According to the National Council for Behavioral Health (NCBH), approximately 30 percent of U.S. reserve and active military personnel—roughly 730,000 women and men—returning from Afghanistan and Iraq have mental health conditions requiring treatment, including PTSD and depression. However, less than 50 percent receive the care they need. Why? The Hidden Culture Within American military ranks...Read More

Treatment for substance addiction, co-occurring disorders, process addictions, and mood conditions might not be effective without taking into account an individual’s full life and experiences. One aspect often overlooked in cookie-cutter approaches is the impact of trauma. Many therapeutic approaches can effectively address trauma, including a relatively new application: brainspotting. How Trauma Affects the Brain...Read More

Eating disorders are complex and frightening for many people. It’s imperative for a person with an eating disorder to receive comprehensive, individualized treatment to regain whole health. Here’s what to expect. What Are Eating Disorders? The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) provides this definition for eating disorders: “serious medical illnesses marked by severe disturbances...Read More

Numerous therapeutic approaches are used to treat co-occurring substance abuse and mental health diagnoses. At Cottonwood Tucson, in Arizona, we aim to educate our guests about the various options available to support their recovery. One such option is Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). EMDR was developed to treat Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and...Read More

Effective treatment for mental health conditions requires a deep understanding of individuals and their experiences. For Aaron Wilson, M.D., Chief Medical Officer at Cottonwood Tucson, that understanding, above all else, must begin with a quest for diagnostic clarity. An inaccurate diagnosis can result in a cascade of issues to follow, such as treatment resistance that...Read More

It’s challenging to have a mood or mental health disorder, such as anxiety, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, or depression. But certain individuals also have further difficulties opening up about their illnesses to families or within their social circles because of stigmas. This is what many members of the BIPOC community—Black, indigenous, and people of...Read More

When some healthcare professionals talk about people with substance or alcohol use disorder, process addictions, mood and co-occurring disorders, trauma and PTSD, or eating disorders, they often put someone in a group based simply on symptoms. But whole person, holistic care, like what Cottonwood Tucson provides, takes into consideration an individual’s complete self and full...Read More

While many people play video and online games for fun and camaraderie, others use these activities to deal with various issues they’re troubled with and don’t know how to handle. If they don’t receive proper treatment for these issues, they can develop a gaming addiction, which is a type of process addiction. Kathleen Parrish Explains...Read More

Few people who live together are around each other all the time. Most individuals have separate work, friends, errands, hobbies, and other activities from each other. These busy routines mean that all too often, we don’t fully know the behaviors of the people we live with unless we come face-to-face with them. Stress, Substance Misuse,...Read More

The best time to get treatment for substance use or mental health issues is right now. Yes, there’s a lot of uncertainty in the world due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but life is even more challenging if you fear drugs or alcohol negatively impact your health, behaviors, and the people you love. Your Recovery Is...Read More