Alternative To Meds Center (ATMC) is a licensed, 18-bed, residential integrative behavioral health facility specializing in treating mental health, psychiatric medication tapering, and dual diagnosis located in a retreat-like setting in Sedona, Arizona. ATMC recently published a groundbreaking longitudinal study that demonstrated the effectiveness of the program’s innovative evidence-based approach to mental health. To learn more, visit our website at https://www.alternativetomeds.com/.
Alternative To Meds Center (ATMC) specializes in helping individuals taper off psychiatric medications and treat mental health issues under the umbrella of holistic psychiatry. Through an integrative approach utilizing evidence-based treatment methods, ATMC develops individualized treatment plans that work to empower and educate patients on their journey toward wellbeing.
After 13 years of business, Alternative To Meds Center has released a groundbreaking longitudinal case study that helps to establish it as an evidence-based treatment model in the field of integrative psychiatry. To see how objective statistical data backs ATMC’s treatment protocols, an independent case study was performed and evaluated by Dr. Michael W. Corrigan, Associate Professor at Marshall University and Vice President of Multi-Dimensional Education, Inc (see attachment below). The study showed a success rate of between 75% and 87% for patients achieving goals from tapering off of medications, to long-term abstinence from medications, and reduced anxiety and depression.
According to the latest statistics, an astounding one in six Americans are currently on psychiatric medications (Scientific American, 2016). As the need arises for new treatment approaches to our nation’s mental health, opioid, and benzodiazepine crises, ATMC is emerging as a pioneer in medication tapering treatment by addressing emerging problems in our society such as...
• Medications are becoming increasingly available but there are very few resources and forms of support for those who want to stop medicating. Patients are actively looking for natural ways to manage their health care, including mental health services, and more resources are needed.
• Most medications are intended to be used in conjunction with psychotherapy and a comprehensive treatment plan. However, many patients rely solely on psychiatric medication to provide relief from their symptoms with less than effective results rather than exploring other options such as nutrition, exercise, and therapy. According to a recent study, “a recent analysis of data from 1990 to 2015 from four high-resourced countries (Australia, Canada, England, and the U.S.) show that the observed prevalence of mood and anxiety disorders and symptoms has not decreased, despite substantial increases in the provision of treatment, particularly antidepressants, and no increase in risk factors” (Nikkel & Whitaker, 2018). Studies such as these demonstrate a need to explore other treatment avenues in addition to the traditional medication route.
• Additionally, many medications are intended to be used as needed rather than on a daily basis. Benzodiazepines, for example, can quickly create dependency after regular use, yet, many patients are told the contrary by their doctor when they are prescribed them.
ATMC is addressing these issues through what is known as green mental health utilizing the following treatment tenets:
• Holistic psychiatry and Individualized mental health: At ATMC, a holistic approach means treating the whole person and taking into account all the factors that can contribute to a person’s state of being such as nutrition, activity levels, and genetic and environmental factors. Since every human is unique, the first step to treating a patient is to understand their unique needs and makeup.
• Integrative psychiatry and evidence-based models: ATMC’s integrative approach utilizes the best available proven treatment methods that have been shown to be the most effective. Some of the approaches ATMC incorporates include
•Environmental Medicine •Naturopathic Medicine. •Orthomolecular Medicine
•Mindfulness Practices •Traditional Chinese Medicine •Compassion-based Therapy
• Empowerment through education and collaboration: We work to educate each patient to empower them to understand how to make decisions regarding their health. Additionally, ATMC’s collaborative model focuses on having the patient be an active member of their treatment team. The patient co-creates their treatment plan and makes decisions with the team, rather than having decisions be made on their behalf.
Future trends and problems
Based on over 13 years of experience as a licensed, residential treatment facility in the mental health and wellness fields, we believe that there is:
• An increased interest and need for resources such as those provided by ATMC, to provide help for patients looking to taper off psychiatric medications safely and effectively.
• A need for responsibility and accountability on behalf of pharmaceutical companies and prescribers for how to help those who no longer want to be medicated (along with a pervasive lack of education, training and knowledge on behalf of practitioners on how to help individuals desiring to safely taper off medications).
• A developing Benzodiazepine crisis and epidemic similar to what we saw with the opioid industry. Benzos such as Xanax, Valium, and Klonopin have been prescribed freely for decades with little to no warning of the chemical dependency they create. There is a growing awareness from the medical community of their danger and ever-changing regulations regulating how these can be prescribed.
• There is a need for more coverage and education on these issues from media outlets.
Connect With Us and Learn More
• A Brief Overview Video of ATMC
• Learn more about ATMC’s treatment program’s success rate by reading ATMC’s 2018 longitudinal case study
• ATMC’s Website
• ATMC’s CEO Isaac Levin’s Inspiring Recovery Story
• ATMC’s Consulting Integrative Psychiatrist Dr. Samuel Lee’s Video Interview
About Alternative To Meds Center: ATMC is a licensed, 18-bed, residential integrative behavioral health facility specializing in treating mental health, natural medication tapering, and co-occurring disorders located in a retreat-like setting in Sedona, Arizona. Founded in 2006, ATMC specializes in helping people remove the toxicity and dependency from prescription medication, and determining the root cause of mental illness and co-occurring disorders through around-the-clock, supervised, tapering withdrawal in a relaxed, loving and safe environment. Through lab testing and other assessments, the Center identifies addictive biochemistry and other root causes for drug dependency. Individualized treatment is tailor-designed for each client to remove toxins, rebalance body and brain chemistry, and create a new pathway toward natural well-being.
References
Scientific American. (2016). 1 in 6 Americans Takes a Psychiatric Drug. Retrieved from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/1-in-6-americans-takes-a-psychiatric-drug
Nikkel, R. & Whitaker, R. (2018). Flooding the world with psychiatric drugs could boost the burden of mental disorders. STAT. Retrieved from https://www.statnews.com/2018/10/22/flooding-world-psychiatric-drugs-boost-burden-mental-disorders/
