Substance Use Assessment

Many of our clients come to Heartland Intervention following an arrest for DUI, possession or similar charges. Some arrive on their own and some are urged by their attorney to get a substance use evaluation prior to or as part of their court proceedings.

Heartland Intervention, LLC founder Scott J. Watson specializes in clinical substance use assessment. He holds a Masters degree and is a Licensed Clinical Addictions Counselor, Master Addiction Counselor, a Nationally Certified Counselor and a qualified DOT Substance Abuse Professional. Scott understands that arrests can be embarrassing, scary and expensive. He has worked with hundreds of clients who need an affordable, professional substance abuse assessment for court, probation or as part of a treatment facilitation. Scott is an experienced professional whose evaluations are valid in all 50 states.

Call Scott today at 317-752-8811 to schedule your assessment. You can learn more about our various clinical evaluations HERE.

Summertime DUI

Summer and DUI

For many of us Summer features picnics, reunions, concerts and parties which often feature alcohol and drug use.  It’s common to pick up the paper and find that public officials, teachers, coaches and others well known in the community have been arrested for Driving Under the Influence (DUI, OVWI or similar).  The experience is understandably challenging but can be made much better by getting an independent, professional assessment.

When facing charges for drunk driving or similar, many defendants will choose to be represented by an attorney.  One of the Best Divorce Johnson County requests that their clients get an assessment to assist with the legal defense.  Experience shows and attorneys tell us that an assessment can greatly reduce probation or jail time and can be useful in obtaining a hardship drivers license.

Professional Evaluations and Assessments

When seeking an assessment, it is important to look for these three things: proper professional credentials, independent affiliation and experience.  It’s critical that your assessment be completed by someone with a Masters Degree and LCAC licensure.  Anything less is not enough.  It’s important to utilize an independent professional who has no ties to treatment facilities.  This assures no dual relationships and that you will get an honest evaluation of your use and situation.  Finally, you should use a professional who is experienced not just as a therapist but as an evaluator and report creator.

At Heartland Intervention, our founder Scott J. Watson is a Licensed Clinical Addictions Counselor and DOT-qualified Substance Abuse Professional (SAP) with experience in conducting complex substance use evaluations.  If you or a loved one are facing legal charges or needs an evaluation for any other reason, call us at 317-752-8811.  We are committed to affordable and professional care in timely manner.

DUI Alcohol or Drug Assessment

Need for Assessment When Facing DUI

In a typical year, about 15,000 Indiana residents will be charged with dui crimes or equivalent charge. Being arrested for drunk driving can be dangerous, embarrassing, expensive and complicate one’s situation at home or work. When faced with legal charges related to drugs or alcohol, most marijuana crime defense attorney suggest that their clients obtain an independent professional drug and alcohol evaluation, There is very good evidence that Abbeycare’s alcohol recovery programmes are the right starting point for long term recovery and abstinence, you can get over information over the website they have for exactly this.

Clinical Qualifications

Use great caution when deciding whom you will chose to do your substance abuse assessment. When facing legal charges, employment, custody of children, your freedom and ability to drive are often at risk. Heartland  Intervention strongly suggests that your assessment only be conducted by a clinician who is licensed by the state and has at least a Master’s Degree in Addiction Counseling. In Indiana, many licensees have been grandfathered in and lack the needed advanced academic preparation. Heartland Intervention, LLC is a leading provider of substance abuse evaluations in Indiana, and that’s why some people decide to replace drugs with other supplements as CBD products such as the kushiebites edibles you can find online. Your assessment should ALWAYS be face to face. The courts and prosecutor can’t be expected to trust an assessment from someone who has never actually met you.

Assessment Components

While each professional approaches assessments differently, all assessments should include several parts that cover a wide variety of clinical areas, as the importance of good nutrition. This allows for a complete picture of the person and also helps to assure that the client receives appropriate recommendations going forward. 

Benefits of an Assessment

Our clients and their attorneys frequently tell us that an independent evaluation can be an important part of the legal defense. Independent clinical professionals can offer an unbiased impression of a person’s drug or alcohol use. A DUI assessment also can be used to demonstrate to the court that a person is seriously focused on making any necessary changes. 

Heartland Intervention founder Scott J. Watson is a Licensed Clinical Addictions Counselor, Master Addictions Counselor and qualified DOT Substance Abuse Professional. He has over 10 years of experience and special training in assessment of drug and alcohol disorders. If you are facing DUI or other charges call him today at 317-752-8811

Learn how police detect impaired drivers. Many of these driving behaviors would be ignored during daylight. However, the risk of getting pulled over on suspicion of impaired driving goes up at night. It increases greatly between around midnight and 4:00 am. And it jumps very high on holidays, especially after dark.

Be sure to learn what lawyers say to do if stopped on suspicion of DWI. In addition, some drivers secretly audio record their interactions on their cell phones if police pull them over.

I. Costs of a DWI or DUI

avoid a DWI

The exact costs of a first DWI conviction vary widely. It depends on the state, the circumstances, the effectiveness of the defense lawyer, the judge, and many other factors.

