Paradise Recovery understands that most clients needing addiction recovery also have struggled with mental health concerns. We have designed our multi-disciplinary team to include psychiatrists with addiction specialty (ASAM). Dr. John Neuhaus, M.D., co-founder of Paradise Recovery, oversees the psychiatric and medical care during the stay. Our Doctors practice traditional, along with alternative medicine, informed by the current literature in best-practice addiction treatment.

Shortly after your admission to Paradise Recovery, you will meet with your psychiatrist for an individualized psychiatric assessment.  The assessment covers a broad range of areas, not just addiction, and aims to diagnose any mental or physical concerns that impact you as a person and may affect your recovery.  The psychiatrist will talk to you about what led up to your admission, your goals for treatment, past psychiatric or mental health history, family history of psychiatric or significant medical problems, and your story from childhood to the present time.  You will work together with your psychiatrist and establish if there are co-occurring health concerns that are impacting your health and your ability to get on the path of sustained recovery.  If problems are identified, a plan of action will be discussed with you and your treatment team.   The plan of action may involve treatment with medication, psychotherapy, or other ancillary therapies that are offered at Paradise Recovery.

People with addiction problems often suffer from what are called co-occurring disorders.  The most common co-occurring disorders are depression, anxiety, PTSD/trauma, ADHD, bipolar illness, and eating disorders.  Our psychiatrists are highly adept individuals who have the ability to decipher between true mental illness versus the effects of addiction on the brain and behavior that are seen with most people in early recovery. 

The initial psychiatric evaluation is conducted over one to two fairly lengthy sessions early in your stay.  After the evaluation, your psychiatrist will follow-up with you individually on a regular basis, up to twice weekly.  You and your psychiatrist are integral members of your treatment team.  You will meet with key members of your treatment team after the initial evaluations are completed to develop a road map that will take you down your road of individual recovery.