Welcome to Preferred Family Healthcare!

Preferred Family Healthcare is a real-world provider of mental health and substance use disorder prevention and treatment.

For more information about us, see our RL website at http://www.pfh.org

Or visit our SL locations:
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ARTC Art Installation and Meditation Garden:

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***Why We are in Second Life***

PFH has established a presence in Second Life to explore the value of early intervention oriented activity in substance use disorders (SUDs) and other addictions.

Substance Use DIsorder (also known by many other names including alcoholism, drug addiction and substance abuse) is a primary, chronic, progressive and fatal illness. Althought it catches hold rapidly in some cases, It can often take years, even decades to develop to the point where traditional interventions come into play. By the time most individuals with this problem actually seek or are directed to helpful resources, they have often developed significant additional problems that need immediate attention and often interfere with recovery.

Medical complications (e.g. liver damage, malnourishment, obesity, diabetes, or the results of accidental injuries) are often present, as are problems with work, family relationships, finances, and the legal system. The road to recovery gets longer the longer you wait to make a change.

But societal stigma often acts as a strong deterrent to seeking help. Because of the way our cultures have come to look at SUD, there is often a great deal of shame and guilt associated with this condition, even in the early stages. The very act of seeking help can open one up to the negative opinions of others.

At PFH, we hope that the relative anonymity of Second Life might open the door to many who would not wish to entertain the notion they could have a problem, to give these individuals, and their families and friends, information leading to self-assessment, to offer some simple "do it yourself" type solutions to try without formal intervention, and to direct those who need it to more intensive forms of assistance.

Welcome! Perhaps today is the day you have taken the first step toward a better life!

**Questions?**

If you have immediate questions, email CoughranMayo@yahoo.com, or ddillon@pfh.org