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Don Lawrence Coyhis (born August 16, 1943) is an alcohol and addiction recovery counselor known for designing treatment programs primarily for Native Americans. He is the founder and president of White Bison, Inc., a non-profit charitable organization devoted to assisting Native Americans who are affected by substance use disorders. In 1994 Coyhis started the Wellbriety Movement which aims to reduce substance abuse among Native Americans.
Coyhis is a Mohican Indian born and raised on the Stockbridge-Munsee Reservation in Wisconsin. Both of his parents were survivors of American Indian boarding schools, an experience that left them so traumatized that they had difficulty showing affection. Coyhis grew up "a troubled child to troubled parents...Drinking was the way of life." [1]
As an adult, Coyhis left the reservation and in 1978 went to work for the Digital Equipment Corporation in Colorado Springs, eventually becoming senior manager. He designed and taught programs on leadership and diversity. His clients included AT&T, Lucent Technologies, the U.S. Forest Service, and the Bureau of Land Management. [2] After having struggled with alcoholism for many years, drinking threatened his career and Coyhis became sober in 1978. He joined Alcoholics Anonymous where he sponsored several "difficult cases," finding satisfaction in the challenge they presented, but wondering if he could do more. [3]
Coyhis felt out of touch with his recovery group and suspected that other Native Americans felt the same. In 1988 he was invited by another Indian to go on a five-day fast in the Rampart Range mountains. There he had a vision of a white bison, which inspired him to help other Native Americans quit drinking. [4] In 1990 he began doing sobriety workshops in the Idaho prison system, then quit his job in 1992 to devote his life to helping others recover from alcoholism, founding White Bison, Inc., a nonprofit charitable organization. [5]
In 1994 he obtained a small grant to work with Native Americans in Maine. He began meeting with Elders and other people in Passamaquoddy community. [3] As part of their work they began working with the metaphor of the Sacred Hoop. Elders explained that the Sacred Hoop has the power to confer four gifts: forgiveness, unity, healing and hope. [6] Coyhis then decided to take the Hoop to other Native American communities, making the first Hoop journey to 35 Native American colleges in 1999. He made ten journeys with the Hoop, logging hundreds of thousands of miles each year in an effort to bring the "Wellbriety Movement" to 100 Native communities by the year 2010. [7] [8] Before receiving a sustained commitment for support from White Bison, Native communities have to demonstrate a commitment to recovery by declaring a collective desire to break entrenched patterns of passivity, helplessness, and hopelessness. Once significant progress has been achieved, a community is awarded a handmade "big drum" as a sign of respect. [6]
On the Hoop journeys Coyhis recruited people recovering from alcohol dependence to act as "firestarters," leaders of Native American recovery and support groups. [3] Firestarters may choose to lead recovery groups for men, women, Al-Anon (support for friends and relatives of alcoholics), addictions prevention and wellness for Native American boys ages 13 to 17 or for Native American girls ages 8 to 17, support for family healing, or for children of alcoholics. [9]
The term "wellbriety" is derived from a Passamaquoddy word that means to be both sober and well. [10] According to Coyhis, "It means going beyond survival to thrive in one’s own life and in the life of the community. It means living by the laws and values of traditional Native American culture." [1] Coyhis believes that it is not enough to put an individual into rehab or a recovery group to treat alcohol or drug dependence:
"We must actively heal the community and its institutions at the same time an individual works on his or her own healing from alcohol or drugs or other unwell behaviors. The individual affects the community and the community affects the individual. They are inseparable from the point of view of addiction recovery. Everything must be in the healing process simultaneously." [1]
Coyhis also feels that historical and intergenerational trauma are responsible for much of the substance use seen among Native Americans. [11] He argues that restoring cultural identity by returning to the principles, laws, and values of traditional Native culture promotes healing mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually. Coyhis acknowledges that each individual needs to work hard to overcome drug and alcohol dependence, but cautions that a healthy sociocultural environment makes the healing process less painful and more likely to succeed. [10] [12] He frames this concept in terms of the "healing forest," wherein a sick tree can only recover if the rest of the forest is healthy. This holistic approach represents a conceptual breakthrough by emphasizing the role of the community in recovery. [13]
Coyhis studied the underlying causes of alcoholism, then decided to expand White Bison's mission to include drug addiction, dysfunctional families and relationships, as well as suicide. [14] [15] Coyhis’ model, known as the "Medicine Wheel 12-Step," uses a twelve-step program similar to that used by Alcoholics Anonymous, [16] but it also incorporates cultural elements, including a medicine wheel, group drum circles, songs, healing ceremonies, the teachings of elders, and it does not use the AA model of anonymity. [17] In 2005 Coyhis launched Warrior Down, a program that supports re-entry for Native Americans using a multi-faceted and traditional approach. Through a supportive team of peer support specialists, the program provides resources, programming, recovery support, recidivism prevention, and community referrals for those re-entering the community from treatment or from various forms of incarceration. [18] [19]
