Photo Finish: A Passion Project Story

A Maryland native with supportive parents, Matt’s life seemed to have all the ingredients for success. Unfortunately, experimentation with drugs at age 16 led to a long and costly battle with substance use disorder (SUD). Eventually arriving at Green Hill via another treatment program, Matt was reintroduced to an interest he thought he’d left behind.

Initially introduced to photography in a high school class, any passions Matt might have had fell by the wayside as his addiction deepened. “In my active addiction, I knew no passion or ambition,” says Matt. “These were entirely foreign concepts to me. The idea people could love doing something with no ulterior motives or have the energy and attitude to pursue something they loved seemed preposterous.”

Matt’s potential skills in photography were spotted early on by Program Facilitator and in-house photographer, Caleb Barnhart. Caleb, as part of our Passion Project initiative, coordinated with the rest of the Green Hill programming staff and Matt’s parents to help foster Matt’s interest. Giving him weekly assignments in a variety of formats, making equipment recommendations and taking him to interesting locations to shoot, Caleb’s hard work and dedication turned Matt’s passing interest into a true passion. 

“Caleb has done more than I ever expected,” says Matt. “His advice is often interchangeable between photography and living sober. He’s shown me that life has so much more to offer than getting high everyday, to the point where my previous need to find enjoyment in substances seems laughable.”

More than just a hobby, Matt’s passion for photography has added an extra dimension to our programming opportunities. Whether it’s a trip to the skate park, a day trip to the Eno River or any of our many outdoor athletic activities, Matt can often be found posing residents, capturing the action on his camera, and giving friends tips and tricks to better capture images for their social media accounts. 

It’s not unusual for staff to find Matt constructing a lightbox or editing images on his computer in his free time. Matt’s passion and dedication to a creative activity have inspired not just residents, but programming staff as well to more constructively use the time they’ve gained through freedom from substance use.

Perhaps most exciting of all, Matt’s photographs have gained acclaim not just from our own community, but businesses and institutions in the area. The North Carolina Museum of History, upon seeing an image Matt shot of residents there, asked to utilize the photo for their own social media marketing. Most recently, Matt has landed his first paying gig as a photographer, shooting menu items for an up-and-coming North Carolina-based restaurant franchise.

Whether it remains simply a healthy pastime or develops into a full-fledged career, at Green Hill, we’re simply proud to have been a small part of this man finding himself in something other than damaging behaviors. It’s our sincere hope that through clinical support, our programming staff and the Passion Project initiative, every participant in the Green Hill Model of recovery can ultimately reorient themselves down a healthier, more holistic path of passion and service.

Click here for more information about the Passion Projects initiative at Green Hill.

Mindfulness and Recovery

Green Hill, its team of clinicians and the collective experience of its recovering staff have come to one incontrovertible conclusion: mindfulness is a key skill to develop if attempting holistic and healthful recovery from substance abuse disorders. In this post, we will help to break down what mindfulness is, how it helps in recovery, and how we add this to our programming here at Green Hill. 

Living in a world where even recreational time is exhaustively scheduled and geared towards betterment, young adults developing during our modern age face this peculiar time poverty (and the stress that entails) perhaps more than prior generations. When every second is geared either towards production or consumption, what chance is there for our brains to engage in our beautiful, restful now?

So let’s first consider and examine what precisely mindfulness is, and then how is it present both in the empirical sciences and in our own Green Hill programming.

What is Mindfulness? 

Defined by Merriam Webster as “the practice of maintaining a nonjudgmental state of heightened or complete awareness of one’s thoughts, emotions, or experiences on a moment-to-moment basis,” mindfulness has been a component of spiritual traditions for millenia. We can simplify this definition of mindfulness to ‘awareness in the moment.’

Meditation and yoga are some of the most ubiquitous mindfulness practices, and more recently, mindfulness practices have become popularized in the West, both in psychological and self-help circles.

Cultivating mindfulness is a bedrock skill in many therapeutic modalities from acceptance and commitment therapy to cognitive behavioral therapy.  So how does mindfulness relate to the recovery process? 

Mindfulness in Recovery

From slogans like “just for today” popularized in 12-step fellowships to the extensive integration of eastern philosophies and devotional practices in cutting-edge therapeutic techniques, recovery and mindfulness have long been bedfellows in producing a better, more balanced personhood.

Cutting short the often harmful narrative we cycle in our thoughts and bringing our anxieties to a much more digestible today allows recovering persons to cease distracting and unnecessarily vexing cognitive patterns and instead focus on what they can do in the moment.

Neuroplasticity and Mindfulness 

Substance use disorders result in modified brain chemistry, which causes our brain to seek chemical relief, sometimes without our knowledge or permission. Neuroplasticity refers to the physiological changes in the brain that happen as the result of our interactions with our environment. From the time the brain begins to develop in utero until the day we die, the connections among the cells in our brains reorganize in response to our changing needs. This dynamic process allows us to learn from and adapt to different experiences. 

