Alcohol and drug abuse (substance abuse) affect individuals of all ages and backgrounds and can affect your work, your health, and relationships with family and friends as well as increasing your risk of physical injury. The District's Employee Assistance Program offers a confidential, caring place for employees who have questions or are in need of assistance.
In challenging times, it can be helpful to talk to someone for support and resources. You and your family members have access to a Licensed Counselor who will listen and provide emotional support and coping tips for personal, family and work issues, at no cost to you.
Health Advocate
866-799-2728
How It Works
- Call Health Advocate
- An intake Counselor will conduct a brief assessment to determine your needs and connect you to the right counselor to begin counseling sessions*
*If you need more in-depth help, referrals are provided.
They can help with:
- Stress, anxiety, depression
- Relationship and parenting issues
- Financial and job pressures
- Grief, loss, and anger
- Substance abuse
Remember, you, your spouse, dependents, parents and parentsin-law are all eligible for the Health Advocate service.
In a crisis, help is available 24/7.
Turn to us at any time!
Anthem Blue Cross and Kaiser resources
If you have medical insurance with the District, you also have additional resources to help you.
Kaiser
https://healthy.kaiserpermanente.org/colorado/health-wellness/addiction-and-recovery/drug-and-alcohol-treatment
How to get care
Even if you know you want support, it can be difficult to know where to start. So we make it easy.
Read moreYou can talk to anyone on your care team about your drug or alcohol use — there’s no wrong door. You can start the conversation at any time, and we’ll connect you to the next appropriate level of care.
We also screen for alcohol use during primary care visits. If your doctor brings up concerns, it doesn’t mean you have a problem. It’s just another way they’re looking after your health — no different than taking your blood pressure and sharing the results with you. The goal is to help you understand the risks, empower you to make informed choices about your health, and help you take whatever steps you’re ready to take.
A full spectrum of support
Treatment for substance use disorder and addiction is highly personal — there’s not a single path to recovery that works for everyone. Kaiser Permanente offers a full range of evidence-based treatment options for adults and teens, and we’ll work with you to create a care plan that’s specific to your needs. Below are some of the types of treatment you may receive. A full spectrum of support
Treatment for SUD and addiction is highly personal — there’s not a single path to recovery that works for everyone. Kaiser Permanente offers a full range of evidence-based treatment options for adults and teens, and we’ll work with you to create a care plan that’s specific to your needs. Below are some of the types of treatment you may receive. Medical detox and withdrawal symptom managementWhen people become physically dependent on alcohol or drugs, it’s not safe for them to stop drinking or using without medical supervision. Our addiction medicine care teams can help members with severe SUD stop drinking or using drugs safely and comfortably. This doesn’t treat SUD, but it’s an important first step toward recovery for the members who need it.
We offer inpatient and outpatient treatment programs for members with more severe problems with alcohol or drugs. Specific details can vary, but programs typically involve a combination of individual and group therapy, educational sessions, and self-help and peer support meetings.
Counseling can help members with SUD explore the reasons behind their drug or alcohol use and come up with new, healthy coping strategies. It can be especially effective for members who also have a mental health condition, or who started using to deal with distressing emotions, trauma, or excessive stress. We offer individual and group therapy for all our members.
In some cases, our care teams prescribe medication to treat an underlying mental health condition, like depression or anxiety. In other cases, medication is used to help reduce cravings, ease withdrawal symptoms, and help prevent relapse. This is sometimes referred to as medication-assisted treatment (MAT), and is mostly used to treat addiction to opioids, heroin, prescription pain relievers, and alcohol. Medication is typically used in combination with other treatment approaches, like therapy and self-care.
