SMA Healthcare
24/7 HOTLINE: (800) 539-4228
My ecare Volunteer

SMA Blog

What is Depression?

What is Depression?

January 24th From stress at work to pressures in school, personal life can often make us feel down or sad. Sometimes those feelings may last for an extended period of time, without…
What is Opioid Use Disorder?

What is Opioid Use Disorder?

05/04/22 By definition, “Opioid is a term for a number of natural substances originally derived from the opium poppy and semisynthetic or synthetic chemicals with similar properties that bind to specific…
What is Behavioral Health?

What is Behavioral Health?

04/13/22 Behavioral health is the connection between our behaviors and the health and well-being of our body, mind, and spirit.  Our behaviors and the choices we make each day –…

Your Mental Health Matters

07/07/21 Research continually proves that mental health is strongly tied to physical health. In fact, the World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social…

NIDA Report: Teens Most Vulnerable to Marijuana Dependence

04/08/21 Teenagers are more likely than young adults to become addicted to marijuana or prescription drugs within a year after trying them for the first time, according to a…

Kids Brains are Different

03/11/21 Adolescent brains are developmentally distinct from adults, resulting in different reasons for engaging in risky behavior like substance abuse, which makes it difficult for clinicians to know how to approach…

Medical Treatment for Meth Addiction Proves Effective in New Study

02/24/21 For the first time, a medication regime has been found effective for some patients with meth addiction in a large, placebo-controlled trial.   “It’s progress and it’s quite significant,” says Dr.

New Research Challenges Existing Beliefs About Tolerance in Alcohol Dependence

01/13/21 This blog post is excerpted from a report by Alison Caldwell in UChicago News  Andrea King, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral neuroscience…

Language and Stigma: Let’s Do Better

12/30/20 Language matters when we talk about addiction and mental illness.  In a recent interview, a very famous individual responded to a question about “being in and out of rehab seven…

Effectiveness of Telehealth in Treating Addiction

12/16/20 The novel coronavirus pandemic has changed the way we approach just about everything.  In healthcare one of the most significant changes has been the movement from face-to-face interaction with healthcare…

Social Determinants of Health

11/18/20 The daily conditions in which people live, learn, work and play have a major impact on health and wellbeing.  These conditions are termed the “social determinants of health.”  Research suggests…

Stories of Transformation: Amber Poole

11/04/20 The definition of recovery is “a return to a normal state of health, mind, or strength.” However, for some, recovery isn’t a short-term process or something that gets completed, but…

Celebrating Connections: National Recovery Month 2020

09/23/20 September is National Recovery Month. This month is dedicated to educating Americans that substance use treatment and mental health services can enable those with mental and substance use disorders to…

Communication: A Key to Alcohol & Substance Use Prevention

08/26/20 For many school districts here in Florida, students are preparing for back-to-school this week and next week. With the return to schooling, there is sure to be stress on students…

Coping with Grief

07/29/20 Get the Help You Deserve Coping with grief is incredibly difficult, but it is something that everyone must go through in life. For over six decades, SMA Healthcare has been…

Social Media and Mental Health

07/15/20 “Look, I have 3 new followers on Twitter!”  “I have over 500 friends on Facebook!”  We wear it like a badge of honor.  For some of us, our virtual friendships…

Stories of Transformation: Danielle Moye

06/17/20 June 7, 2018. That was the day that Danielle Moye entered SMA Healthcare’s Women Assisting Recovering Mothers (WARM) program. It is also her sobriety date. In other words, that was…

Expectations of Treatment

06/10/20 Unfortunately, there is a stigma that continues to surround mental illness. For many, that stigma and the fear of being seen as weak or less-than that keeps them from seeking…

Step Away from the News Feed

05/26/20 Let’s face it: living through a pandemic is challenging. We all want it to end, we want the threat of disease to go away, and we want to return to…

Combating Feelings of Inadequacy

05/19/20 We have all been there before and have had the feeling. No matter how untrue it is, we have all, at some point felt like we weren’t good enough. Maybe…

Mental Health Services are a Necessity

05/13/20 If there is one thing that COVID-19 has not changed, it is the necessity of mental health resources and services However, with the immeasurable that anxiety and stress that the…

SMA Healthcare Awarded CCBHC Grant

05/06/20 SMA Healthcare has been awarded a two year $4 Million grant by SMAHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) to establish a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) in…

Motivation: Striving to Be Your Best

05/05/20 Motivation is defined as “the general desire or willingness of someone to do something.” That begs the question: how can one motivate oneself to strive to be the best they…
Addiction: A Chronic Brain Disease

Addiction: A Chronic Brain Disease

04/28/20     Since 2011, there has been a growing public understanding and acceptance of addiction as a chronic brain disease and the possibility of remission and recovery has increased. So,…

Taking Care to Those In Need

04/15/20 A national survey indicated that as many as one in six U.S. children (between the ages of 6 and 17) experiences a mental health disorder such as anxiety, depression, or…

Worried Mind – A Quick Guide for Anxiety Disorders

04/08/20 Anxiety is a normal part of the human experience.  It’s a defense mechanism designed to keep us alive.  We worry about things that may harm us, and that keeps us…

COVID-19 and Mental Health

04/01/20 The unimaginable has happened — a pandemic like no other has hit the United States and the world like a ton of bricks.  In the minds of most, and rightfully…

Music to Our Ears

03/11/20 Music has been recognized as a way of relieving stress for thousands of years.  The Bible even records a young David playing the lyre for King Saul to relieve the…