Returning perpetually to the present is a necessary skill to cultivate when dealing with many heightened psychological states, especially those triggering to those with substance abuse disorders. Utilizing mindfulness and the careful shepherding of mental health professionals, neuroplasticity means that minds with sometimes fatal coping mechanisms can be artfully reshaped to respond in healthier ways to debilitating stressors. We have trained our brains to respond to substances as a coping mechanism, mindfulness can help us to retrain them to cope in other ways.  

If mindfulness, meditation, and yoga seem a bit “woo woo” for you, maybe it’s helpful to think of these practices as mental training — here’s a short video from the neuroscientist Sam Harris. 

Recovery Dharma 

A peer-led group that uses Buddhist practices and principles to overcome addiction through meditation, personal inquiry, and community, Recovery Dharma is a welcome addition to the wider world of recovery communities. You don’t need to identify as a Buddhist to participate in Recovery Dharma meetings and the teachings are fully compatible with a secular perspective.

Similar to 12-Step programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous, Recovery Dharma has in person and online meetings, as well as make their meeting formats available for the general public to use in small settings such as our own Transitional Living program. Typically, a Recovery Dharma meeting consists of a reading that helps explain mindfulness or meditation practices, a period of meditation, and time for individuals to share their thoughts, experiences, and insights.

Mindfulness at Green Hill

An aspect of every phase of our Green Hill curriculum, introducing and reinforcing regular mindfulness practice is an integral fragment of the balanced life we envision for our clients. Not only strong advocates, our staff has significant experience in various practices. CEO Tripp Johnson is an experienced yogi and meditator who has begun personally leading breath-focused Ashtanga yoga sessions for our transitional living and community programs. Tripp’s goal is not only to educate our clients on mindfulness practices, but to serve as an example for the positive impact it can have on their lives. 

Similarly, Clinical Director Matt O’Connor bears an extensive background in meditation techniques both in clinical and personal settings, and speaks confidently about the benefits such practices provide.

“A lot of neuroscience focuses on the impact meditation can have on our prefrontal cortex which is vital in the process of making better decisions: which we all know is vital in the recovery process,” says O’Connor, who often initiates group therapy sessions with an introductory centering period.

O’Connor continued: “What is talked about a bit less is the impact it has on your grey and white matter in the brain.  These areas are responsible for intelligence, working memory, and communication between different brain areas. Mindfulness practices slow down our reactivity and increase our responsiveness through development and strengthening of these brain matters… in all actuality, it is difficult to find an area of the brain that is not impacted in a positive way by mindfulness practices.”

Understanding the science behind mindfulness in recovery and applying it to our programming is a major foundational element of our curriculum at Green Hill. A life in recovery means much more than simply a life abstemious from substance use.

We at Green Hill are determined to empower our clients to develop personal practices that center and sustain them, helping not just themselves, but the world about them. Mindfulness is just another tool you can use to find a fulfilling life in recovery. It helps us to stay present and aware, and cope with the pressures of everyday life.

Namaste.

Program Update April 8, 2020: COVID-19 and Keeping Your Program Alive Through Chaos

Here’s the second installment of the Green Hill playbook for navigating COVID-19 and a recessionary economy. While our last post was sent as programs around the country were responding to a rapidly changing situation, this post is focused on embracing the ‘new normal’ – the environment in which we’re all operating. We will be addressing items according to our established framework below. 

  1. Family Communications 
  2. Policies & Procedures 
  3. Programming Changes 
  4. Family Financial Considerations 
  5. Leadership and Staff Management 
  6. Recession Planning

If you would like to see more details regarding anything you see in this post, such as our parent communications or detailed procedures, please reach out. We would also welcome any feedback or further suggestions. 

Family Communications

Communication with families has pivoted from a focus on easing fears towards more of an acceptance of the ‘new normal.’ Thus, we’ve launched a weekly newsletter for our transitional living families.

Elements for an Effective Newsletter 

  1. Highlight changes to policies and procedures in response to COVID-19.
  2. Demonstrate the importance of remaining focused on treating mental health and substance use. 
  3. Focus on the positive elements of your programming and how it’s evolved. 
  4. Reassure families that they are part of the treatment alliance. 
  5. Acknowledge anxiety surrounding public health AND the economy. 

Policies & Procedures 

We are continuing to build on our previous changes to our day-to-day operations and admissions procedures, while practicing strict enforcement of any COVID related policies we have adopted. We have continued to communicate ongoing changes to parents and residents and have held updated training for all staff. 

Stay at home: Wake County has issued a mandatory stay at home order. We are requiring all staff to abide by the order during non-working hours and are modifying treatment plans to abide by the order. We are considered an essential business, and thus, we will remain fully operational. However, we are taking all necessary precautions to ensure the safety and welfare of our community. 

Updates to our list of procedures have been underlined.

