Submitted article

Members of the Crawford County Opiate Task Force invite you to a community education session on Tuesday April 15 from 6:30 to 8 pm at Bucyrus High School. Dr. Gregory Brigham, a board certified Clinical Psychologist and Addictions Treatment Professional, will present a program about addiction and treatment.

Jody Demo-Hodgins, director of the ADAMH Board notes, “Dr. Brigham will share information about drug use and risk factors. For example, we know that using drugs is not about willpower or character and that most drug use is related to stress, trauma, genetic predisposition, mild or serious mental illness, use at an early age, or some combination of those.”

She hopes that the program will help people move away from the stigma of addiction, and from the idea that if addicts just tried hard enough, or were made of stronger stuff, they could conquer their addiction.

The program will walk people through the identification of the problem and give them an idea of what treatment entails. Dr. Brigham of Maryhaven will also address Medication Assisted Treatment with Suboxone and Vivitrol. While he will be speaking about addiction in general, he will also focus on heroin and opiate addiction.

Dr. Brigham received a Master of Arts degree in Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Ministry from Methodist Theological School in Delaware and a Ph.D. from The Ohio State University. He is ABPP Board Certified Clinical Psychologist, an APA Fellow in Addiction Psychology, and a Licensed Independent Chemical Dependency Professional. Dr. Brigham has specialized in the field of Addictions Treatment and Prevention for over thirty years. He has developed and implemented behavioral and medication assisted treatment programs across a wide range of the addiction treatment continuum. He has conducted numerous randomized clinical trials evaluating treatments for addiction, including both medications and behavioral therapies. His publications include over 35 scholarly articles on addiction treatment. Dr. Brigham currently holds appointments as Chief Research Officer at Maryhaven in Columbus, Ohio and Research Scientist at the University of Cincinnati, Department of Psychiatry.

Dr. Brigham notes, “The fact is, addiction is a brain disease. While people may be initially making a choice to use, as they go forward their initial choice is take over by the growing need to use to feel normal.”

The program is free and open to the public. Those with questions can call the ADAMH Board at 419-562-7288.