Biography
Biography: Michael Judd
Abstract
Addiction is increasingly conceptualized as a chronic disease, yet the current addiction treatment system is largely based upon an acute model. Th is current model consists of costly residential care and is followed by intensive outpatient
programs. Th e model has been eff ective for some but could be more successful with a continual evaluation and modifi cation to an individual’s needs. Due to the high demand for individuals needing treatment, current inpatient and outpatient services aim to develop a one size fits all approach.
This type of approach touches the greatest amount of individuals at the lowest
cost to already strained budgets. Nevertheless, the cost savings is front loaded and short term. Readmission rates, healthcare treatment and judicial costs continue to rise. Th e current treatment model cannot meet the challenges unique to each client. The need for recovery support, relapse prevention, assessing and addressing environmental and social barriers, as well as integration back into the home and the community has been a challenge for traditional treatment methods.
Traditionally, individuals were expected to fi t into routines and practices that treatment providers referred them to.However, recent studies have revealed the eff ectiveness in a new collaborative approach to address these barriers and has
proven to be an eff ective method for addressing each individual’s unique set of challenges. Th is new model off ers higher percentages of long term success, which directly impacts savings to the behavioral health, healthcare and the judicial systems, and is comparative to current treatment costs to the consumer. It also assigns to each client a personal highly specialized multidisciplinary
team made up of a Psychiatrist (MD), a registered nurse (RN), a licensed clinician (LCSW, LMFT), and a certified recovery advisor (CRA) who utilizes life experience. All team members work collaboratively to assess and develop a unique person centered treatment plan that addresses the multi-dimensional needs of the client within their natural environment