News

New Treatment Component for Legal Professionals

Posted on by Christy Weeks

Harmony is proud to support the addiction recovery process for members of the legal profession. As a leader in the field of addiction treatment for 40 years, Harmony Foundation has seen that drug addiction and alcoholism affect upwards of 10% of the population. The rates of addiction are even higher among legal professionals, as the American Bar Association estimates 15% to 20% of lawyers suffer from substance abuse and chemical dependency.

Larry Dubin, a professor of law at the University Detroit Mercy School of Law, says that addiction often begins when lawyers are in college when they are exposed to the actual lifestyles of attorneys – including substance abuse. Dublin states that students are also conditioned to hide their personal reactions and emotions and often have to represent clients or positions that may not gel with their own belief systems or moral constitution. Such pressures implicit in the profession can lead to substance abuse problems as the substances help further mask the emotional lives of lawyers.

Harmony Foundation recognizes that legal professionals are concerned that disclosing their addiction may cost them the respect of their clients and peers and possibly their licenses. Fortunately, over the past 30 years services have risen to meet the needs of professionals who are facing issues with chemical dependency or co-occurring disorders. Evidence based evaluation and treatment programs that work with professional monitoring agencies have achieved remarkable success. Treatment programs that work with professional programs have reportedly lower incidence of relapse (less than 3% relapse rate per year) and professionals are able to transition back into the workplace and preserve their careers. 

Harmony supports and collaborates with such programs including the American Bar Association (ABA) Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs (CoLAP), the Colorado Lawyer Assistance Program (COLAP) and Colorado Lawyers Helping Lawyers (CLHL) and the Colorado Supreme Court Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel.

The Colorado Lawyer Assistance Program (COLAP) helps members of the legal profession (including law students) who suffer from physical or mental disabilities that impair their ability to practice, including substance abuse. They offer various confidential services such as interventions, aftercare services, monitoring services and peer support group meetings.

Colorado Lawyers Helping Lawyers, Inc. (CLHL) is a peer driven program that offers support, education and referrals for those who are facing substance abuse problems. The overarching goal of the program is relapse prevention and providing a confidential safe space for legal professionals to disclose their challenges with addiction.

Harmony understands the stress, strain, exhaustion, and isolation of the practice of law and the depression, anxiety, and addiction that can follow. This has sparked the creation of a specialized addiction treatment component for lawyers and other legal professionals, that is premised on the need for confidential and professional treatment.

Harmony Foundation’s treatment component for Legal professionals helps them cope with their addiction and learn skills to maintain a lifetime of sobriety. The 30-day (and variable) comprehensive treatment for legal professionals uses the evidence based Bio-Psycho-Social, 12-Step Residential Treatment Model. By overcoming the reservations and fear associated with admitting they have an addiction, legal professionals are able to regain their lives both professionally and personally in the confidential setting of Harmony’s private campus, nestled in the Rocky Mountains near Estes Park, Colorado.

New Movie Portrays a Pilot Facing Alcoholism and Criminal Charges

Posted on by Christy Weeks

Flight, a movie about an alcoholic airline pilot premiered in Los Angeles last night. Denzel Washington plays the main character who is a manipulative and dishonest alcoholic pilot. Despite this, he is able to land a plane in the midst of a brutal storm successfully and is coined a hero until later when the media gets wind that he was drunk while landing the plane.

In an interview, Denzel Washington explains that his character attempts to be abstinent from alcohol but then ends up drinking after he learns he may face prison time. Denzel says he hopes that the film will touch anyone who has been impacted by alcoholism or addiction.

The choice of an airline pilot struggling with alcoholism and addiction is a stark reality for thousands of US airline pilots, as the most common mental health problem amongst pilots is alcoholism. By 2004, there were 2700 reported incidences of pilots in the US seeking treatment for alcoholism, a relatively low number considering there are nearly 150,000 pilots in the US and The National Institute for Alcoholism Research estimates that alcoholism affects five to eight percent of all pilots.

