Addic­tion Psychiatry

Dr. Gre­gory Kirk embraces the dis­ease model of addic­tion while also acknowl­edg­ing that the impact of addic­tion is also borne by fam­i­lies and coworkers.

The state of the art treat­ment approach starts with a com­pre­hen­sive diag­no­sis together with an evi­dence based ther­apy plan. 12-step treat­ments when appro­pri­ate are embraced inside the psy­chi­atric plan. Med­ica­tions can play a crit­i­cal role in sta­bi­liz­ing an addic­tion. You can find a bal­ance between com­mit­ments to the exter­nal world with what it takes to be healthy inside.

Com­plex Psy­chi­atric Illnesses

Even when a diag­no­sis is straight­for­ward, progress slows if the goal of treat­ment is poorly defined.

Some­times the client and psy­chi­a­trist are work­ing on dif­fer­ent goals with­out know­ing it. Murky com­mu­ni­ca­tion and a weak treat­ment alliance often causes these prob­lems. When a diag­no­sis is com­pli­cated such as with a co-occuring addic­tion or per­son­al­ity dis­or­der, the risk of wan­der­ing treat­ment goals grows even higher.

Dr. Kirk puts a pri­or­ity on using the evi­dence of what works best with­out adding unnec­es­sary cost.

Edu­ca­tion

Dr. Kirk presents on a num­ber of top­ics in both emer­gency and addic­tion psychiatry.

Psy­chi­a­try and the Legal System

Dr. Kirk has been granted expert wit­ness stand­ing in mul­ti­ple courts through­out Col­orado, Laramie County in Wyoming, and the United States Fed­eral Dis­trict Court in Colorado.

Dr. Kirk has expe­ri­ence work­ing with defense attor­neys, plain­tiff attor­neys, pros­e­cu­tors, indi­vid­u­als, hos­pi­tal sys­tems, and insur­ance com­pa­nies to review high risk/high expo­sure cases. Whether the case involves a hospital’s allied health pro­fes­sion­als, physi­cian per­for­mance to stan­dards of care, or a plaintiff’s com­plaint of neg­li­gence, Dr. Kirk will pro­vide a con­cise, unbi­ased opin­ion that reflects cur­rent treat­ment stan­dards of psy­chi­atric and addic­tions care.

He has exam­ined for the courts the patient — doc­tor rela­tion­ship rel­a­tive to Amend­ment 20, the Col­orado med­ical mar­i­juana statute.  Dr. Kirk has also pro­vided opin­ions to pro­bate courts about a parent’s sub­stance abuse treat­ment plan and how to effec­tively mon­i­tor progress in a neu­tral and objec­tive way.  He has tes­ti­fied about the nature of alco­hol included black­outs in crim­i­nal com­plaints rang­ing from sex­ual assault to first degree murder.

Please con­tact Dr. Gre­gory Kirk for a list of attor­ney and client references.