April 2003 – Tips & Topics

Why I started this Ezine! >> Clinicians have ongoing clinical questions that need answers! I have been training and consulting for over 25 years, but fulltime for nearly the last seven years. I travel the country & get repeated requests for answers to questions on the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) Patient Placement Criteria and other topics. People ask about books, videos and audio learning materials they can obtain. They want help to implement and apply knowledge and skills presented in one or two-day workshops. An Ezine is one way to answer those common questions and requests more efficiently. >> To help people apply new-found knowledge! Budget deficits are hitting almost every state. Attending a workshop can change one’s knowledge and skills immediately. However, fewer can afford to take the time and funds to learn onsite at a workshop. Continual learning is essential, but a challenge to achieve without some ongoing prompting, supervision or assistance. An Ezine is a vehicle to provide supplements and support to previous workshop attendees, or to those who have so far been unable to get to an onsite training. >>Because I want to make a difference in our field! Out of sight, out of mind! I want my work to make a real difference in providing, managing and funding person-centered services. An Ezine is a channel available to stay in touch and keep making positive changes in our work. It is a way to feed “Tips and Topics” to healthcare providers sincerely interested in applying concepts and skills to change( for the better) the way we serve people in behavioral health. What to expect from the Ezine >> You will receive it once a month. Please forward it to other interested individuals. Suggest that colleagues sign up on my website. >> It will be a relatively brief communication. While, on occasion, I may excerpt or include material from other sources (appropriately referenced of course), most material will be original and be focused on practical tips and topics in the following areas: — implementation of the ASAM Patient Placement Criteria; — providing and documenting individualized person- centered services; — clinical and systems issues to do with co-occurring mental and substance-related disorders (dual diagnosis); — ways to engage, empower and collaborate with people in getting what they want and changing what they want. >> There will be 3 Sections: SAVVY, SKILLS, and SOUL Each section will hopefully imrpove who we are as professionals and as people – it’s not just about “doing”, but also about the “being”! “Savvy”- to improve our knowledge, wisdom and practical grasp of topics; “Skills” to focus on tips to improve practical competence; “Soul” to enrich a person’s total self – both yourself and others; >>From time to time, I will add in “Successes” & “Stump the Shrink” In “Successes”, I’ll share what has been working for you and others in the practice of “doing” and “being”. In “Stump the Shrink”, I will focus on questions and dilemmas you and others face …

April 2023-Vol. #21, No. 1

What to do for a client with a history of addiction who is socially drinking? Twenty years of Tips and Topics. What’s next? Welcome to the April edition, the start of year 21 for Tips and Topics. In SAVVY, STUMP THE SHRINK and SKILLS,  two clinical vignettes about clients with a history of moderate to severe Alcohol Use Disorder and three DWIs (Driving While Intoxicated) raise assessment and engagement questions to be considered. In SOUL, I started publishing Tips and Topics April 2003. On this 20th anniversary, I look back at what the initial goals were; whether I lived up to those; and what’s next for Tips and Topics. Savvy, Stump the Shrink, and Skills This April edition of Tips and Topics marks the start of my twenty-first year of writing each month about whatever is on my mind. Much of the inspiration for what goes into each edition comes from readers and subscribers of Tips and Topics….and that is no different this month. A subscriber just sent me this message: I have two issues that I would like to know your thoughts on.  1. I am wondering how you think a history of a moderate to severe substance use disorder (SUD) should be treated for diagnosing and treatment? For example, a client reports a history of a moderate alcohol use disorder 3 years ago but the last 12 months he reports drinking socially. 2. Secondly, what are your thoughts on a client who reports 3 driving while intoxicated (DWI) charges 2016, 2017, and the last one 2018. Then reports that during the last 12 months drinking socially? In addition, collateral information indicates concerns about his alcohol use due to the DWIs. Thank you for your time. Tip 1 Resist the impulse to jump to conclusions before doing a more in-depth assessment and history-taking. In these vignettes, it is natural to conclude that if someone is “drinking socially” after a previous diagnosis of moderate or severe SUD or multiple DWIs, that they must be relapsing and heading for trouble. But here are some Assessment and Engagement Questions to consider. Assessment Questions: Engagement Questions: Tip 2 Involving family, friends and other collateral sources in the assessment and treatment of addiction is always important.  The person suffering from addiction is often the last person to realize how out of control their addiction illness has become. The survival defense mechanism of “denial” serves to solve the cognitive dissonance a person in active addiction faces: This is why involving collateral sources, relatives and friends in assessment and treatment is important: The Bottom Line:   Soul This edition of Tips and Topics marks the 20th anniversary of publishing what I called back then an “e-zine” – “a magazine published only in electronic form on a computer network.” As I start this 21st year, I reviewed the three original goals that launched Volume 1. No. 1 in April 2003 to see if they are still relevant in 2023. The first reason I started Tips and Topics was that clinicians have ongoing …

