Murray, LMH shine bright light on pathway to addiction recovery
May 9—Margaret Murray, a licensed social worker in the Office Based Addiction Treatment program at Logansport Memorial Hospital, said people will sometimes come to their appointments feeling great shame because they relapsed.
"I don't care if they have been in recovery 30 days or 30 years, the first thing I tell them is 'you know how to be sober. Let's do it,'" she said.
Their faces light up when they realize she isn't going to give them a hard time about their slip up.
"'Let's start over. You know how to be sober,'" she instead tells them. "I think that's really hopeful when they can bounce back on their successful history."
She has seen plenty of success stories, recounting one patient who has been clean and now has been a business owner for six years. Another patient is about to return to school to get their master's degree in counseling.
"Addiction does not have to rule your life," she said. "There's light every step of the way down that dark tunnel. That's what addiction feels like, I believe, a really dark tunnel and you just can't see the light. There's light. There's light. That's kind of what I do. Let's shine a light on it and get rid of it. Recovery is awesome."
Office Based Addiction Treatment is outpatient treatment for addiction as opposed to inpatient treatment. The program includes a person's primary care physician, a provider for their medication and also a therapist.
Opioid use in Cass County is at epidemic levels, Murray said, but the community has more awareness, more resources and more community members getting involved to help now.
Murray, herself, is a member of the Cass County opioid and suicide fatality review team. She is also a board member of a local men's sober living home. Her willingness to help extends into Miami County.
She said new clients can expect to come into the program and get no judgement and no condemnation.
"I'm going to teach you how not to relapse," she said. "They can expect to be well supported. They can expect to gather that hope that there really is a light at the end of the tunnel. That they really can beat this and they are not alone in this battle."
But like with all therapy, a client must be willing to do the work. It takes more than just sitting and talking to a therapist to recover.
Expectations for clients include strictly following doctor's recommendations for their medication and the time of day they are told to take their dosage.
Clients are also expected to make efforts to remove negative influences from their lives.
"When you go off of a drug you are breaking up a relationship," Murray said. "Then you are breaking up the relationship with the people who helped you with that. You don't go to the bar anymore. You don't call your dealer anymore. It's a much bigger deal than 'just say no.' I think there are a lot of people who don't understand the complexity of maintaining sobriety or staying recovered."
Those interested in the program may call 574-725-3485 to find out more information.
"I want people to know that when they come in here 'please don't worry and feel like you are labeled an addict,'" said Murray. "Don't be afraid to come in here because I'm not afraid to get in it with you."
Anyone who may be experiencing a mental health crisis can call 9-8-8 24 hours a day for help.