However, the number of pilots seeking alcoholism treatment have increased since the creation of a special FAA program known as the HIMS Program (Human Intervention Motivation Study). This program was created because few pilots would self identify as alcoholics out of fear of losing their licenses and ultimately their careers. In order to fix this significant safety problem for the airlines industry, the FAA prompted co-workers, flight attendants and co-pilots to identify flight crewmembers with potential substance abuse problems without fearing that they would be ending their colleagues’ careers. It also incentivized pilots to seek help without fear of losing their licenses or jobs. Without a program that allows pilots to seek inpatient addiction treatment and holds their positions until they can return to work, their substance abuse would likely remain hidden and impede upon the safety of airlines.

Once pilots are identified or self-identify as having substance abuse problems, they take a medical leave of absence and spend a minimum of 28 days in an inpatient residential facility. An intensive outpatient program follows inpatient treatment along with daily participation in Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), an AA sponsor and a pilot peer sponsor. The pilot may return to flying after the FAA medical division has issued a special medical certificate verifying treatment and evaluation.

This program has had high success rates. For example, United Airlines reports a 76% recovery rate amongst their recovering pilots. In 2004, 1,875 special certificates were approved for pilots treated for alcoholism in the HISM Program and the relapse rate among program participants was approximately 10 percent over a three-year period – far lower than average relapse rates, which are 40-60% According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Harmony Foundation in Colorado offers specialized addiction programs for professionals seeking treatment. Our alcoholism treatment program and drug addiction programs can help airline pilots, among other professionals seeking addiction treatment, begin their journey into recovery.

Current Generation Said to Have the Highest Addiction Rate

Posted on by Christy Weeks

The current generation has the highest addiction rate than any other group – ever. And painkillers are the culprits, as oxycontin addiction, codeine addiction, opana addiction and vicodin addiction are all on the rise.

According to Richard Miech, a professor of sociology at the University of Colorado, Denver, the current generation’s abuse of prescription pain medications is “higher than any generation ever measured.” In fact, it is 40% higher than the previous generation.

Here are some alarming statistics from a study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health:

  • Emergency room visits related to prescription painkiller abuse have increased by 129% between 2004 and 2009
  • There have been 3 times as many accidental overdoses resulting in death between the 1990s and 2007
  • There has been a 500% increase in those seeking addiction treatment in drug rehab centers, especially addiction rehabs for young adults, between 1997 and 2007
  • The number of hydrocodone, oxycodone and similar legal prescriptions in the US have increased from 40 million in 1991 to 180 million in 2007.
Why the addiction rate is rising

With greater availability of prescription drugs comes a greater propensity for addiction and accidental overdose. The current generation’s access to oxycodone, and similar highly addictive opiate products, is unprecedented and they are often getting them from friends and family members. Miech warns that accessibility of these prescriptions is underestimated, asserting, “Most people recognize the dangers of leaving a loaded gun lying around the house. What few people realize is that far more people die as a result of unsecured prescription medications.”

The current generation is comprised of adults and young adults referred to as “generation X” and “generation Y.” Although many are filling up emergency rooms, the good news is that they are also seeking addiction treatment. Reputable addiction treatment centers like Harmony Foundation are responding to these admissions by creating specific programs catering to young adults and adults with opiate addictions. Through specialized programs including detox, therapy and support groups, young adults and adults addicted to pain killers have a real chance at sustaining life long sobriety – and potentially lowering the historically high rate of accidental overdoses.

Dangers of Drinking: University of Colorado Graduate Shot After Trespassing

Posted on by Christy Weeks

Zoey Ripple, a recent University of Colorado graduate has been in headlines recently after she was shot in the hip by the owners of a multi-million dollar home she broke into while drunk last May.

Ripple’s sentencing was held last week where she pleaded guilty to first degree criminal trespassing. Ripple got into the house through an open screen door at around 3:30 am on May 23rd. After homeowners Doreen Orion and Timothy Justice screamed at Ripple to leave, they fired a shot into her hip when she ignored them and continued to walk into the room.