In 2001 Coyhis met addiction specialist William L. White [3] and they began collaborating on two books: The Red Road to Wellbriety in the Native American Way, and Alcohol Problems in Native America: The Untold Story of Resistance and Recovery, both of which were published by Coyhis Publishing & Consulting, Inc. in 2006. [20] [21] The Red Road lays out Coyhis' philosophy for a culturally-appropriate treatment paradigm (referred to as the red road) for Native Americans and their families who are affected by substance abuse. Alcohol Problems in Native America examines the history of alcohol and Native Americans, including Native American temperance activists, and analyzes the successes and failures of addiction treatment programs run for and by Native Americans. [22]
In 2009 Coyhis received the Purpose Prize from the John Templeton Foundation with a monetary award of $100,000. [4] The award allowed Coyhis to establish a Wellbriety Training Institute [17] with the aim of bringing Wellbriety programs to all of the 574 federally recognized tribes in the United States. [4]
Coyhis is on the faculty of the Alberta Family Wellness Initiative. [23] He has eight adult children, several of whom are themselves recovering from alcohol dependence. [1]
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration is a branch of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. SAMHSA is charged with improving the quality and availability of treatment and rehabilitative services in order to reduce illness, death, disability, and the cost to society resulting from substance abuse and mental illnesses. The Administrator of SAMHSA reports directly to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. SAMHSA's headquarters building is located outside of Rockville, Maryland.
Aversion therapy is a form of psychological treatment in which the patient is exposed to a stimulus while simultaneously being subjected to some form of discomfort. This conditioning is intended to cause the patient to associate the stimulus with unpleasant sensations with the intention of quelling the targeted behavior.
Substance dependence, also known as drug dependence, is a biopsychological situation whereby an individual's functionality is dependent on the necessitated re-consumption of a psychoactive substance because of an adaptive state that has developed within the individual from psychoactive substance consumption that results in the experience of withdrawal and that necessitates the re-consumption of the drug. A drug addiction, a distinct concept from substance dependence, is defined as compulsive, out-of-control drug use, despite negative consequences. An addictive drug is a drug which is both rewarding and reinforcing. ΔFosB, a gene transcription factor, is now known to be a critical component and common factor in the development of virtually all forms of behavioral and drug addictions, but not dependence.
Marc Galanter is Professor of Psychiatry at New York University School of Medicine and has served as the Founding Director of the Division of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse. His studies have addressed family therapy for substance abuse, pharmacologic treatment for addiction, and Twelve Step recovery for addiction. He is an author of over 200 peer-reviewed articles. He chairs Twelve Step Interest Groups in AAAP, ASAM, and the International Society of Addiction Medicine and teaches at the New York University School of Medicine.
The modern disease theory of alcoholism states that problem drinking is sometimes caused by a disease of the brain, characterized by altered brain structure and function. Today, alcohol use disorder (AUD) is used as a more scientific and suitable approach to alcohol dependence and alcohol-related problems.
The term Oxford House refers to any house operating under the "Oxford House Model", a community-based approach to addiction recovery, which provides an independent, supportive, and sober living environment. Today there are nearly 3,000 Oxford Houses in the United States and other countries.
A peer support specialist is a person with "lived experience" who has been trained to support those who struggle with mental health, psychological trauma, or substance use. Their personal experience of these challenges provide peer support specialists with expertise that professional training cannot replicate.
Drug addiction recovery groups are voluntary associations of people who share a common desire to overcome their drug addiction. Different groups use different methods, ranging from completely secular to explicitly spiritual. Some programs may advocate a reduction in the use of drugs rather than outright abstention. One survey of members found active involvement in any addiction recovery group correlates with higher chances of maintaining sobriety. Although there is not a difference in whether group or individual therapy is better for the patient, studies show that any therapy increases positive outcomes for patients with substance use disorder. The survey found group participation increased when the individual members' beliefs matched those of their primary support group. Analysis of the survey results found a significant positive correlation between the religiosity of members and their participation in twelve-step programs and to a lesser level in non-religious SMART Recovery groups, the correlation factor being three times smaller for SMART Recovery than for twelve-step addiction recovery groups. Religiosity was inversely related to participation in Secular Organizations for Sobriety.
SMART Recovery is an international community of peer support groups that help people recover from addictive and problematic behaviors, using a self-empowering and evidence-informed program. SMART stands for Self-Management and Recovery Training. The SMART approach is secular and research-based. SMART has a global reach, with a presence established in more than 30 countries. SMART Recovery is effective with a range of addictive and problematic behaviors
LifeRing Secular Recovery is a secular, non-profit organization providing peer-run addiction recovery groups. The organization provides support and assistance to people seeking to recover from alcohol and drug addiction, and also assists partners, family members and friends of addicts or alcoholics. It is an abstinence-based recovery program with three fundamental principles: sobriety, secularity and self-empowerment. The motto of LifeRing is "empower your sober self."
