Outpatient Non-12 Step Alcohol & Drug Addiction Treatment Center using Proven Medications & Counseling Therapies that Work

 

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Hooked on Narcotics like Pain Pills, Heroin?
Not sure if you need help? Take a Self-Test


Given up hope? Beyond 12-Step Programs


Can’t handle withdrawal? Medications Can Help


Worried about missing work? Outpatient Options


Think you’re too old? Success Stories


Need to protect your reputation? Confidential Programs
Get immediate treatment at Assisted Recovery

New medications relieve withdrawal symptoms
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Drinking Too Much?
If 12-Steps Aren’t for You, Call Assisted Recovery

Get sober, stay sober with
new medications

NOW available VIVITROL®
A Major Break Through for Naltrexone Compliance
Click Here
(video coming soon)

We offer a superior, evidence-based, and medically cutting-edge approach to the treatment of addiction. If you have been frustrated by repeated failures at recovery; unaware that there are proven anti-craving medications that can significantly improve treatment outcomes, give us a confidential call to learn more about the ARCA program.

Addictive disorders, which include alcoholism, are as ancient as human existence. The effects of intoxication and hallucinogenic experience have filled mankind with a mixture of fear and fascination. The ability to dissociate from the normal to a state of ‘being outside the body’ has irresistibly drawn human beings to experiment with a cacophony of foods and drugs to achieve a state that is hard to describe.

The futile attempt to achieve this mystical state has had devastating consequences for society. The term addiction, derived from the Latin root addicere meaning to adore or to surrender oneself to a master, has come into increasing popularity during the last decade.  No society or culture has been spared from the effects of addictions and alcoholism. Proscribing the use of alcohol or other psychoactive drugs has not had much impact on limiting use of such substances.

The inability of society to offer remedies for people afflicted with addictive disorders often was translated into condemnation and stigma, which even to this day continues to be practiced in some form or the other. The stigma associated with the disease and the desperate search for help by the victims of the disease created a situation that led well-meaning scientists, physicians, clergymen and yes, even quacks and charlatans to offer remedies and cures that did more harm than good; – rightly observed, no group of people has been more exploited than alcoholics.  

The desperation of the stigmatized victims and the compassion and charity of religion was a natural fit and, to this day, remains closely bonded. The creation of the self-help groups like the Oxford Movement, Washingtonian Movement and Alcoholics Anonymous were the outgrowth of the necessity to remain out of mainstream society and band together to provide a support structure free from the harmful intrusions of science and medicine. 

The same science that so completely failed the people afflicted by addictive diseases has uncovered the mysteries of the working of the brain and specifically the complex interactions of biochemicals involved in the feeling of reward and pleasure. Addiction is therefore, described as a ‘brain disease’ affecting the reward/pleasure system of the brain. It is possible to image the stimulation of specific regions of brain by various addictive substances and/or by the sights, sounds, smells of things and people associated by drug or alcohol use. We are also progressing well in our understanding of the role genetics and the environment in precipitating the disorder.

The advances in neurosciences have given us a new generation of medications that are devoid of the harmful long-term effects of the drugs used in the past. The two most critical lessons we have learned is that medications that do not involve the ‘brain’ are not very helpful and medications that produce a ‘high’ are not very useful for long-term therapy. The advances in behavioral sciences have allowed patients to remain in treatment for longer periods of time with significantly better outcomes. 

The treatment philosophy of ARCA is based in the following principles: 

  1. Addiction is a biopsychosocial disease that has a genetic, neurochemical, psychological and social component to it.
  2. Integrated treatment that combines non-psychoactive medications with behavioral counseling is critical for optimal treatment of the disease.
  3. Recovery is a long-term progress.  It will be defined by high points and low points. We provide an atmosphere that is conducive to openness and candor where a client can come without fear of judgment or retribution.
  4. Treatment should be of sufficient duration, i.e. six months or longer.
Location: The location of the ARCA clinic is in keeping with our philosophy that addictive disorders are and should be treated like any other chronic medical disease. We are conveniently located in the Lansdowne Medical Building in a spacious suite on the second floor (please see maps for directions-directions page in about us). Patients should feel no different coming to the ARCA clinic than going to any other medical specialty. There is plenty of free parking, including underground parking.

ARCA St. Louis is State Certified and Member Better Business Bureau.

For additional information please contact:
Percy Menzies, M. Pharm.
at Assisted Recovery Centers of America - St. Louis, MO
Lansdowne Medical Building,
6651 Chippewa, Suite # 224,
St. Louis, MO, 63109

Phone: 314-645-6840      
Fax: 314-645-6847
E-mail: contactus@arcamidwest.com

Painkiller Abuse on the Rise
By Michelle Anselmo, August 20, 2007
(CW11 News-KPLR-TV)
The use of prescription pain killers is at an all time high. While many physicians say its because of better pain management, local substance abuse experts say the trend is leading to alarming addiction rates.

Percy Menzies, of Assisted Recovery Centers of America, said, "When they cannot get the pain medication, they quite easily turn to heroin and heroin has become an epidemic in the St. Louis area." <more>

St. Louis Woman Alcohol-Free On New Year's For First Time In 30 Years
By Leisa Zigman (KSDK-NEWS)
Five months ago, Parmentar started a new treatment that involved monthly injections of the drug Vivitrol combined with counseling. Parmentar said it saved her life. For the first time in 30 years, Parmentar is sober.

Percy Menzies, president of the Assisted Recovery Centers of America said "(Vivitrol) is an amazing breakthrough in terms of drug delivery." <more>

Detox Expert Won't Take 'No' When 'Yes' Can Save Lives
By Sylvester Brown Jr.
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
01/04/2007

It's been about three years since I've visited Percy Menzies, president of Assisted Recovery Centers of America, a drug and alcohol treatment center on the south side. <more>

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Combination Treatments Help
Alcoholics Stay Sober

Forbes - USA, May 02, 2006
New research suggests that combining medical management with the drug naltrexone, using specialized alcohol therapy, or even trying both strategies at once helps alcoholics stay abstinent about 80 percent of the time. <more>

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Surge In Heroin Deaths Leads Families Of Victims To Speak Out
By Ann Rubin, KSDK, NBC NEWS - St. Loui , MO,
8/28/2006
NEWS VIDEO: Percy Menzies runs a treatment clinic called Assisted Recovery Centers of America... He's working to educate the public and says there are treatment options, like naltrexone which blocks the effects of heroin. <more>
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NBC News Features Assisted Recovery


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New Medications Help Addicts
Battle Drugs and Alcohol
-But treating alcoholism or drug abuse with other drugs is largely underused, experts say.
By DEBORAH L. SHELTON, SLToday.com, Of the Post-Dispatch

At his lowest point, Steve Duffie was popping pills and shooting heroin up to 10 times a day. Then he started taking a drug to stop.


Since February, he has been traveling three times a week from his home in Arnold to south St. Louis, where a staff person at Assisted Recovery Centers of America watches him swallow pills containing naltrexone. <more>
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Drug Use Can Damage the Brain and
Lead to Addiction
-ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

As a recognized leader in addition treatment, Percy Menzies, Assisted Recovery director, is quoted in this very informative article. <more>

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Call Assisted Recovery’s 24-Hour Help Line (314) 645-6840
for a free, confidential consultation

“After my first conversation with Assisted Recovery, I knew that I was where I would get the help I needed.” -Pam, age 47 <more>

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