Ripple’s attorney Colette Cribari told the judge last week that she may have been under the influence of a date rape drug like rohypnol because she had no recollection of the event or even how she got to the house. Rohypnol is considered a date rape drug because of high potency and its ability to cause strong amnesia once ingested. While Ripple wasn’t tested that night for drugs, she was for alcohol which was 3 times the legal limit according to authorities.

Taking this into consideration, the judge deferred Ripple’s sentence and her entire charge could be dropped if she abstains from alcohol and out of trouble for the duration of her 18 month probation. According to Boulder County District Attorney, there are about 12 to 15 cases each year of college students under the influence of alcohol wandering into someone’s home, but not all have a bullet wound as a constant reminder of their drunken mishaps.

Reflecting on the incident in court last week, Ripple said, “Really scary things can happen and it’s important to keep your bearings about you.” She also asserted that she has abstained from alcohol since the incident and plans to move to Peru after probation. “I need to continue to remind myself that this doesn’t define me. I know who I am,” she said.

It is true that “we are not our behaviors” when we drink. In other words, what we do while drunk is often not who we are authentically. But the behaviors that come out, like Ripple’s break-in, are examples of why over consumption of alcohol can be so dangerous. The number of deadly accidents that occur each year because of alcohol consumption are astronomical. Sometimes that extra drink someone takes while already tipsy or drunk is enough to push them into a blackout or dangerous situation. While many have setbacks, like Ripple, some can have more dire, lifelong and life-threatening consequences.  

This is especially true of the untreated alcoholic. While Ripple has abstained from alcohol because of the incident, some are unable to abstain and continue to drink despite negative consequences. If you or a loved one has suffered negative consequences from drinking and yet continue to drink, the affordable Colorado addiction treatment and alcoholism treatment programs at Harmony Foundation in Colorado can help.


Alcoholism and Even Moderate Drinking Can Cause Arrhythmia

Posted on by Christy Weeks

A new study published by the Canadian Medical Association Journal looked at 30,000 adults in 40 countries with a median age of 66 and found that just a few drinks of alcohol can put someone who suffers from diabetes and heart disease at risk for arrhythmia.


During an arrhythmia the heartbeat becomes irregular, beating too slow or fast. For those with heart disease and diabetes, an arrhythmia can be life threatening as the heart may not be able to pump enough blood to the body. The lack of blood flow can damage the brain, heart, and other organs. Particularly, those with arrhythmia are at higher risk of stroke. The study followed subjects in two research trials who had congestive heart failure and high blood pressure. They found those who drink more, but still moderately, had higher rates of atrial fibrillation, which causes arrhythmia.

This study was published just as the company who manufactures the drink Four Loko came under fire in a lawsuit over a New Jersey man who blamed the drink for giving him an arrhythmia. Four Loko is known for being dangerously intoxicating as each can contains 12% alcohol and was once caffeinated. The beverage contained four ingredients – alcohol, caffeine, taurine and guarana until the FDA forced the manufacturer to drop the stimulants from the product. The man pursuing a lawsuit claimed that the 2 and ½ cans of Four Loco he consumed caused his heart arrhythmia.

Often, when people (like the New Jersey man) consume more than the recommended amount of alcohol, health consequences follow. Sometimes it is hard to determine if the abuse of alcohol is the root cause of health problems or just exacerbated by consumption. It is estimated that 1 in 6 people in the US have a drinking problem. One of the greatest indicators of problematic drinking is continuing to drink despite health consequences or drinking despite current health conditions, like diabetes and heart problems, that contraindicate drinking.

