About Rich Jones & The Recovery Cartel Addiction Recovery Blog

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Rich Jones

The purpose of this blog is simple. To provide the most comprehensive, helpful, informative and actionable information in the domain of addiction, treatment and recovery. We will curate this information from any and all possible resources including our own personal experience.

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About Me

I have worked in the helping professions as a counselor, therapist, coach, and administrator for over 23 years.

I have started multiple businesses and launched various non-profit organizations. I teach at the university level and usually carry 2 or 3 classes. Some people would call me a workaholic but that is an over-used negative way to look at things. I say I enjoy what I do and prefer to work over watching TV. I have a multitude of professional credentials, a Master Degree in Sociology and an MBA with a concentration in healthcare management. I am an outstanding coach and therapist. If they kept rankings of these types of things I’m sure I would be ranked in the top 5 worldwide–JUST KIDDING.

Who Came Up With This “Wait Until They Hit Bottom” Bullshit”?

Into the Church Basement 💥💥💥Don’t tell anyone, but I went to a meeting last night. Again, keep it quiet, but I have issues. So I attend a certain type of meeting where we talk about how to best deal with said issues. So I walk into the church basement and I join a crowd of […]

P.T.S.D. PANDEMIC – Coming Soon?

RANDOM THOUGHTS POST traumatic stress disorder. By definition… happens after the event. You really don’t experience PTSD until the crisis or trauma stabilizes. If you continuously experience trauma you are in an active crisis cycle. Over and over. It’s acute stress. It’s tragic. It’s a crisis. But it’s not POST traumatic stress disorder. Because it […]

David Whitesock – From Jail to Law School Graduate

L David Whitesock Listen as Rich and David Whitesock discuss his unbelievable journey from jail to law school graduate. David is passionate about helping others find recovery and solving the health crisis of addiction. He invented the Recovery Capital Index® , which was validated, that measures change in wellbeing with respect to addiction. Find him […]

NIDA Research Project – I’m Thrilled!!!

Great Things Will Be Happening Thrilled to be part of this NIDA research project. Helping to lead the intervention team. Training and supporting peers in the NIDA “PILOT study”. A 3-site randomized clinical trial evaluating effectiveness of assertive engagement peer support with #overdose survivors. In 2017 we launched a specialized peer support model. Founded on […]

The FREE Three Things – Really, they’re FREE….

The Free Three Things Here’s some truth. Psychiatrists, therapists, etc … aren’t really sure what causes depression and what the best course of treatment is for any given person. Mental health does not lend itself to a diagnostic prescriptive model. It’s not clear what is happening and it is certainly not precise. It’s subjective. The […]

I Need A Facebook Rant ! DEATHS OF DESPAIR…

DEATHS OF DESPAIR… It’s been a minute since I did some ranting. Some deep thoughts. Hold on tight. I need to do some Facebook rant! Another death this weekend. Another DEATH OF DESPAIR… Someone I knew. A couple more last week that I didn’t know really well. But I knew the family. When you work […]

Peer Support Is Evolving!!!

Peer support is an evolving discipline. It’s a relatively new discipline. Standards are still being defined. Like any other profession: there is great variability in terms of quality. Completion of a training doesn’t equal effectiveness as a coach. We need time, supervision, and structure to hone our craft. It takes time to get good at […]

DO NOT MISS THIS ONE 💥💥💥

Sally Spencer-Thomas Sally Spencer-Thomas is a clinical psychologist, inspirational international speaker, and an impact entrepreneur. Dr. Spencer-Thomas was moved to work in suicide prevention after her younger brother, a Denver entrepreneur, died of suicide after a difficult battle with bipolar condition. Known nationally and internationally as an innovator in social change, Spencer-Thomas has helped start […]

Three Good Things

What are the Three Good Things? Here are some details about the Three Good Things. 1) Got some quality time with the family. Unexpected. 2) Averted crisis with one of our participants this afternoon. Went much better than anticipated. 3) Feeling certain about recent moves at work. Feels good to have clarity. Check, Check, Check […]

I Cry … and Start Over

Start Over 💥💥💥I think it makes more sense to “start over” at the beginning of each new “birth year” rather than the beginning of each new year. Each new year we reflect on the past year. We make new year’s resolutions. We have this sense of starting over. For me… it happens on my birthday. […]

DOES RECOVERY RAPPER SHIT REALLY WORK?

