The Man with the Solution: From Addiction and Mental Illness to Recovery

INTRODUCTION

Who is Dr. Muhammad?

Henry Duane Muhammad (Hamilton), MS, LCADC, ICADC, CAMF, Doctoral Candidate, Founder and CEO of Prodigal Sons and Daughters Behavioral HealthCare Services

Mr. Muhammad (Hamilton) is a New Jersey Licensed Clinical Alcohol and Drug Counselor with a master’s degree in counseling psychology.  He is a doctoral candidate, internationally certified in the field of addiction counseling and a certified anger management facilitator.  He has worked in the field of mental health and addiction counseling for thirty-three years and has lectured all over the country.  He is an Advocate Leader for the National Council of Alcohol and Drug Dependence of New Jersey and has testified before State legislatures, department heads and stakeholders concerning the stigma of mental health and substance use disorder and the importance of funding.  He was also commissioned by the Essex County Executive to serve on the Local Advisory Committee for Alcohol and Drug Abuse and has served three terms.  Mr. Muhammad is also an accomplished concert performer, recording artist and manages a classic soul group known as the Silver Stars.

Mr. Muhammad’s passion for his work grows out of his own rehabilitation from alcohol, drug use disorder, mental illness, criminal involvement and homelessness.  His journey has gone from hopelessness to becoming the founder and chief executive officer of a New Jersey State License comprehensive outpatient ambulatory healthcare facility. The facility provides treatment for substance use, mental illness, co-occurring disorders, primary medical services and recovery supports, i.e., vocational and academic enrichment, job placement and community service.  In collaboration with the Prodigal Sons and Daughters Prisoner Re-entry Initiative and the New Jersey Food Bank, the behavioral healthcare initiative opened a Community Resource Center and Gratuitous Living Program which provides recovery support in the way of transitional housing and a food pantry to service the basic needs of the consumers, their families, the community and the worried well.

What message does Mr. Muhammad want to get across to the audience?

The message most prominent in this work is that Mr. Muhammad has created a treatment model that works!  It is genuine, culturally sensitive, empathic, and evidenced based with proven practice!

The author credits his Higher Power as the source and guiding light of his work.  He attributes his universal perspective, which may not necessarily agree in concept with the ever-changing ideals of the mainstream treatment perspectives, to his parents and ancestral lineage.  By mainstream, he’s referring to The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) and the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA).  In fact, the author suggests that just as the disease of mental illness and addiction has many causative factors that are as diverse as the people who suffer with these illnesses, i.e., culture, gender, race, creed, class, religion, etc., the approach to treatment must be just as diverse.

He doesn’t speak in contravention to these institutions and deeply appreciates the research, findings, literature, colleges and universities that have been produced under their auspices.  However, as a healthcare practitioner, and one who has experienced chronic addiction, mental illness, criminal involvement and homelessness, with over thirty years in full sustained remission and treating this population, he has developed a model that is foolproof!  His model integrates his personal experience and most of the evidenced-base practices into a proven practice system with universal methodologies that have worked for thousands of the consumers he has worked with throughout his career.

The author submits that the cornerstone of this treatment paradigm is empathy. Dr., heal thyself first!  As such he has established an ambulatory care facility that is wholistic and comprehensive in scope; with that, it deals with every aspect of the person; mentally, physically and spiritually(emotionally) and not necessarily in that order.  The system is designed to meet the person where they are and then, step by step, give them the power to manage and change their condition.  Prodigal Sons And Daughters Behavioral HealthCare Services provides behavioral healthcare services for mental health, substance use and co-occurring disorders from prevention/intervention, treatment, housing, vocational training, entrepreneurial development, financial literacy, job coaching and placement.  He has also entered into collaborations with community colleges and universities and set up an internship initiative that provides students with the opportunity to gain practical experience and develop the clinical skills necessary to work in the field of behavioral healthcare.

What is a mental health disorder?

Mental illness refers to a wide range of mental health conditions—disorders that affect your mood, thinking and behavior.  Examples of mental illness include depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, eating disorders and addictive behaviors.

According to the American Psychiatric Association, mental illnesses are health conditions involving changes in emotion, thinking or behavior (or a combination of these). Mental illnesses are associated with distress and/or problems functioning in social, work or family activities.

Mental illness is common and it’s treatable. The vast majority of individuals with mental illnesses continue to function in their daily lives.  According to Mental Health America, a mental illness is a disease that causes mild to severe disturbances in thought and/or behavior, resulting in an inability to cope with life’s ordinary demands and routines.

There are more than 200 classified forms of mental illness.  Some of the more common disorders are depression, bipolar disorder, dementia, schizophrenia and anxiety disorders.  Symptoms may include changes in mood, personality, personal habits and/or social withdrawal.

Mental health problems may be related to excessive stress due to a situation or a series of events.  As with cancer, diabetes and heart disease, mental illnesses are often physical as well as emotional and psychological.  Mental illnesses may be caused by a reaction to environmental stresses, genetic factors, biochemical imbalances or a combination of these.  With proper care and treatment, many individuals learn to cope or recover from a mental illness or an emotional disorder. 

The above three definitions in the first three paragraphs of this section come from three distinct sources and are, in my opinion, merely the tip of the iceberg as it relates to what a mental health disorder really is.  I’m willing to suggest that not only is it a mood, thinking and behavioral abnormality, but it is an interruption in the natural order and functioning of any human being down to the core of their very existence.  This causes an adverse reaction to the natural thought processes in the brain to the point of major dysfunction and distraction in the human dynamic.  It is my belief that the basis of health and wellness