Ten other signs of alcoholism, alcohol abuse and problematic drinking include:

1.    Drinking despite harmful consequences to one’s health, work, social and family relationships
2.    Drinking alone
3.    Becoming violent or depressed when drinking
4.    Becoming hostile or dishonest when asked about drinking
5.    Having an inability to control drinking – being unable to stop or reduce alcohol intake
6.    Making excuses to drink or manufacturing dramatic situations to have an excuse to drink
7.    Missing work or school or having inhibited productivity in work or school as a result of drinking
8.    Stopping activities like going to the gym or church because of alcohol consumption
9.    Trying to hide alcohol from friends, family and even health care professionals
10.  Neglecting to eat or eating poorly – rationalizing spending money on alcohol but not on food or other necessitates

If any of these behaviors resonate with you or a loved one or your health has been impacted by drinking, the alcoholism treatment program at Harmony Colorado can help.

College Students are now Using Alcohol Enemas

Posted on by Christy Weeks

Over the past few weeks “alcohol enemas” have received wide media attention following an incident at the University of Tennessee involving a fraternity student. The student was in critical condition (but has since been released) last weekend with a blood alcohol level of 0.40, which is five times the legal limit and can result in death by alcohol poisoning.

According to the Knoxville, TN Police Spokesman Darrell DeBusk, “Upon extensive questioning, it is believed that members of the fraternity were using rubber tubing inserted into their rectums as a conduit for alcohol as the abundance of capillaries and blood vessels present greatly heightens the level and speed of the alcohol entering the bloodstream as it bypasses the filtering by the liver.”

As often seen with substance abuse, the tolerance level  for the substance increases and abusers attempt to get their high through a faster mechanism. The slowest administration is through oral ingestion and the fastest is through intravenous transmission. The alcohol enema serves just like an IV, as it goes directly through to the blood stream. According to Aaron White from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) the use of enemas “makes it all the more dangerous, because your body can’t reject the toxin &hellipsis; When you do it rectally you may still throw up, but there’s nothing to throw up here. It’s kind of like a point of no return once you put it in there that way.”

Alcohol enemas were otherwise unknown to many, including the Chancellor of Student Life at UT who said, “Shock would be an overstatement … I myself have never heard of what has been alleged.” Although alcohol enemas may be unheard of, the general problem of underage drinking is well known across college campuses throughout the US. It is estimated that 1,825 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 experience alcohol related deaths, according to the NIAAA. These deaths can include alcohol poisoning or injuries such as car accidents or falls.

What can start out as casual drinking for your adults can soon turn into alcohol abuse and dependence with dangerous consequences. Harmony Foundation has seen this within its own admissions – with an increase in young adults from across the US, both in and out of college, who have suffered the negative and often unintended consequences of alcohol abuse.

If you or a loved one suffers from substance abuse, Harmony foundation can help through our addiction treatment programs and our specialized treatment tracks for men, women, and college age young adults.

September is Recovery Month

Posted on by Christy Weeks

Road to Recovery, Recovery Month


The month of September is known as Recovery Month with various events that commemorate and promote the treatment of and recovery from substance abuseand mental health disorders. The goal of Recovery Month is to impact the general discourse about mental health and substance abuse, advocate for more services for these disorders and to celebrate recovery and addiction treatment professionals.

