health & beauty
By Rob Scott
Photos by Nicole Cordisco
39
www.dtownmag.com
“W hatever helps people heal is
what I believe in.”
– Dr. Chad Coren
CLEAN AND SOBER
IDENTIFYING AND DEALING
WITH ADDICTION
It’s the end of another long day of work.
You have too much on your plate and
nowhere near enough time to do it all.
Nothing sounds better right now than
a couple of beers with your friends.
Maybe a glass of wine or two. How about
a double martini? After all, why do you
think “Happy Hour” starts at five o’clock?
But how can you tell when it becomes
a problem? It may not be as easy as you
think. “There is a fine line,” says Dr.
Chad Coren, a Doylestown-based clinical
psychologist who specializes in addiction.
“I have a patient who’s drinking a halfgallon of rum a day. If you ask him where
it starts, he’ll say a couple of cocktails
a day.”
MOMENT OF CLARITY
To determine the line between a good
time and a potential problem, Coren
first defines the word “addiction” as
“feelings of being compelled to use drugs
and alcohol, even though it might cause
considerable harm.” And while textbook
definitions prove a useful start, for
professionals like Coren, getting someone
addicted to drugs or alcohol to recognize
the problem can be one of the hardest
parts of the recovery process.
“It usually takes a critical event: a drunkdriving arrest, being fired from work or
a loved one pointing out the problem for
an addict to come around,” says Coren.
“Before then, it’s almost as if, ‘If it’s
not doing any harm, why stop?’” Coren
says his patients are a blend of referrals
and walk-ins. But what they all have in
common is almost all of them come at the
bequest of someone else: a loved one,
a doctor or a judge.
PUSHING FORWARD
According to Coren, treating addiction in
the past was akin to a parent reprimanding
a child. “When people were told what to
do and how to do it,” he says, gesturing
as if pushing against an invisible wall,
“that was the reaction. They tended to
resist, which is why I don’t push. I allow
patients to unfold their story at a pace
that’s comfortable for them.” His methods
involve a form of treatment known as
cognitive behavioral therapy, whereby he
helps the patient identify negative or risky
thought patterns – such as “It’s no big deal
if I hang out with my friends who use” –
and develop more practical, productive
ways of thinking.
MANAGING THE POTHOLES
Part of Coren’s job also entails helping
those struggling with addiction anticipate and develop strategies to cope with
potential triggers: the people, places,
thoughts or emotions that could cause
someone in recovery to relapse. He
describes these high-risk situations as
potholes on a poorly maintained road.
“Sometimes you can avoid them, and
sometimes you can’t,” he says. “The best
strategy is to drive slowly, keep your
hands on the wheel and have a toolkit
in the trunk in case you hit one.”
Because misery loves company, others
with drug and alcohol problems are
often the potholes, knocking people in
recovery off the wagon, even after years
of sobriety in some cases. “When people
start up again, sometimes it’s with an old
acquaintance they used to get drunk or
high with,” says Coren, citing one patient
whose best-friend was also the person
he consistently used with in the past.
“For some, it’s too difficult to imagine
what it would be like to sever the tie with
that part of his life. He’s not seeing what
staying near his friend will do to him.”
Sadly, Coren has seen many relationships
end as the result of dependency problems.
The nature of addiction means that
a patient is never cured; one can only
manage the compulsion. “More often than
not, the problem is contained,” Coren
says. “It’s never totally solved. There is
no magic bullet.”
Fortunately, many people struggling with
addiction are able to develop new, healthy
connections in recovery. This might include
helping people to find support groups like
Alcoholics or Narcotics Anonymous. Other
patients find solace in activities or new
hobbies, a ceramics class for example.
“Whatever helps people heal,” Coren says,
“is what I believe in.”
Go online at drchadcoren.com