Shrink Rap: Addiction at the Top of the Pyramid

25 Jan Shrink Rap: Addiction at the Top of the Pyramid

Dr. Paul Hokemeyer

The  following article by Dr. Paul Hokemeyer, a part-time Telluride local, appeared in Financial Advisor Magazine on January 7, 2014. In it, he talks about the fact that high net worth individuals could well be at greater risk of ruin from their addiction than your Average Joe addict.

“Addictions impact people on all economic levels, but for those with a high net worth, the damage they cause can be particularly dramatic and irreparable.

Financial advisors, however, are in a unique position to identify and support clients who are struggling with addictions because of the strong relationships they have with them.

The ability to identify addiction early and to strategize clinically and culturally effective interventions for clients can mean the difference between recovery and ruin.

Advisors, for example, need to be aware that wealthy lifestyles typically make it easier to deny or hide a substance abuse disorder or an addiction. In fact, high-net-worth individuals with a substance abuse problem frequently function at full capacity. They’re known as “high-functioning addicts.”

Moreover, friends, relatives and business partners frequently do not realize that they may be enabling an addict’s self-destructive behavior by overlooking binge drinking,…”

Read on here.

Editor’s Note: Dr. Paul Hokemeyer is a nationally recognized expert on Eastern philosophies, relationships, and emotional healing. A Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, he holds a PhD in psychology, as well as a doctorate in the law. The part-time Telluride resident is based in the New York City office of the Caron Treatment Center. He is also a contributor to The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Cosmopolitan, Women’s Health, “The Dr. Oz Show,”  Good Morning America, The Today Show, CNN’s Prime News, Fox News, Oprah Radio and more.