October is National Substance Abuse Prevention Month and to honor this we are going to discuss the book Music is Our Medicine written by Paul Pellinger, C.A.C..
Before we talk about the book, we need to first grasp an understanding of substance abuse and the harmful effects it has on an individual's wellbeing. To achieve this, we reached out to Rebecca Bischoff, Licensed Social Worker and Substance Abuse Clinician to explain it to Well Read readers. "Substance abuse disorder can be defined as many things. Some people would describe it as a moral failing, but we know now this is scientifically incorrect. Substance abuse is chronic brain disease, a disease that you cannot see on your skin or a blood test but a disease of behaviors, which affects everybody around you by destroying relationships and trust in families every day. A disease that tells you that you do not have a disease and where you continue using drugs and alcohol despite negative consequences. If left untreated, the prognosis is poor and ends with jails, institutions and death."
Now that this concept is more familiar to us, let's discuss Music is Our Medicine and the ways in which it is changing how substance abuse is being treated. Pellinger has a new approach in order to help struggling addicts get clean, but more importantly, stay clean. He specializes in the use of music as therapy to instill change that is not only positive but enduring. His book describes his own experience with the traditional treatment industry. He breaks down his approach by using real world examples and explaining how the power of music is vital to helping addicts get clean. He explains the different ways the success of his treatment is indisputable by showing us the road clients take to recovery. The Recovery Soundtrack stood out to me as an ingenious idea. It provides clients with a "musical prescription" that targets different moods by offering various playlists that cater to their emotions. For example, playing a happy playlist when it is a struggle to feel good and a peace playlist for when anxiety creeps up.
The best part of this book is the honesty and rawness of it. Pellinger provides a candid and honest glimpse into the improvable areas of traditional addiction treatment, offering numerous examples of how fear and consequence-based philosophies alone have been inadequate to sustaining long-term recovery. He outlines his revolutionary treatment that helps addicts connect with their souls and discover the true power that music holds. In a world of constant polarization, we need to bond over the unification that music provides. If this unique program is intriguing to you, visit RecoveryUnplugged.com to learn more.
This book can be purchased through this link:
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