Fighting the many facets of addiction

Outpatient center uses innovative methods

Addiction is a multi-faceted problem, and to Dr. Michael Levy, it also is a medical problem.

As a family physician, Levy didn't want his patients to become addicted to any medication he prescribed. He started researching addiction to illegal and prescribed drugs and attending courses to learn more about the disease.

"In medical school, you're not taught much about addiction disease," Levy said. "I had no idea. The extent of the problem was probably the biggest surprise. Then again, there are very few people who haven't experienced the consequences of addiction disease."

In 1988, Levy quit his 7-year-old family practice to focus strictly on addiction. In 1998, Levy opened the Center for Addiction Medicine.

"It's a fascinating field, because it incorporates not only the problems with addiction, but the multiple medical problems, behavioral problems," Levy said. "I like the challenge of treating all of these problems."

Levy's Center for Addiction Medicine, 6000 W. Rochelle, Suite 800, became an outpatient facility geared to helping people of all ages understand their addiction and its cause.

"It's trying to find a balance, trying to cope and grasp at something that isn't going to help you but for a minute," said Juanita Buck, group outpatient counselor at the center. "You have to look at the whole picture to understand the addiction."

One major traumatic event is typically at the epicenter of the addiction. Patients at the Center for Addiction Medicine voluntarily come for help, but that's only the first step, Buck said.

"There's a point, and it's a very small window of opportunity (for them to get help)," Buck said. "They usually have to have a push from all sides. We have all walks of life in here, so it's interesting."

First, patients go to Levy for assessment. He can check them into an inpatient facility, such as Monte Vista Hospital, or assign them to outpatient treatment at 3025 Sheridan St.

"This is a whole new way of looking at addictions," Buck said. "It's not just sticking someone into counseling, and they'll be OK."

Adults and youth meet separately, and there are sessions for families as well. Many times, a patient will spend about 12 hours in therapy a week for six weeks. If more counseling is needed, the patient can return. Levy and his staff call the style of counseling "intensive therapy."

"We watch how the client progresses very carefully. We make sure there is some change happening," Buck said. "There's so much (to factor in). It's who they live with. Where they live. What they do. You hope they learn the tools here and walk out the door and make better choices in their lives."

Some patients aren't ready for therapy, but they return when they are, Buck said.

"People have to be ready to make a change," she said. "They have to take action in their recovery."

"It's like having somebody who has diabetes ... chemical dependency is also a disease," Levy said. "In my opinion, relapse is preventable."

Medications assist people with cravings, and Levy can identify pre-existing undiagnosed mood and physical disorders to lead him to the core of the addiction. His medical practice is the only one in Nevada strictly focused on addiction disease, he said.

"They're all related to the disease itself. It's really a fascinating medical problem," Levy said. "I'm just as enthusiastic today as I was 20 years ago about treatment."

Levy visits patients at Monte Vista, Summerlin, Desert Springs and Mountain View hospitals, as well as his outpatient clients. There is more societal understanding of the disease now than in years prior, he said.

"I think people are acknowledging addictive disease is prevalent in society and becoming aware that treatment is available and knowing the kind of treatment," he said.

Ages of patients range from the very young, with the average age of beginning drug experimentation at 11, to the elderly. The oldest patient he has treated was 85 years old.

"I celebrate the people I treat. (Age) doesn't matter. This disease doesn't care," Levy said. "I see a wide variety of ages anywhere from teens to the elderly. It's because of the availability of all these drugs on the street. If you want a drug, you can buy it in quantity as low as $10. Kids have that."

People who think they can control it or quit anytime are mistaken, Levy said. Just because they haven't lost their jobs, friends or money, doesn't mean the problem is absent. They could be on the road to rock bottom and stop it before it reaches that point.

"The first step is having an education about it, knowing what you're doing," Levy said. "We punish people for disease. If you look at the number of people behind bars, 80 to 90 percent of them did this crime because they were under the influence or they were trying to be under the influence. It's very important to distinguish the difference."

Levy and Buck advise being observant of the people you love. If there might be a problem, address it.

"We lack objectivity when it comes to ourselves and our families," Levy said. "That's where there is a change in behavior ... maybe it needs to be looked into more than he's just having a bad day."

"They need to be aware. Freaking out never works," Buck said. "The authoritarian, gestapo thing has got to go."

Another good weapon is understanding the severity of the disease. People with the disease have been "party to gross discrimination," Levy said.

"There should be complete parity between physical illness and behavioral illness," he said. "I think reasonable people have to look at it and make appropriate decisions, and that's not being done. It's all based on a bottom line mentality."

Those interested in the Center for Addiction Medicine can call 873-7800.


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