NARCAN 101 – Opiate and Opioid Overdose Reversal

03/04/20 In 2018, there were 67,367 drug overdose deaths in the United States, a 4.1% decline from 2017 (70,237 deaths).1 Even with the decline from 2017 to 2018, drug overdose deaths…

Opiates and Opioids: New Understanding of an Old Problem

02/26/20 Opiates and Opioids are two words (and substances) that can often be intertwined and confused, but have some major differences. Opiates are derived from the opium poppy plant and are…

Do Good, Feel Better – The Science of Service

02/19/20 What if someone promised you a happier, healthier life – no exercise necessary – and had the secret to reducing stress and improving your mood? Would you be interested? It…

Providing a Case for Support

02/12/20 Teacher, guide, planner, supporter, collaborator. We all know somebody who could be described with one of these words — some more than just one. In the behavioral healthcare field, a…

eCare: Bringing Healthcare to You

02/05/20 SMA Healthcare’s mission is to improve lives through exceptional substance abuse and/or mental health services. As society at large turns to digital tools to access care, SMA remains dedicated to…

Safe Place to Talk – Volusia Rape Crisis Center

01/22/20 The Volusia Rape Crisis Center (VRCC) may be one of SMA Healthcare’s smaller programs, but its staff is making a major impact. They provide a safe place for victims of…

Saving Lives One Question at a Time

01/15/20 Question. Persuade. Refer. Also known as QPR, these three letters (or words) can save lives. Similar in nature to CPR, QPR is a three-step process to help save lives from…

Enrichment: Opportunity without Limitation

01/08/20 SMA’s Enrichment Program works with clients who experience severe mental illness, developmental disabilities and/or co-occurring disorders. During fiscal year 2018-19, more than 191 individuals received services, 308 individuals were employed,…

Beating the Holiday Blues

12/18/19 During the whirl of the holiday season, essentially from Halloween to Valentine’s Day, it may seem to you that the whole world is in a perpetual state of celebratory ecstasy.

Raising Successful Adolescents

12/11/19 In 2002, Dr. Gary Tyson, an adolescent psychologist working at SMA Healthcare’s Residential Adolescent Program (RAP), died of bone marrow cancer.  Before his death, Dr. Tyson transformed this program at…

Doing the Work That MAT-ters

12/04/19 Florida State’s Medical Examiners Commission released interim 2018 data which illustrated drug-related deaths reduced by five percent, with opioid-caused deaths reduced by 13 percent (in comparison with 2017 data).1 This…

Grateful Hearts, Healthy Minds

11/27/19 Walking into the kitchen on Thanksgiving morning can be like walking into aromatic heaven — turkey, pumpkin pie, stuffing, green beans, potatoes all mingled together into the most comforting smell. …

Who is Jay: Finding Hope in the Midst of a Loss

11/20/19 This Saturday, November 23, is International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day.  Also known as Survivor Day, the day was designated by the United States Congress as a day on which…

Crisis Intervention Team – Building Relationships and Finding Solutions

11/13/19 Each year, two million people with mental illnesses are arrested and placed in jail.[i]  People with mental illnesses often don’t need punishment — they need treatment. Law enforcement…

Support and Services for the Homeless Population

11/06/19 When the Volusia-Flagler County Coalition for the Homeless (VFCCH) completed its most recent Point In Time count in April, there were 745 Volusia County residents experiencing homelessness.  According to the…

Reality of Recovery

10/30/19 During the 2018 legislative session, reentry-focused therapeutic programs for inmates were closed by the Florida Department of Corrections to reallocate $6 million for use within the prisons. Locally, that program…

Compassion Fatigue

10/23/19 Working in the behavioral healthcare industry has its benefits—there is an opportunity to be part of an individual’s journey to recovery and to help celebrate milestones, among other reasons. Working…

Fighting for the FACTs

10/16/19 Today, October 16, SMA Healthcare is attending Behavioral Health Day at Capitol Hill in Tallahassee. A group of behavioral health care staff and community members will spend a day in…
Prioritizing Self Care

Prioritizing Self Care

10/09/19 When thinking about maintaining your health, annual physical exams, preventative screenings, and vaccinations often come to mind. While it is important to utilize measures to look after your physical well-being,…

Sticks and Stones

10/03/19 While working in an assisted living facility, one of the residents happily reported to me that he had a job interview. He was obviously excited about the opportunity, but he…

Hill Day 2019: Q&A with CEO Ivan Cosimi

09/25/19 SMA Healthcare’s CEO, Ivan Cosimi, participated in Hill Day 2019 in Washington D.C. last week, and sat down for a Q&A to discuss his experience. Generally speaking, what is (or…

Bringing Change to Putnam County

09/18/19 SMA Healthcare is expanding its substance use disorder service continuum in Putnam County. On September 1, SMA was awarded the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Rural Communities Opioid Response…

What Can You Do? Turning a Question into Action

09/11/19 Have you experienced trauma, suffered from depression, struggled with addiction, experienced loneliness, or suffered from a mental illness? According to Mental Health Daily,the nearly 47,000 Americans who died by suicide…
A Double-Edged Sword: PTSD and Substance Use

A Double-Edged Sword: PTSD and Substance Use

08/28/19 What came first: the chicken or the egg? In substance use treatment, we often come across a very similar question – what came first: trauma or substance misuse? Individuals who…

SMA Healthcare: New Name, Same Game

08/21/19 Our team at SMA Healthcare is very excited to introduce our new website to the communities we serve and to those who seek our services. Our rebranding efforts have been taking…