Pain and Addiction: A Challenging Co-Occurring Disorder

Mel Pohl: Mel Pohl, MD, FASAM is a board-certified family practicioner. He is Vice President of Medical Affairs and the Medical Director of Las Vegas Recovery Center (LRVC), the only private freestanding, medically managed inpatient detoxification and addiction treatment facility in Las Vegas, Nevada. He is a fellow of the American Society of Addiction Medicing (ASAM) and co-chaired ASAM's Third, Fourth, and Fifth National Forums on AIDS and Chemical Dependency. He is the former chairman of ASAM's AIDS Committee and a member of the Symposium Planning Committee. Dr. Pohl is a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Practice and a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at University of Nevada School of Medicine. Recently, Dr. Pohl was asked by the office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) to consult about its initiative on prescription drug abuse.Dr. Pohl was a key force in developing the Pain Recovery Program at LVRC. He is also the co-author of Pain Recovery: How to Find Balance and Reduce Suffering from Chronic Pain and Pain Recovery for Families: How to Find Balance When Someone Else's Chronic Pain Becomes Your Problem Too.He lives in Las Vegas, Nevada.