Admissions: 

  • Added screening questionnaire criteria for COVID 19
  • Quarantine policies for new residents, if necessary
  • Medical assessment upon arrival
  • Requiring new admissions to avoid flying

Operations:  

  • Continued to update our program schedule to facilitate a wider range of active and engaging programming within Green Hill’s facilities:
    • In-house 12-step, Recovery Dharma, and SMART meetings 
    • In-house workout and fitness sessions 
    • Peer planned and facilitated activities
    • Outdoor experiential programming 
  • Restricted all non-essential community activities, outings, and programming 
  • Cancelled all non-essential resident travel 
  • Provided further education and training to our staff and residents on social distancing practices and healthy community living procedures
  • Conducted early refills of all resident medication 
  • Initiated updated academic schedules to ensure structure and support for residents transitioning to remote learning
  • Updated twice daily cleaning protocol 
  • Updated staffing model for potential time away for illness
  • Switched community outpatient to full telehealth
  • Established relationship with local PCP for testing, COVID screening
  • Introduced grocery store pickups, with residents now ordering groceries online, and staff picking them up. 
  • Nightly temperature checks

Program Updates

Maintaining milieu is our chief concern for residents. We have also had to practice a healthy dose of self-forgiveness, as there is no formula for how to operate within these constraints. Our main programming effort continues to be the Van Dyke Olympiad, with events being added each day. Our biggest success for the olympiad is staff engagement. This creative solution to our current predicament has allowed our clinical team to engage with residents in an entirely new and more natural way. As most of our program staff is in recovery, increased staff involvement at the house has also given a unique opportunity for our team members with more significant time in sobriety to show residents that this pandemic is difficult for everyone in recovery. 

Last Week’s Highlights: 

  • Favorite event: Spike ball tournament
  • Looking forward to: Iron Chef (Apocalypse Edition), Trivia 
  • Made us laugh: Ryan coming in on his day off just to compete

We have also placed a greater emphasis on physical health and well-being by starting a peer-led workout program at the house and yoga & meditation sessions being led by Tripp. Our goal has been to provide a safe quarantine environment that is both structured and stimulating. We have also asked for the help of the local 12 step community in maintaining a connection with Green Hill. We have continued to develop a more robust in-house meeting format, bringing speakers for in-house meetings over Zoom. We are also participating in Zoom meetings with our resident’s home groups and favorite local meetings. 

Financial Considerations for Families

Our strategy of proactive family communications regarding finances has helped us to protect our revenue and keep our clients engaged in the program. While we had no formal financial communications in the last week, we have had a number of calls with parents to discuss their updated financial situations. We can say we would have had 2-3 clients leave almost overnight if we were not willing to provide financial support to families. 

While we have done a great job of working with existing clients and families, we are worried that extended care options will be less appealing simply due to financial uncertainty. Our next goal is to more proactively communicate this information to incoming admissions and potential clients. Green Hill has scholarships available, and we would hate for motivated candidates for extended care to head home after primary treatment simply because of finances. We are a purpose driven organization, and we believe extended care is even more important in this environment. We would urge other programs to make necessary accommodations in an effort to prove to the world that we will always put quality care above financial motivations.

Leadership: Combatting Fatigue 

We continue to place an emphasis on combating the mental fatigue associated with our current circumstances. The 15 minute daily pulse calls for the leadership team have been vital in keeping the team focused and motivated, but also as a barometer for our collective wellness. On the first few calls this week, it was clear that fatigue was setting in. These calls give us an opportunity as owners to hear our people and figure out which members of our leadership team are running out of gas and need some extra recognition or attention. 

The Green Hill leadership team has a dedicated ‘war room’ where Tripp is working around the clock. These uncertain times have an impact on our residents, their families, and our staff. To combat the quarantine fatigue, our leadership team has developed a check-in roster to ensure that our team is functioning at 100%. 

  • Dedicated space and staff to monitoring and adapting to COVID-19 news
  • Updating our team on best practices on a daily basis 
  • Embracing our core value of ‘unity’ during trying times
  • Continuing 15 minute daily pulse calls
  • Continuing the use of our weekly check in trees

Recession Planning 

SBA / Federal Aid: We have spent a significant amount of time this week on the phone with bankers and accountants trying to make sense of the support offered by the SBA. The main applicable offering is the SBA Payroll Protection Program (PPP). While the details of this program have yet to be finalized, and rollout may be slow, we are in the process of finishing our application. We were recommended by our banker to ‘get in the queue,’ even if we didn’t need the funds right away.  At Green Hill, our staff is our biggest asset, and having the means to retain them is vital. This will also simultaneously show our staff that we are committed to keeping them, and their jobs are not in jeopardy. The PPP program gives low interest loans for payroll and rent, and includes forgiveness for payroll taxes. The plan allows businesses to receive 2.5x monthly payroll, but as we said, the details keep changing. 

Not out of the woods: The Federal Reserve and Congress have started to implement the largest ‘bailout’ package in the history of the nation. In the face of a national credit crunch, the Federal Reserve issued a sweeping implicit guarantee for bond markets, while Congress gave much needed aid to small businesses and citizens. These measures calmed markets, and brought peace of mind to the nation, but we are by no means through the worst of this in an economic sense. We are continuing to monitor our financial situation and planning for the worst. We are urging program directors and owners to continue to proceed with caution, and use this time to prepare their business for a recessionary environment. 


Just to reiterate, please contact us if you would wish any more detail regarding any of the topics we covered above. Acting quickly in this environment and staying collaborative may save us all. 

Mindfully,