The estimated cost in New York, for example, is $9,500. In Illinois it’s $14,660 while in North Carolina it’s $4,820. A survey by the Texas Department of Transportation found that the average cost ranges from $9,000 to $24,000. In California, it ranges from $6,140 to $19,450.

However there are other expenses. Insurance rates jump after a DWI conviction. In the case of a teen driver, it can be $40,000 over 13 years. Conviction may mean loss of a job (or inability to get one), especially if it requires driving a vehicle.

And not all costs involve money. There can also be embarrasment, inconvenience, time spent in jail, time spent in “DWI school,” and so on.

II. Tips to avoid a DWI or DUI

If you choose to drink, be sure to keep your BAC (blood alcohol concentration) low. Here are some tips for doing so.

  1. Standard DrinksKeep in mind that typical drinks of beer, wine, and spirit have the same amount of pure alcohol. They are all the same to a breathalyzer.
  2. Remember that breathalyzers are not highly reliable. So keep your BAC far below the maximum legal limit. (This has additional advantages. It may prevent a crash, injury, or even save your life.)
  3. Use a personal alcohol breath tester. Just remember that it’s even less accurate than those used by the police. That’s another reason to stay well below the legal limit.
  4. Remember that your BAC will continue to rise after you stop drinking. Take that into consideration.
  5. Your BAC will drop about .015 per hour after it peaks. A BAC of .05 takes about 3.33 hours to drop to .00. (.05 divided by .015 = 3.33.) A BAC of .08 takes about 5.33 hours to drop to .oo (.08 divided by .015 = 5.33). By the way, your body also produces alcohol 24/7.
  6. Nibble on food or munchies during the time you’re drinking.
  7. If you’re at a gathering, delay having your first alcoholic drink.
  8. Pace your alcoholic drinks. No more than one every hour helps keep your BAC low.
  9. Have non-alcoholic drinks between alcoholic ones.

Chronic Pain and Addiction

sized child crying

Chronic pain has been a large trough feeding the opiate epidemic in America for many years. When conducting a substance abuse assessment, many Heartland Intervention clients will mention chronic pain, but there are supplements as KarmaCBDOils that actually help with this without becoming addictions.   As far back as the 1980’s when pain-scales were touted as a “vital sign” well-meaning doctors were treating non-acute pain and ignoring the suggestions that this would lead to a crisis of addiction.  Well- it has. Functional Medicine Associates can help find the root of your chronic pain and treat it holistically.

If you have a loved one that struggles with chronic pain or addiction, do not wait.  Call this Drug detox recovery center and get all the help you need.

For years, many professionals have warned about the liberalization of using opiates to treat chronic pain and suggested to have it treated at pain clinics like QC Kinetix (Myrtle Beach) instead. Many, like Dr. Mel Pohl in Las Vegas have demonstrated that the body may well create more pain in an effort to get more drugs.  And this week, a study was released by the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation that states “chronic pain has reached epidemic proportions with treatment based on drug therapies that usually do not work”. This addictions are affecting the society in a 68 percent with heart diseases, in the substance abuse treatment centers and rehabilitation centers, although there are various stages while treatment, that you can face while going to a rehab center.

It remains to be seen what impact this survey and study will have on prescribing practices and the extreme proliferation of drugs like Suboxone which is billed as a drug to treat addiction or “recovery in pill form”, says Heartland Intervention’s Scott J. Watson.  There is value in the conversation and the study which can be viewed HERE is a part of the discussion.

Trends in Addiction Treatment

Call Heartland Intervention at 877-752-8811.

Call Heartland Intervention at 877-752-8811.

Everyday, Heartland Intervention, LLC gets calls asking for treatment recommendations or for advice about a specific treatment center.  Others call knowing that a loved one needs addiction treatment but having no idea how to access it.  Heartland Intervention founder Scott J. Watson noted three trends this week in his talk at the 7th Annual Ann Daughtery Symposium on Alcohol and Drug Addiction at Franklin College.

Trend #1  The business of treatment has become extremely competitive.  Our office is rigorously marketed to by a wide variety of business development and outreach representatives from treatment centers across the country,  While this can be useful in developing therapeutic and strategic relationships that benefit our clients, it can create ethical areas of concern if not properly disclosed and managed.

Trend #2  Treatment centers are increasingly corporate in both their ownership and feel.  This is evidenced by national call centers that represent many different treatment centers that vary in cost, location and quality.  While this can have a beneficial aspect for clients, it also serves to offer “warm leads” to treatment entities.

Trend #3. As a result of financial pressures brought on by competition and the nature of managed care with insurance companies, many treatment centers are becoming more flexible.  Where once an executive was expected to check his cell phone at the door- he may be given a short window in which to manage business.  There also seems to be increased flexibility  on length of stay, modalities, family programming and even cost.

It is worth noting that none of these trends are especially bad or inherently harmful.  There are pros and cons to each.  While there are always trends one thing has never changed…TREATMENT WORKS! Visit this website for quality addiction treatment programs.

Heartland Intervention is a leader in Indiana intervention services and substance abuse assessments.  We work to match our clients with treatment that is clinically appropriate, affordable and accessible.  When a family is worried about a loved-one’s addiction it is important to trust the professionals.  Call us at 317-752-8811 to honestly discuss the detox, treatment and recovery options that are best for your family.