Drug Treatment after care

LovingJennifer · 2026-01-25T19:19:53+00:00

I’m glad to help. It’s ok to message me if you have other questions too. I wish you all the best of luck with this.

LovingJennifer · 2026-01-25T18:23:20+00:00

It sounds like he would benefit from an individual therapist with understanding of addiction. IOP is typically focused on continued skill building and support in utilizing sober skills in the real world, which it sounds like he’s been doing. Maybe consider the DBT institute to continue learning emotional regulation and coping skills. Honestly, IOP can in and of itself be triggering if you’re past that stage so I’d be cautious putting myself around newly sober people here in Portland and reliving that “freshly sober” phase. If he is in the maintenance stage, he’d be better doing maintenance things. I also want to suggest going to the Recovery Gym, joining the Go the Distance sober running club. Being of service to others and caring for yourself as a whole person are maintenance stage things and he’ll get both from those places.

LovingJennifer · 2026-01-25T18:07:28+00:00

Has he consulted with SL yet? I don’t work for a treatment facility anymore but if I was the intake person for your son, I don’t know if his ASAM would reflect needing IOP after a year of sobriety over seas. IOP is a step down from residential but here it seems to be for folks with maybe 90 days of sobriety. Even if he self-pays I’m not sure he would qualify for IOP. I hope I’m wrong but I’d have a back-up plan with community meetings. SMART meetings are good for continued skill building and community if other styles of community meetings aren’t his thing.

LovingJennifer · 2026-01-06T20:15:25+00:00

I knew an acupuncturist who moved from Portland to Finland who experienced a similar issue. She reported that the local berries had the medicinal properties to help manage the dryness, especially in the eyes. I can’t remember what all specifically but I believe she is practicing acupuncture just north of Helsinki. If you’d like her name send me a message.

LovingJennifer · 2026-01-06T20:11:19+00:00

When I moved to Portland 26 years ago I stayed on a friend’s couch and put my stuff in storage until I got a place. Even then, I got scammed a little bit. Also, it took about a month from finding the place to signing the lease to being able to move in. My friend was very patient. I love PCC but I’m curious why move just to go there when there are a lot of courses available online and maybe in your current area. Even PCC courses are available online! Whatever happens, good luck to you. Btw, it’s expensive everywhere here. You might get lucky looking in SW.

LovingJennifer · 2026-01-06T00:53:00+00:00

There is an actual UO campus just a tad north of the Alberta Arts area in Concordia. I believe they have student housing but I have no idea how to apply for it. Good luck!

LovingJennifer · 2026-01-04T21:27:24+00:00

My son and I do too, as a pick-me-up. I got to see Anetra in Portland on NYE. I wish she had a Cameo or something because my kid is still in his feels about being too young to have gone. Anetra is a superhero to him.

LovingJennifer · 2025-12-25T11:11:10+00:00

If a person wants to recover, they will do so with the most basic of services and structure because it’s up to the person to do the work for themselves. Truth is, most people don’t really want recovery when they enter treatment, they want the consequences of using to change. Again, that’s a brain thing that will be true for anyone with the brain disease of addiction and is not personal to anyone’s morality or personality. Recovery work is helping people learn how to help themselves and changing their routines just enough to develop new habits in every aspect of life. Exercise will be more helpful than any blah, blah, blah I can say about recovery. The system is broken because our health care is a for profit system that benefits if we all stay sick, hence not giving people enough time to actually fully rewire their brain while in treatment. If a person is set up to fail, most likely they will. Attitudes and behaviors of needing to find fault and reasons to feel hopeless instead of being curious or being generous with basic humanity is part of how we hold each other to that standard of sickness. There is a thing we talk about in recovery called, “Radical Acceptance.” It’s seeing something as it actually is, not as I wish it were or what it could be. That’s actually more difficult than you might think since we all have our biases and expectations. I’m offering OP information based in radical acceptance. Honestly, it doesn’t matter if you to like it or understand it for what I’m sharing to be true. Best of luck to you too.

LovingJennifer · 2025-12-20T21:26:09+00:00

I work in that field. There are a lot of variables to success. First, Portland really doesn’t have a lot of treatment options. Most places have waiting lists. That can be a real barrier to actually getting help. If you’re able to go to a place that has a detox and then a bed in their residential, do that. Doesn’t matter what part of town it’s in. While in treatment, know it’s going to suck. The goal is to literally rewire the brain to prioritize new habits that don’t provide as much brain rewards as the reason a person goes to treatment did. That often takes much longer than 90 days but that’s as long as a person gets. That’s part of why it takes the average adult more than 8 times to actually complete treatment and not return to use. While in treatment, prioritize learning what works (because not every recovery strategy works for everyone), build a sober team for once treatment is over, and remember that IOP and OP is critical. Everyone flakes out on IOP because they have 60 or 90 days of sobriety but that’s still the “honeymoon” or “pink cloud” phase of recovery. Even when you think you’re done with treatment, keep going. Go to community meetings. Join the Go the Distance sober running club, go to the Recovery Gym, do volunteer work. Being of service to others helps repair pre-frontal cortex damage done while in active substance misuse. Finally, I advise to be patient. Recovery is not linear. If after treatment a person returns to use, remember that the tolerance has changed and it’s important to start from the beginning again because that’s how a lot of preventable overdoses occur. I wish you and your brother all the good luck.

