, manage emotions and situations without substances, and improve their self-esteem and quality of life.”

Trauma-informed dual-diagnosis care begins with a careful assessment. “Every client gets screened for mental health disorders,” says Harmony therapist Gretchen Leezer. “We identify the needs of the patient and establish which ones we can start working on immediately while they are at Harmony and what follow-up treatment they should get once they have been discharged.”

It’s important to address mental health issues as soon as possible, even if the main focus of treatment is the addiction. “When someone comes into addiction treatment with a long history of depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, or trauma, we want them to leave here with a roadmap for recovery from all of these difficulties,” says Peters.

Harmony mental health professional Uric Geer likens Harmony’s dual diagnosis approach to a Möbius strip which can be created by taking a paper strip, giving it a half-twist, and then joining the ends of the strip to form a loop. If one side reveals the SUD and the other the mental health disorder, then the twist makes both sides visible whereas a normal paper ring would keep the condition on the inside hidden from view. “If you only treat what’s visible on the outside—the substance use disorder—then an important part of the problem remains hidden and untreated,” says Geer.

The treatment team at Harmony works hard every day to address all relevant needs a client might have. “The culture at Harmony is simply amazing,” says Harmony psychologist Rob Leach. “The leadership has a great vision and the team as a whole is extremely dedicated. They put in great effort to meet clients where they are and develop individual treatment plans. There is great coordination of care. Really listening and meeting clients where they are, creates an atmosphere of trust and that’s crucial for their recovery.”