Outpatient Bipolar Disorder/Substance abuse recovery group

At Santa Margarita Solutions Center, we help people find solutions for any of the issues that may be holding them back from a happy /successful life.   One of the many ways we do that is to recognize that there is a group of people who are having difficulty managing their moods because of Bipolar Disorder.  On top of that, they may be experiencing other symptoms such as drug dependence or withdrawal. Up to 65.5% of individuals with substance abuse/dependency issues have at least one co-occurring mental disorder, and 51% of individuals with a mental disorder also have at least one co-occurring addictive disorder (Kessler, 1994).

This Bipolar Recovery treatment group is specifically for the people who have been in some other treatment facility to get their medications stable and detoxed and now are ready to transition to an outpatient experience. 

The group experience is one that will help you or a loved one find the way to manage your emotions and mood swings, stabilize your sense of self, confront fears and find strength, learn confidence and self-esteem, and learn coping mechanisms to stop the compulsion to do something harmful, risky, or dangerous such as;

• driving too fast,
• driving while intoxicated,
• engaging in sex without protection or without much thought of the consequences,
• seeking sexual thrills,
• using drugs you know are going to make you feel worse eventually but you feel good in the moment, so you choose to do it anyway,
• shopping excessively creating financial ruin,
• talking too much and this hurts your relationships.

The other side of the coin is when you may feel:

• You don’t care anymore about anything
• Find nothing pleasurable
• Think about death and dying a lot
• Don’t see the point
• Have trouble concentrating or looking to the future

 The group is here to help you to be in charge of yourself and your life.  You have a right to take control of your treatment and work it the way you need to in order to get well. 

We are here with a very structured and planned program (which you can collaborate on)  to empower you away from the destructive patterns into a highly functional person in the areas of your:

• Love relationships
• Work/career
• Financial stability
• Family life (children, parents, siblings, etc.)
• Spiritual life with God (or your higher power)

We start at 6:00PM and end at 9:00PM Monday-Thursday

WHOLISTIC APPROACH

It is not your fault you have Bipolar Disorder.  You were born with it.  It appeared when it did because you have a predisposition to the disorder and something triggered it into action.  As many people have told you, your medications are important to help you to stabilize your brain chemistry. 

Speaking of chemistry, many people experiencing Bipolar Disorder will self-medicate with illegal drugs to try and feel better.   As tempting as that is to some people, it is important for you to know that most illegal drugs such as cocaine or mariuana will alter the brain chemistry in a way that will hurt you much more in the long run.  It is much better to use empirically proven medications to help you with your symptoms.  We will teach you how to make the best of your medications.

• This program will address your “chemistry” issues and help you to decide how to treat the problem in your most successful way. 
  
  The psychiatrist will talk with you about what has worked and not worked in the past and what else can be done or changed.  

       The career coach will help you to find a good    stable job where your talents are fulfilled.

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• The nutrition coach will help you to take better care of your body and mind by nourishing it with good foods. 
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• The personal fitness trainer will help you to be active in a moderate way.
  
• The 12-step meetings will help with giving you strength and hope. 
   
• Combining all of the psychological, recovery, and physical aspects of your treatment will help you to feel better faster.   Then, they can teach you how to care for yourself better. 
  
  The ultimate goal of the program is to never need to have the inpatient experience again, or have it much less often than before.