Opiate & Alcohol Recovery, Stimulants & Executive Function
I serve as medical director for an outdoor therapeutic program which has been in operation for thirty years. This ability to watch these young people grow into productive adults and help them achieve their goals has been a great satisfaction of my life.
~ George Bright
George Bright, MD - is Medical Director of a private multispecialty practice in Midlothian, Virginia, a suburb of Richmond. His practice focuses on the commonplace but often misunderstood and mistreated challenges of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and stimulants, combined with multiple recovery problems in Addiction Medicine.  Fasten your seat belts; you already know this conversation will prove seriously controversial.

Recovery dogma about psychiatric medications runs deep, as traditional recovery models disdain psychiatric drugs, especially stimulant medications. Two significant reasons: 1. most recovery treatment professionals don't understand the necessity and detailed work for specific monitoring and dosage strategies, 2. new medications, as Dr. Bright discussed in this episode, aren't as abusable.

Ed Note: And I'll confess right up front, I completely agree with Dr. Bright, his excellent work, his use of stimulant medications, and his exemplary, well-managed recovery programs. He shows the recovery accomplishments that occur if you don't live in the land of cookie-cutter medicine and lockstep, dogmatic recovery. This process can - work if you work it - as in Dr. Bright's highly structured programs.

For the traditional recovery folk's record, The Caron Foundation endorses and refers to his clinical experience and expertise at Blackwater Outdoor Experiences, also based in Richmond. Caron is an acclaimed recovery program with a well respected, international reputation for comprehensive recovery work, from substance abuse to dependent relationships.
His Comprehensive Practice
He treats children as young as 5, and patients all the way to adulthood.  His mission: provide educational support, counseling, psychological testing, and medical management. Also, he serves as medical director for an outdoor therapeutic program [linked above] now in operation for thirty years. Dr. Bright shares his experience mastering the structural complexity of that controversial interface between potentially addictive substances and addiction recovery.
Dr. Bright's Perspective At His Adolescent And Family Health Center
"For more than 30 years, the mission of the Adolescent & Family Health Center has been to help people live brighter lives while simultaneously addressing the challenges they face.  Led by George M. Bright, MD, one of the leading authorities on ADHD and addiction, AFHC’s treatment team includes a licensed clinical psychologist, a licensed clinical social worker, a licensed professional counselor, an educational consultant, and an academic specialist. Also, we make direct referrals to an art specialist and an English/writing specialist, all of whom can bring a broad range of expertise and perspective to each patient’s diagnosis and treatment."
Dr. Bright Reports From His Edge Here at CBJ/102

* I started as a pediatrician & wound up in Adolescent Medical training at MIT & Harvard, then in substance abuse in the late 60's
* Concerning 300 Opiate Addicts with comorbidity, we see a very high percentage with ADHD
* Chronic Pain patients also reveal 60-70% with comorbid ADHD
* When assessing anyone in this population, it's important to look at them as a whole person
* That first evaluation is necessary for a variety of co-occurring issues from childhood