The Recovery Rapper Facebook and other social media does mess my with mood…. Stuff like the Recovery Rapper. 💥💥💥 Not on a “social” level. But on a professional level. I busted my ass… grad school, every certification you can think of, HOURS AND HOURS of supervision and continuing education… Basically devote my life to learning […]

5 Things I Must Remember About Family Recovery

5 Things I Must Remember It’s easier said than done! This is me talking to myself about myself. One – Detach You detach from the emotional obsession and the illusion of control. You do not automatically eliminate the person from your life. Unless this person is mistreating you. Stealing, putting you in danger, or just […]

Tips For Families Dealing with Addiction

7 “SLOGAN-FREE” Tips “Tough love” and “let them hit bottom” DID NOT make the list. As our country fights through the “opioid crisis” we see the limitations of an addiction treatment system that came of age in the 1970’s. Today families need as much help as we can give them. Here are a few tips […]

Thank You To Everyone!

The FAVOR Greenville Transition I want to thank everyone who gave me a shout out yesterday on the FAVOR Greenville transition. I am 100% certain that FAVOR, and all it’s chapters/projects, will thrive. I am proud of the leadership team there. They won’t miss a beat. The staff are second to none. This organization will […]

Assigning a Long Term Coach

Long Term Coach Assigning a long term coach to the family is the right thing to do. People think they know what it’s like to go thru this journey as a family member. You don’t. I thought I knew. I did not know. You simply do not understand this until you actually go through it […]

Considering The Family Recovery Coach

Better Than Bottom We can do better than “hit bottom”. The Family Recovery Coach is becoming increasingly relevant in today’s battle with addiction. You walk into a support group, your mind is racing and you are scared to death. The terminology may be hard to follow. It comes at you from all angles. Angles & […]

THE REMEDY – WHAT’S IT GONNA TAKE???

THE REMEDY WILL REQUIRE A RADICAL SHIFT The remedy will require a radical shift in focus and thinking. The remedy will require some risk! We have made some progress. What’s the next step? The fundamental problem we have is utilization not efficacy. We argue over what pathway to recovery is the best. In the meantime, […]

THE JOY IS IN CREATING—NOT MAINTAINING Vince Lombardi

THE JOY IS IN CREATING—NOT MAINTAINING – Coach Lombardi I stumbled across this quote last night and I strongly agree with Coach Lombardi. I came out of the public treatment system (with a couple years of private treatment work thrown in there). 13 plus years in very traditional clinical settings. Systems that were focused on […]

Reflection of “As I Unscrew: A Letter”

As I Unscrew A Letter Laurence Ross’s “As I Unscrew: A Letter” is a symbolic creative essay/letter, that provides an insightful look into the internalization that occurs within addiction. In the beginning of Ross’s essay, he creates a symbolic image for the feelings his addiction has on others, as well as himself with the use […]

“Why Can’t We Be Friends”

Making Friends In early recovery, one of the hardest things for me (personally) was “making new friends”. Or “building my network”. I always used drugs and alcohol to smooth my interactions and initiate relationships. All the sudden I’m trying to make conversation without the benefit being high. Without the benefit of all the other people […]

ONE DAY AT A TIME – INSTRUCTIONAL MANUAL FOR THE SLOGANS

MANUAL FOR THE SLOGANS: ONE DAY AT A TIME. In recovery slogans like ONE DAY AT A TIME , as well as cliches, and bits of advice are tossed around like candy on Easter. Flying rabbits and rainbow pastel stained eggs everywhere. Some of the candy is good like the Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs. Some […]

NOT SURE ABOUT THIS BIDEN ADDICTION FUNDING HYPE

Biden Addiction Recovery Funding I don’t celebrate Biden’s “addiction funding” if it’s focused solely on your standard systemic model. Based on the typical paradigm. And, I think this goes way beyond “harm reduction dollars”. Could we force a fundamental shift in funding and approach. Even if it was on a small scale. From “individual focus” […]

SLEEPLESS NIGHTS The Problem with Energy Drinks

SLEEPLESS NIGHTS AND TAURINE FILLED DAYS

SLEEPLESS NIGHTS AND CONVERTED METH LABS I had trouble sleeping last night. It was probably not helpful that I pounded a Starbucks energy drink at 430 PM. But even though it was a “bad night” sleeping. I feel semi-reasonable. It wasn’t a “sleepless” night. Just semi-sleepless. What keeps me up at night? How much time […]

IT’S REALLY OK TO BE NOT OK

Things Got Really Weird When I finally “decided” to change my substance use and do this recovery thing, things got really weird. 🚁🚁Strange noises were ever-present in my head (like a helicopter buzzing around inside my skull-piece). 🐘🐘My face swelled up and I looked like the elephant boy (still not sure what that was all […]

“Drug Use For Grown Ups” – A Review?

“Drug Use For Grown Ups” Slow going. But I’m reading “Drug Use For Grown Ups”. Truth is… There is a whole bunch of good stuff in Dr Carl Hart’s book. The title may suck. And many people were offended by the sensationalized headlines (in all those articles that were posted). But remember, that was meant […]

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