What is addiction?

Substance misuse is a serious health concern. It includes the use of illegal drugs and the inappropriate use of legal substances (such as alcohol or tobacco.) Misuse can lead to substance abuse and addiction.

Addiction is defined as a chronic, relapsing disorder characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use despite adverse consequences.

Addiction is considered a brain disorder, because it involves functional changes to brain circuits involved in reward, stress, and self-control. Those changes may last long after a person stops taking the substance.

General prevalence

General prevalence

The National Center on Drug Abuse tells us that in 2020 in the United States:

  • 59 million or 21.4% of people ages 12 and older have used illegal drugs or misused prescription drugs within the past year.

  • With alcohol and tobacco included, 165 million or 60.3% of Americans ages 12 and older currently abuse drugs.

  • Over half of Americans increased their alcohol consumption during COVID-19 lockdowns.

  • 140,557 Americans die from the effects of alcohol in an average year.

“Monitoring the Future” is a survey given annually to students in 8th, 10th, and 12th grades by the National Institute of Drug Abuse (nida.nih.gov). From February 2022 through June 2022, investigators collected 31,438 surveys across 308 public and private schools in the United States. The 2022 survey found that adolescents most commonly reported use of the following substances in the past year: alcohol, nicotine, and cannabis.

Substance 8th Grade 10th Grade 12th Grade
Nicotine (vaping) 12.0% 20.5% 27.3%
Cannabis 8.3% 19.5% 30.7
Alcohol 15.2% 31.3% 51.9%
Other illicit drug use 4.9% 5.7% 8%

Pasco County statistics

adulting drinking and substance abuse

As seen in the table below, alcohol use rates for high school students are significantly higher than the state average while the use for middle school students is slightly lower.

2020 FYSAS Alcohol Use Pasco County’s Vs. State Rates

FL Dept of Children & Families / Fl Youth Substance Abuse Survey 2020

Measure Pasco Middle School Pasco High School Florida Middle School Florida High School
Alcohol-lifetime use 22.1% 52.4% 23% 44.9%
Alcohol-past 30-day use 8.1% 25.4% 8.2% 19.9%
Binge drinking-past 30-day use 2.5% 10.1% 3.4 9.2%
Think it is wrong to drink on a regular basis 89% 66.9% 81.1% 82.8%

In addition, 2020 FYSAS data revealed that approximately 13.4% of Pasco high school students reported smoking marijuana before or during school in the previous 12 months. This, too, is significantly higher than the state average.

The Pasco ASAP Needs & Coalition Capacity Assessment (January 2021) notes the rate of amphetamine prescription drug use among middle & high school students is also significantly increasing.

Alcohol is one of the top drugs of choice, with nearly 20% of Pasco County adults being considered excessive drinkers.

The 2021 ASAP Assessment review of county data shows drug poisoning to be the leading cause of unintentional injury hospitalizations among youth ages 15 – 19.

Pasco County is in the top 10 counties in Florida with the highest fatal overdose rates. The Pasco Sheriff’s Office Data from 2019 – 2020 shows a 71% increase in adult overdoses during this time, with heroin and fentanyl the most common causes.

Treatment Options

When treating an addiction, many factors are taken into consideration when determining level of care.

Levels of care range from detox to residential treatment programs, partial hospitalization programs (PHP), intensive outpatient programs (IOP), individual, family, and group counseling, and peer support.

Different modalities to treat substance abuse disorders include motivational interviewing, cognitive behavioral therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), solution focused therapy, 12-step recovery in community, SMART recovery meetings, and more.

What we offer at Growth & Recovery

Individual outpatient counseling is available with highly-trained clinicians such as Richard Ehrhardt, LMHC, who, himself, has been sober for 15 years. Rich approaches treatment with a dynamic, integrated model based on wellness components of interpersonal, spiritual, emotional, mental, and physical. He teaches skills to help his clients live a life of joyful recovery.

In addition we offer individual, couples, and family counseling for all family members and significant others for support, education, and an opportunity to address their own healing.

substance abuse

Individual outpatient counseling is available with highly-trained clinicians such as Richard Ehrhardt, LMHC, who, himself, has been sober for 15 years. Rich approaches treatment with a dynamic, integrated model based on wellness components of interpersonal, spiritual, emotional, mental, and physical. He teaches skills to help his clients live a life of joyful recovery.

In addition we offer individual, couples, and family counseling for all family members and significant others for support, education, and an opportunity to address their own healing.

Additional Resources

Literature-

I’ll Quit Tomorrow, A Practical Guide to Alcoholism Treatment, by Vernon E. Johnson
Alcoholics Anonymous, by Bill W.
12 Steps and 12 Traditions, by Bill W.
Relapse Prevention Therapy Workbook: Identifying Early Warning Signs, by-Terence T. Gorski and Stephen F. Grinstead
The Wisdom to Know the Difference: An Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Workbook for Overcoming Substance Abuse, by Kelly G. Wilson
Passages Through Recovery, by Terence T. Gorski.

Substance Abuse Treatment Facilities

Clean – https://www.cleanrecoverycenters.com/
Cura South – https://www.curasouth.com/
Fairwinds Treatment Center – https://fairwindstreatment.com/
Operation PAR, Inc – https://www.operationpar.org/
Phoenix House – https://www.phoenixhouse.org/
Riverside Recovery – https://rrtampa.com/
Spring Gardens Recovery – https://www.springgardensrecovery.com/
Turning Point of Tampa – https://www.tpoftampa.com/

Community support resources

AA – https://www.aa.org/
NA – https://na.org/
SMART – https://www.smartrecovery.org/
SAMHSA National Helpline – 1-800-662-4357, https://www.samhsa.gov/
Al-Anon – https://al-anon.org/
Al-Anon (for teens) https://al-anon.org/newcomers/teen-corner-alateen/
Nar-Anon – https://www.nar-anon.org/
Pasco County ASAP (Alliance for Substance Abuse Prevention) – https://empoweredcommunities.org/
Sober living programs-Men- https://realrecoveryfl.com/ ;Women- https://opalrecoveryhome.com/
Podcasts – AA Grapevine, The Point is Recovery Podcast

Our Location

Our office is conveniently located in Hunting Creek Pointe office park, just a half-mile from the Little Road/Hwy. 54 intersection in Trinity and within 10 miles of Odessa, New Port Richey, Port Richey, Palm Harbor, East Lake, Tarpon Springs, Bayonet Point, and Hudson.

Contact Form

If you would like to make an appointment with one of our therapists, fill the form and we will reach out to you.