PSI and Northwestern University
PSI and Northwestern University, Positive Sobriety Institute
With our location on the campus of Northwestern University in Chicago, Positive Sobriety Institute’s patients benefit from our affiliation with Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, which is consistently ranked as one of the best medical schools in the nation. Through this affiliation, patients at Positive Sobriety Institute with complex health issues have access to a wide array of medical specialists from the university, in addition to the specialists available on-site at our Chicago rehab.
Expert Medical and Clinical Care
What differentiates Positive Sobriety Institute from most addiction treatment centers is the caliber of medical and clinical expertise available at our addiction treatment center. PSI is led by a remarkable group of board-certified physicians who specialize in addiction medicine, addiction psychiatry and psychiatry. The work of our physicians is complemented by the care and expertise of our psychiatric nurse practitioner, master’s level therapists, licensed clinical social workers and certified alcohol and drug counselors.
When patients have health needs that require additional specialty consultation, diagnostic testing or treatment, Positive Sobriety Institute staff collaborates with many types of medical specialists at the university. Specialty care available through Northwestern includes neurology, cardiology, orthopedics, pain medicine and many others. Our affiliation with Northwestern University ensures patients have access to a full range of medical specialists to handle even the most complex medical needs.
“Throughout my career, I’ve been very adamant about being in partnership with academic medicine. The relationship that Positive Sobriety Institute has with Northwestern is critical to our operation.”
– Dr. Dan Angres, Medical Director, Positive Sobriety Institute
Academic Medicine Alliance
Positive Sobriety Institute Medical Director Daniel Angres, MD, is a nationally known expert in psychiatry, addiction, and physicians’ health programs. An adjunct professor of psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Dr. Angres is also an educator and researcher. Board certified in addiction medicine, addiction psychiatry and psychiatry, he has over 30 years of experience and has been published in numerous peer-reviewed journals. Dr. Angres is also the author of three ground-breaking books on the subject of chemical dependency, addiction treatment and recovery including, “Healing the Healer,” “Miswired” and “Positive Sobriety.”
Anish John, MD, Positive Sobriety Institute’s associate medical director, is an adjunct assistant professor of psychiatry at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Dr. John is board certified in psychiatry and addiction psychiatry.
In addition to Positive Sobriety Institute clinicians teaching at the university, PSI also hosts addiction medicine fellows, psychiatric residents and medical students from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine who do clinical rotations at PSI as part of their training in their respective fields. It is our commitment to provide physicians and physicians-in-training with the education they need to evaluate and treat alcohol and drug addiction and dual disorders, given the widely acknowledged need in the United States for more physicians who have expertise in treating the opioid epidemic.
“We’re fortunate at PSI to be on the campus of Northwestern University. We feel that the academic alignment helps enhance and inform our treatment and gives us access to a lot of specialized individuals when it comes to medical and neurological resources.”
– Anish John, Associate Medical Director, Positive Sobriety Institute
Bringing Evidence-Based Advances to Addiction Treatment
Positive Sobriety Institute is committed to making sure patients have access to the latest, evidence-based advances in the treatment of addiction and mental health disorders. Our partnership with a top medical school helps our clinicians stay up-to-date on the newest research and the most promising approaches to helping individuals overcome addiction.
There are many exciting and innovative avenues of research that investigators are pursuing, and that top addiction treatment centers should keep up with. New pharmacological options, better ways of predicting which medications will work for specific individuals based on their genetic makeup, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) for depression, brain imaging studies that are revealing more about the biological basis for mental illness, and new approaches to psychotherapy are just some of the areas currently being studied.
Our partnership with Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine keeps our clinicians connected with the latest thinking and research to ensure that our patients benefit from new approaches.
The PSI Difference
Our academic partnership, the stellar reputation of our staff, the breadth of their credentials, and our many years of success in helping addicted professionals regain control of their lives are among the reasons why professionals choose Positive Sobriety Institute. When their health and their careers are on the line, physicians, nurses, pharmacists, lawyers, dentists and other professionals in safety-sensitive careers trust Positive Sobriety Institute to help.
Every patient at Positive Sobriety Institute receives a comprehensive addiction and psychiatric assessment to determine the current state of the individual’s addiction, what contributed to the development of the addiction, and other aspects of mental and physical health. The assessment considers medical and diagnostic history, includes an in-depth psychiatric evaluation, psychological and personality testing, and a physical exam with an internal medicine physician.
Dual disorders such as depression, bipolar disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, anxiety, trauma or stress-related disorders are very common among addicted professionals. Positive Sobriety Institute’s psychiatrists and therapists assess, treat and help patients effectively manage dual disorders. When individuals feel mentally healthy and at peace, the odds of a successful long-term recovery are vastly improved.
A Collaborative Approach to Treating Dual Disorders
Comprehensive assessment may uncover other medical issues in addition to the addiction. Patients struggling with addiction and mental health disorders often neglect other aspects of their health, including blood pressure, diabetes and nutrition. Many have difficulty sleeping and suffer from insomnia, which can lead to its own set of problems.
Many patients with addictive disease also have pain disorders. Chronic pain contributes to opioid dependence and addiction in many individuals. With heavy drug and alcohol use, pain conditions often worsen instead of improve. Though uncommon, individuals who are behaving erratically and are suspected of abusing alcohol or drugs may actually have an underlying neurological condition.
All of this needs to be thoroughly assessed in developing an individual treatment plan. By identifying and treating all of the medical issues an individual is facing, patients at Positive Sobriety Institute will receive the expert medical care and support they need to get on a path to better physical and mental health, and lifelong recovery.