We offer a broad range of mental health and wellness tools that can help members struggling with SUD. Members can get
self-care apps for meditation and mindfulness — and many other resources for managing depression, reducing stress, sleeping better, and more. Your care team might prescribe these tools as part of your treatment — but adult members can also access them anytime, and at no cost.*
The ultimate goal of treatment is recovery. Kaiser Permanente offers a variety of treatment options, but most of recovery happens outside of Kaiser Permanente and independently of treatment. For many people, recovery support is key to their long-term success. Your care team can help you access recovery resources, including:
Anthem Blue Cross ) www.anthem.com/ca/sisc Member Services 1-800-825-5541.
Substance Use Disorder
Anthem Blue Cross has a disease management unit to help our members. The DiseaseManagement Centralized Care Unit has a care management program for members who have a substance use problem (disorder). This program helps you better understand and manage this problem. We can help you set health goals and create a care plan that fits how you live.
Living with substance use disorder
Substance use disorder means using drugs or alcohol in a way that causes harm to yourself or others.
We want you to know you can take control. If you like, we will keep your doctor informed of
how you are doing and the services we provide you. Your care manager can help you learn how to better manage and be in control of your substance use disorder.
Things to know
Your brain changes after using drugs or alcohol over time. You may start to have cravings for the drug or alcohol.
- Common results of abuse or dependence can include:
- Often missing work or school
- Neglecting family or children
- Legal problems
- Auto accidents or suspension of driver's license
- Needing more and more of the substance and having withdrawal symptoms
- You may also see that you are spending large amounts of time getting and using the drug, loss of friendships as well as physical and psychological harm.
The important thing to know about substance use disorder is that it can be treated. We can share more information to help you with substance use disorder as part of our program.
How is substance use disorder treated?
The first step to treating substance use disorder is to see a health care provider.
People with substance use disorder may have other health conditions. It is very important that you talk with your doctor about all of your health conditions.
A combination of treatments is usually most helpful in treating substance use disorder. Some of the treatments are psychosocial or talk therapy, medication therapy and community-based support.
What can you do?
You can help yourself and your family by getting treatment. Once you start, then stick with it. Don't give up, even though it is hard. It takes time, but treatment is the best way to take care of a substance use disorder and put yourself in control instead of letting it control you.
Here are a few things you can do to help with your treatment:
- Talk to your doctor about your treatment.
- Don't take any new drugs, even over-the-counter drugs, until you check with your
- doctor first.
- Set goals for yourself that are reachable.
- Stay in treatment.
- Keep a daily routine by eating a healthy diet, getting at least eight hours of sleep and staying active.
Support to help you manage your substance use disorder
- We can help you talk to your family or caregiver about your substance use disorder.
- We can assist you in finding community programs and resources in your area.
How can family and friends help?
Family and friends play an important part in helping a person who has substance use disorder. They will need to know as much as possible about the disorder. Family and friends can also help you to stay in treatment. Family and friends can:
- Encourage you to stay in treatment.
- Talk with you and listen to what you have to say.
- Include you in fun activities.
- Remind you that getting better is possible with the right treatment.
- Attend counseling with you.
Important screenings to get:
- Depression, since this is commonly found when people have a substance use disorder.
- Other health conditions such as high blood pressure or diabetes.
- Preventive care screenings such as wellness checkups, mammograms and Pap
- tests.
- Assessments related to alcohol or substance use. They consist of a few simple questions that you can complete in private with your primary care provider or specialist.
If you feel like you want to hurt yourself:
Get help right away! You can call the toll-free, 24-hour hotline of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255) or TTY: 1-800-799-4TTY (4889) to talk to a trained counselor. Friends or family should call their loved one's treating psychiatrist or therapist or 911 if a person talks about or tries suicide.
Here are additional links for more helpful information on managing your substance use
disorder:
- The National Institute of Mental Health 1-866-615-6464 (TTY 1-866-415-8051)
- www.nimh.nih.gov
- Mental Health America 1-800-969-NMHA (6642), www.nmha.org
- National Alliance on Mental Illness 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), www.nami.org
- Narcotics Anonymous, www.na.org
- Alcoholics Anonymous, www.aa.org
The following are additional resources that may help:
Alcohol & Drug Prevention Resources