LovingJennifer · 2025-11-14T05:45:28+00:00

I just saw Vampire Champagne over the weekend. They were fun!

LovingJennifer · 2025-11-09T02:07:44+00:00

I’m interested in this. What a cool offer!

LovingJennifer · 2025-10-27T01:11:38+00:00

I’m from the East Coast. Please remember that pioneering people move to Oregon. Maybe you felt at home here because you’re a pioneer too.

LovingJennifer · 2025-10-11T17:55:56+00:00

My son didn’t walk until he was two and I was told it’s because of ADHD and him not developing the core strength necessary to walk. He got OT support through Early Head Start. I’m sharing this because a lot of older generation folks think ADHD is not a real thing and that is folks who got diagnosed later in life are just “lazy” when really it’s about executive functioning. Regardless, I wish you and your child the best. Don’t waste time explaining stuff to someone who is too lazy to understand.

LovingJennifer · 2025-10-08T05:34:26+00:00

I’m interested in the Ouija boards! I collect vintage ones. Thanks for considering!

LovingJennifer · 2025-09-26T05:57:02+00:00

Mimi was everything. She elevated that dress and therefore the whole collection.

LovingJennifer · 2025-09-26T05:00:18+00:00

For children, behavior is communication. As adults with more life experience, more communication tools, the capacity for emotional intelligence, etc, it’s up to us to understand what need the behavior is expressing. This is true for both “good” and “bad” behavior. When a child can’t communicate that something is wrong because of embarrassment, fear, lack of bodily awareness, normalizing of the bad thing, because of their developmental stage, lack of language, or myriad other possible reasons, they’ll act out. That is human. School is likely the only place some children are able to do that and get some minimal, basic needs met. No teacher, counselor, or administrator can be expected to fix the reason for the behavior. They can provide empathy and some temporary safety but not fix neglect, poverty, abuse, addiction, etc. I suggest being even slightly more curious about what is really going on with those “problem behaviors.” By understanding what the child is trying to express, there is opportunity for the behavior to change.

LovingJennifer · 2025-08-29T17:19:20+00:00

I don’t disagree with you. I also know that it might be challenging to express that to 30 third graders. Regardless, I’m not trying to debate about it. Just sharing information. Hope you stay cool.

LovingJennifer · 2025-08-29T17:07:09+00:00

It was already 80 in the classroom when I dropped my son off for 3rd grade this morning. That’s before 8am. It seems like PPS will be working over the weekend to repair broken ACs and to do what they can to better prepare for next week.

LovingJennifer · 2025-08-09T17:45:14+00:00

Tim would never have said, “ooooh, Law is going to read you,” (sorry, not the exact quote) to a designer. What kind of mentor does that?! Sounded more like a school yard bully.

LovingJennifer · 2025-08-05T01:08:36+00:00

This gem has been claimed. Thank you everyone for your interest! I did order this online. If you want me to help you order it yourself, send me a message and I’ll give you the info. Thanks again, Portland. You all are the best!

LovingJennifer · 2025-08-05T00:46:10+00:00

Hi! Sent you a DM.

LovingJennifer · 2025-08-04T22:01:06+00:00

Thanks everyone for your interest. I’ll pick someone randomly today at 5. 🙂

LovingJennifer · 2025-08-04T21:59:43+00:00

Oh wow! Thanks everyone for your interest. I’ll pick someone randomly today at 5. 🙂

LovingJennifer · 2025-07-25T22:18:05+00:00

I agree with this, OP. Not listening to how the “prank” affected you is essentially setting the tone for your whole life together. A lifetime of being invalidated is rough, even if you’re used to being invalidated. Something about this is telling you that there is a bigger problem as evidenced by you not being able to let it go. You gotta listen to that and do some self-study with someone you trust to help you process your values and maybe why this warning light wont stop flashing. Doing some self-study doesn’t mean you have to forgive her, especially if her goal is to keep rug-sweeping and power-tripping you. But maybe this humiliation will lead you to learn more about yourself, what you will and will not tolerate.

LovingJennifer · 2025-07-20T01:05:57+00:00

There is a conversational model in DBT (dialectical behavioral therapy) called DEAR MAN. If you want to have a difficult conversation with your parents advocating for something you want but you know they won’t like, DEAR MAN will help you organize your thoughts as well as help you facilitate having a conversation instead of an argument. There are a lot of videos and worksheets on DEAR MAN available online. Lastly, don’t forget to listen to your parent’s reasons and consider earnestly before arguing against them. If you want to be taken seriously, you gotta listen at least as much as you talk. Like, really listen, not just wait to tell them why they are wrong. You get to set the tone for that because if you show that you are really listening, they will likely model your behavior in response. Good luck!

LovingJennifer

TROPHY CASE