In the past, the influence of popular media on general public perception has stigmatized mental health and substance abuse disorders a negative and shameful. This was recognized 23 years ago by addiction treatment professionals who started Recovery Month as a way to honor those who worked in the field of addiction treatment. Recovery Month then evolved in 1998 to celebrate those in recovery and it evolved last year to include those with mental health disorders. 
Since Recovery Month began, public awareness and understanding substance abuse and mental health disorders has grown. One way this has been effective is equating the disease of addiction with cancer. From this perspective, people realize they wouldn’t shame someone who had cancer, discourage them for seeking treatment or caution them from telling their loved ones or peers about their ailments. In this light, if people are going to great lengths to face one of the most difficult diseases to recover from, their efforts should be celebrated rather than stigmatized.
Because mainstream media can impact public discourse on addiction, it is important to have visible events throughout Recovery Month that re-shape the negative perception of substance abuse and mental health disorders. Recovery Month celebrations are routinely done by sharing stories with others such as neighbors, friends and colleagues as a way to educate the public about living with and recovering from a substance abuse or mental health disorder. Their shared stories and celebrations show that addiction does not discriminate, that it can impact the rich and poor alike, regardless of race, gender, age or sexual orientation. The stories of treatment professionals and those in recovery reveal how and why recovery works, as SAMSHA explains, “There are millions of Americans whose lives have been transformed through recovery. These successes often go unnoticed by the broader population; therefore, Recovery Month provides a vehicle to celebrate these accomplishments.”
Those in recovery should rightfully be depicted as triumphant heroes walking through one of life’s most difficult encounters. Their investment in their own recovery is positive essential to their general health and well-being and that of those around them. They are living testaments that treatment does indeed work and enables them to lead amazing lives, as the best versions of themselves. By shifting the discourse, Recovery Month is a tribute to those in recovery and treatment service providers and spreads the message that recovery is common and possible. If you are a loved one is interested in recovery from a substance abuse or mental health disorder, Harmony Colorado has effective treatment programs that can help you begin your journey. 

Harmony’s New Young Adult Recovery Track

Posted on by Christy Weeks

Harmony Foundation now has a Young Adult Recovery Track!


Harmony’s YART Program is rooted in the peer-to-peer model of recovery. This evidence-based model shows that when those among similar ages or stages in life are in recovery together, they have greater chances of achieving long-term recovery. By being among those with shared experiences that they can better relate to, young adults in particular are better positioned to grasp on to sobriety and recovery as a way of life.

The YART program has been established in response to the growing problem throughout the US of young adults who are addicted to drugs. According to SAMSHA, more than six percent of all Americans aged 18 to 25 have engaged in non-medical use of prescription drugs in the past month. The most commonly used prescription drugs are addictive substances like opiates and benzodiazepines.  

Unfortunately, these drugs and the combination of these drugs known as “drug cocktails” can be life-threatening – as indicated by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism that reported a serious increase in overdoses among 18-24 years old over the past decade. The researchers found that hospitalizations among young adults rose by 25 percent for alcohol overdoses, 56 percent for drug overdoses and 76 percent for overdoses from a combination of drugs and alcohol.

Young adults are more susceptible to peer pressure than other groups, which can be a liability when it comes to drug abuse – yielding to the pressure to try prescription drugs for example. But it can also be an asset – such as in a recovery setting where they see their peers thriving in recovery and embracing 12 step principals.

Harmony Foundation’s recognition of the need for this peer-to-peer model of recovery has been complimented by another innovation – recognizing the impact technology has on young adults in their ability to learn and embrace new concepts. Rather than traditional lectures used in drug treatment programs, Harmony engages clients in a more interactive and technologically engaged track through an array of groups including impulse control, anger and resentment, sexuality, relationships, codependency, trust, grief and loss, relapse prevention and life skills. To compliment these groups, recreational, creative and stress reduction offerings include experiential art, music therapy, yoga, a rock climbing wall, meditation, acupuncture, enhanced exercise and T’ai Chi.

YART will provide a great service to young adults with substance abuse problems in Colorado and throughout the US. Harmony’s Clinical Director, Chris Desizlets – CAC III, speaks to the need of such a program, recognizing that “Clients today enter treatment both younger and sicker than ever before and we cannot treat clients in a one size fits all model. Young adults deserve a young person’s treatment program that respects and speaks to them.”

If you are a loved one has been struggling with substance abuse, Harmony Foundation has affordable addiction treatment programs that can re-ignite your life. Young adults have the rest of their lives ahead of them, make that life filled with peace and joy by calling today.