Polysubstance dependence refers to a type of substance use disorder in which an individual uses at least three different classes of substances indiscriminately and does not have a favorite substance that qualifies for dependence on its own. Although any combination of three substances can be used, studies have shown that alcohol is commonly used with another substance. This is supported by one study on polysubstance use that separated participants who used multiple substances into groups based on their preferred substance. The results of a longitudinal study on substance use led the researchers to observe that excessively using or relying on one substance increased the probability of excessively using or relying on another substance.
Secular Organizations for Sobriety (SOS), also known as Save Our Selves, is a non-profit network of autonomous addiction recovery groups. The program stresses the need to place the highest priority on sobriety and uses mutual support to assist members in achieving this goal. The Suggested Guidelines for Sobriety emphasize rational decision-making and are not religious or spiritual in nature. SOS represents an alternative to the spiritually based addiction recovery programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). SOS members may also attend AA meetings, but SOS does not view spirituality or surrendering to a Higher Power as being necessary to maintain abstinence.
Henry Lozano is a non-profit executive and grassroots organizer. His years of public service culminated in his post at the White House as Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of USA Freedom Corps. On August 10, 2011, he was appointed to serve as the Director of Los Angeles County Teen Challenge and Urban Ministries Initiatives.
William L. White is a writer on addiction recovery and policy.
Michael P. Botticelli is an American public health official who served as the director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) from March 2014 until the end of President Obama's term. He was named acting director after the resignation of Gil Kerlikowske, and received confirmation from the United States Senate in February 2015. Prior to joining ONDCP, he worked in the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Following completion of his service as ONDCP Director, he became the executive director of the Grayken Center for Addiction Medicine at the Boston Medical Center.
About 1 in 7 Americans suffer from active addiction to a particular substance. Addiction can cause physical, psychological, and emotional harm to those who are affected by it. The American Society of Addiction Medicine defines addiction as "a treatable, chronic medical disease involving complex interactions among brain circuits, genetics, the environment, and an individual's life experiences. People with addiction use substances or engage in behaviors that become compulsive and often continue despite harmful consequences." In the world of psychology and medicine, there are two models that are commonly used in understanding the psychology behind addiction itself. One model is referred to as the disease model of addiction. The disease model suggests that addiction is a diagnosable disease similar to cancer or diabetes. This model attributes addiction to a chemical imbalance in an individual's brain that could be caused by genetics or environmental factors. The second model is the choice model of addiction, which holds that addiction is a result of voluntary actions rather than some dysfunction of the brain. Through this model, addiction is viewed as a choice and is studied through components of the brain such as reward, stress, and memory. Substance addictions relate to drugs, alcohol, and smoking. Process addictions relate to non-substance-related behaviors such as gambling, spending money, sexual activity, gaming, spending time on the internet, and eating.
Many Native Americans in the United States have been harmed by, or become addicted to, drinking alcohol. Among contemporary Native Americans and Alaska Natives, 11.7% of all deaths are related to alcohol. By comparison, about 5.9% of global deaths are attributable to alcohol consumption. Because of negative stereotypes and biases based on race and social class, generalizations and myths abound around the topic of Native American alcohol misuse.
Community reinforcement approach and family training is a behavior therapy approach in psychotherapy for treating addiction developed by Robert J. Myers in the late 1970s. Meyers worked with Nathan Azrin in the early 1970s whilst he was developing his own community reinforcement approach (CRA) which uses operant conditioning techniques to assist those with addictions live healthily. Meyers adapted CRA to create CRAFT, which he described as CRA that "works through family members." CRAFT combines CRA with family training to equip concerned significant others (CSOs) of addicts with supportive techniques to encourage their loved ones to commence and continue treatment and provides them with defences against addiction's damaging effects on themselves.
A number of prominent Native Americans have protested against the social and cultural damage inflicted by alcohol on indigenous communities, and have campaigned to raise awareness of the dangers of alcohol and to restrict its availability to Native populations. Initially, these activists resisted the use of rum and brandy as trade items during the colonial era, in an effort to protect Native Americans from cultural changes they viewed as destructive. Later activists framed temperance in terms of Christianity, conforming to the broader temperance movement in the United States. Others led revitalization movements to restore Native American dignity by reverting to traditional customs and ceremonies or attempted to establish alcohol-free communities. During the 1800s several religious movements combined tradition with Christianity to attract a wider following. Modern-day addiction specialists integrate the psychology of substance abuse treatment with traditional rituals and symbolism and with community rehabilitation to reduce stressors and help recovering alcoholics maintain a healthy lifestyle.
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