April 2022

My three career bridge-building targets; Where to start in helping people change; 50 years for Elon Musk and me. Welcome to the start of my 20th year of writing Tips and Topics. The first edition was published April 2003. In SAVVY, this edition of Tips & Topics begins the 20th year of publication. I look back at what I’ve written before in three areas of bridge-building: Addiction as an illness – the general public and health care in general; Addiction and mental health – Co-Occurring Disorders; Justice and Treatment teams. In SKILLS, it requires skillful bridge-building to attract people into lasting, accountable change, and cross the bridge from expecting compliance to treatment to collaborating in person-centered care planning: Start with what the person is at Action for, not what you are at Action for; Hold the participant accountable to their goal and track their engagement, good faith effort and outcomes. In SOUL, this year is 50 years since I graduated from medical school and started my career. See my ASAM Educator of the Year award photo and video bio. Elon Musk is 50 years old. I’ve had a good career, but find out what drives Elon and what someone who was one year old when I started my career has achieved.

April 2019

What to do with poor outcomes: ACCEPT; my top 10 “Unvarnished Truths” Welcome to the start of the 17th year of Tips and Topics (TNT). Most of you were not a reader from Day 1 when I started writing TNT, April 2003. If you were, please write and let me know. In SAVVY, I’m introducing an acronym to help think through what to do when a client, patient or participant is not doing well in treatment – ACCEPT © David Mee-Lee 2019. In SKILLS, what is a poor outcome for your client in addiction treatment? In SOUL, whether you are thinking about retirement or not, “21 Unvarnished Truths about Retirement” is a worthwhile list from which I highlight my favorites.

April 2013

Ten Years; Two 19 year olds; Anniversary deal

April 2012 – Tips & Topics

Vol. 10, No. 1April, 2012 In This Issue SAVVY – Readers comment on Spirituality and religion SKILLS – Relevant Lessons from the last ten years SOUL – Why do you do what you do – the hand in the bucket of water STUMP the SHRINK – How to use Stages of Change This April edition of Tips and Topics (TNT) is the beginning of our tenth year. Welcome to all and the many new readers this month too. Senior Vice President of The Change Companies®

April 2011 – Tips & Topics

TIPS & TOPICS from David Mee-Lee, M.D. Volume 9, No. 1 April 2011 In this issue — SAVVY –The 3 Ps to Understanding the Big Picture of Healthcare — SKILLS –Clinical Implications of the 3 Ps — SOUL –Celebrating anniversaries — SHARING- Some readers’ comments — Until Next Time Welcome to the start of the 9th year of publishing TIPS and TOPICS (TNT).  It was April 2003 when I started this experiment which has blossomed into a widely-read and appreciated resource (at least that’s what many readers tell me – the others don’t say anything- they just don’t read TNT!)

April 2010 – Tips & Topics

Untitled Document TIPS and TOPICS from David Mee-Lee, M.D. Volume 8, No. 1 April 2010 In this issue SAVVY  Is Your Innovation Glass Half Empty or Full? SKILLS Tackling 3 C’s for Healthcare Reform SOUL   VW, Toyota, and China Until Next Time This edition of TIPS and TOPICS (TNT) starts the eighth year of this monthly adventure in communicating to you what crosses my mind for that month.  I had no idea where this would go when I started TNT in April 2003.  And I have no idea where this will go in the coming years. I’ll keep doing it while it is fun and meaningful.

April 2009 – Tips & Topics

TIPS & TOPICS Volume 7, No.1 April 2009 In this issue — SAVVY — SKILLS — SOUL — STUMP THE SHRINK — SUCCESS STORIES — SHAMELESS SELLING — Until Next Time Time flies when you are having fun. This month’s edition begins year seven of TIPS and TOPICS (TNT). A special welcome to those of you who have been here from the beginning with our first edition in April 2003. If you are a new subscriber, welcome too.

March 2008 – Tips & Topics

TIPS & TOPICS Volume 5, No.11 March 2008 In this issue — SAVVY — SKILLS — SOUL — SHAMELESS SELLING — As a RESULT of your FEEDBACK — Until Next Time Welcome to March’s Tips and Topics (TNT), especially to the many new subscribers. As usual we are running late, so this March edition will likely get to you in early April. It is after all, free, so I guess you get what you pay for!

April 2007 – Tips & Topics

TIPS & TOPICS Volume 5, No.1 April 2007 In this issue — SAVVY — SKILLS — SOUL — STUMP THE SHRINK — Until Next Time Welcome to the start of the fifth year of publishing TIPS and TOPICS. The first edition hit cyberspace in April 2003. You can see all previous editions and print them out from the website.

March 2007 – Tips & Topics

TIPS & TOPICS Volume 4, No.10 March 2007 In this issue — SAVVY — SKILLS — SOUL — Until Next Time Welcome to the March edition of TNT, especially if you are one of the many new subscribers.