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.

Drivers Face DOT Changes

Heartland Intervention, LLC

The FMCSA has signaled big changes in an effort to close a loophole in the DOT Return to Duty Process. In its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking state licensing agencies will be required to “downgrade” the license of a driver for whom a verified positive drug test, a confirmed alcohol test of 0.04 or higher, a refusal to submit to a test, or an employer’s actual knowledge is reported to the Clearinghouse.  In short- fail a urine drug screen or breath alcohol test, you will lose your license as well.

The goal of this proposed change is to make sure that employees are not merely switching employers following a violation. CFR Part 40 requires those employees to complete the specified Return to Duty Process which includes seeing a qualified Substance Abuse Professional.  While no date has been announced for this change it will likely occur as the Clearinghouse goes into effect in January, 2020.  The Clearinghouse requires all violations to be entered into a web-based data system.

We at Heartland Intervention, LLC applaud this change but realize that it will likely result in dramatically higher costs for employees. We are a leading provider of DOT Substance Abuse Professional evaluations in Indiana.  If you have any questions about this change the current DOT Return to Duty guidelines, call Scott J. Watson, SAP directly at 317-752-8811.

Alcohol Assessment Following a DUI

Heartland Intervention

When faced with legal difficulty such as driving under the influence (DUI) or similar, many clients turn to Heartland Intervention for an alcohol and drug assessment.  Our clients often tell us that  attorneys recommend an independent substance abuse assessment that can be helpful in court.  This is true whether the DUI is in Indiana or elsewhere.

When charged with a DUI, our clients are facing a suspended drivers license, probation, a myriad of fees and fines and possibly jail time.  Clients that come to Heartland Intervention for a substance use assessment tell us that the results have been helpful with:  license reinstatement, insurance renewal, decreased probation length, issues of custody and much more.

The aim of our assessments are clinical in nature.  Clients are evaluated by a Licensed Clinical Addictions Counselor (LCAC) with special training in assessment. Each client will receive a face-to-face evaluation and will also complete an assessment modality.  A comprehensive assessment letter will be sent within 24 hours directly to the client.  This allows the client to control who has access to their information.  If you have received a DUI or have any questions about substance use assessments, do not delay.  Call our office at 317-752-8811.

Not Hitting Bottom

Heartland Intervention

What was the worst day of your life? Are you able to remember why it was so bad and the gut-wrenching feelings that  gripped you? What made that day so bad and could anything have been done earlier to have made it better?

When people call Heartland Intervention, they are often surprised to hear me say that we don’t have to “let” someone hit bottom. Often, the goal of an intervention is to RAISE a person’s bottom to their current level of despair.   We do this so the addicted  person does not have to loose their job, marriage or house before they get into treatment.

Recently we conducted an intervention for a family that had grown weary of “watching a loved one slip away”.  Our goal was to encourage him to seek an assessment for both mental health (including trauma and grief) and addiction.  It was not easy and emotions ran high.  But our loving intervention was successful and their loved one got the help that he needed.

A parent whose child has a fever would not just wait to see how bad the fever would get before taking action.  Nor would the parent be afraid that taking action would only make the situation worse.  A parent whose child’s grade’s were sinking would intervene early in an effort to prevent things from getting any worse.  So too should it be with addiction.  There is no value in seeing how low a person can go.  Some people’s bottom may be lower than it takes to kill them.  We seek to intervene before a person loses their job, spouse, freedom, health or life.

Heartland Intervention is recognised as a leader in the field of intervention services,  assessment and recovery.  Our affordable and  loving approach to intervention coupled with our very high success rate make us the choice of many concerned about their loved one.  While we are based in Indiana, Scott Watson travels throughout the country conducting interventions and facilitating entry into treatment.

Left untreated, addiction always gets worse.  Many people have told us that intervention day was actually one of the BEST days of their life.  Call us today at 317-752-8811.  We look forward to listening and helping.