The “Helping Others” Study Finds That Alcoholic Anonymous Works

Posted on by Christy Weeks

There have been few scientific studies on the efficacy of 12 step programs – until now. Maria Pagano, a professor of psychiatry at Case Western Reserve University led a 10-year study known as the “Helping Others” study. Considering the high membership of Alcoholics Anonymous worldwide, the outcome of the study comes as no surprise – active participation in AA does in fact improve one’s chances of successful long term sobriety.


Pagano and her colleagues used Project MATCH, a clinical trial on the efficacy of alcoholism treatments on behavior sponsored by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. What they found was that those in AA had lower alcohol use and longer sustained sobriety than non-participants.

Twelve step programs like AA promote service as an important component to the program and staying sober. Service can be as simple as driving someone to a meeting or sharing one’s own personal story with others. It is through this service aspect that many are able to sustain their sobriety and recovery. “Consequently, being interested in others keeps you more connected to your program and pulls you out of the vicious cycle of extreme self-preoccupation that is a posited root of addiction” says Pagano.

A large program component of Harmony Foundation’s Drug and Alcohol Programs is service and getting outside of one’s own way to strengthen their own sobriety. To many it seems counter-intuitive who may think don’t I need to focus on myself and analyze my past to overcome it? Or don’t I need to be ok before I can help someone else? Sometimes the best thing a person can do for their recovery is to stop analyzing, thinking, worrying and the best way to do that is to take the focus from inward to outward. Like headlights on a car shining outward, a fellow addict can beam light on others and help them through the darkest of times. In such an instant, the worrying addict forgets their own problems by helping another and inadvertently feels better about themselves. Feeling good about oneself and selflessly giving to others brings pleasure and reward that is undoubtedly deeper and more pleasurable than any false reward from substance abuse.

Harmony foundation’s Colorado drug rehab is rooted in 12 step principles, which do have a lasting impact on the ability of our clients to recover and live productive and fulfilling lives.

Test Could Predict Future Alcoholism

Posted on by Christy Weeks
Colorado Alcoholism Treatment
Am I an Alcoholic?

Would a test that can predict alcoholism and relapse tendencies prevent youngsters from trying out drinking? There have been numerous studies conducted on the genetic predisposition toward alcoholism – most of which say that if one of your parents is an alcoholic, you may become one, if both parents and most of your lineage are alcoholics, you will probably become one. Despite this knowledge, people at risk still chose to try out drinking – walk into any 12 step meeting and you will hear variations on the same theme, “both of my parents were alcoholics” which suggests learned behavior and nurture vs. nature, but another common story is “both of my parents met in AA and were sober my whole life” which speaks to the natural genetic predispositon vs. nurture.


Despite the self-knowledge of a potential genetic predisposition, many still test the waters, but some think this may change if a test showed those at risk hard evidence. An article published this week in Nature Neuroscience showed that a behavioral test may be able to do just that – give hard evidence on who may have trouble with alcoholism and chronic relapse. Jane Taylor, a professor at Yale School of Medicine says, “What is encouraging about this study is that we have identified both a behavioral indicator and a molecule that explains that risk.”

The behavioral indicator showed that the same mice who reacted to a certain food cue also exhibited alcoholic tendencies. The Yale researchers also found that the mice that showed alcoholic tendencies had greater brain plasticity as measured by levels of the molecule PSA-NCAM. Mice with low levels of this molecule had less of an ability to control their alcohol seeking behavior whereas those with greater PSA-NCAM were more flexible in their behaviors around rewards. “This would make sense since alcoholism is associated with a lack of neurobiological and behavioral plasticity,” Taylor says. “The brains of alcoholics seem to get stuck in the same patterns of activity.”

If the testing of PSA-NCAM becomes available to the public, it would be interesting to see if it would serve as real prevention tool for those who know they have less ability to control their alcohol consumption and more of a likelihood of relapsing even if they did stop. So far, the self-knowledge that one may have a genetic pre-disposition prevents some from testing the assumption, but not all.

If you or a loved one suffers from alcoholism or relapse, our Colorado alcohol treatment program and relapse program can help.