tag:typepad.com,2003:weblog-1502224 2012-05-08T21:52:45+01:00 Reclaiming Lives. For Life. TypePad tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e54f8c563788330168eb5399a4970c 2012-05-08T21:52:45+01:00 2012-05-08T21:54:19+01:00

Do you know someone who is... Under 25... Addicted to methadone... To the point that it is destroying their life... Who wants to quit drugs altogether and control their addiction... And change their life forever... But cannot afford to go...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AddictionToday/~4/viKrnpxrKjU" height="1" width="1"/>

Deirdre Boyd http://www.addictiontoday.org/addictiontoday/2012/05/apply-bursary-to-top-rehab.html tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e54f8c56378833016766108472970b 2012-05-03T13:26:26+01:00 2012-05-03T13:28:19+01:00

Families of people being destroyed by addiction can call on specialist ‘interventionists’ to persuade the addict into rehab – now some of the world’s best are sharing their expertise and ethics, and encouraging more to join them. Rebecca Flood describes...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AddictionToday/~4/nY1KsktcR70" height="1" width="1"/>

Deirdre Boyd http://www.addictiontoday.org/addictiontoday/2012/05/ais-gold-standard-family-interventions.html tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e54f8c56378833016304e26cff970d 2012-04-28T13:03:42+01:00 2012-04-28T13:04:41+01:00

 Laura Graham gives a personal perspective on the news, trends, people and events she encounters as she travels across the country. This article appears in the May 2012 issue of Addiction Today journal. Impressing her is the online library...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AddictionToday/~4/7X6R9RXpLFc" height="1" width="1"/>

Deirdre Boyd http://www.addictiontoday.org/addictiontoday/2012/04/laura-scottish-addiction-library-full-partial-recovery.html tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e54f8c56378833016765cab37e970b 2012-04-27T13:42:38+01:00 2012-04-27T13:42:38+01:00

WHAT CAN WE DO BETTER TO REDUCE OFFENDING BY DRUG ADDICTS? The Civitas think tank has published its report on Rehabilitating Drug Policy. It includes sections on challenges and opportunities, methods and approaches. The interventions section covers pharmacological interventions, detox,...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AddictionToday/~4/zD0hi7R9wjk" height="1" width="1"/>

Deirdre Boyd http://www.addictiontoday.org/addictiontoday/2012/04/rehabilitating-drug-policy-civitas.html tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e54f8c56378833016765ad51a5970b 2012-04-25T08:53:42+01:00 2012-04-25T08:55:00+01:00

John Levine links music to brain waves – and therapist Richard Scanlan reports how this has helped his patients’ process of recovery. Print-friendly version, from May Addiction Today journal: Download AddictionToday136 - Alphamusic, therapy "While at the UKESAD conference last...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AddictionToday/~4/cFq16dxsNoM" height="1" width="1"/>

Deirdre Boyd http://www.addictiontoday.org/addictiontoday/2012/04/music-assist-treatment-addiction-and-trauma.html tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e54f8c56378833016304b9c4e7970d 2012-04-25T08:34:54+01:00 2012-04-25T08:36:38+01:00

“Men experience, express the symptoms of, and heal from trauma differently than women – we must help not only the addictive behaviour on the surface but also the untold pain beneath,” urges Dan Griffin. Print-friendly version, from May Addiction Today...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AddictionToday/~4/1SW24n5oTCU" height="1" width="1"/>

Deirdre Boyd http://www.addictiontoday.org/addictiontoday/2012/04/trauma-informs-mens-identity-addiction-recovery.html tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e54f8c563788330163049667bc970d 2012-04-23T22:17:15+01:00 2012-05-02T13:45:36+01:00

When the government’s “Recovery Roadmap” appeared in March, protests by those not known for supporting drug-free recovery dominated the twittersphere but not much elsewhere. What might seem more surprising was silence instead of positive comment from those with a history...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AddictionToday/~4/NPBimFN0lJI" height="1" width="1"/>

Deirdre Boyd http://www.addictiontoday.org/addictiontoday/2012/04/recovery-roadmap-silence.html tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e54f8c563788330168ea8b9d33970c 2012-04-23T22:07:28+01:00 2012-04-25T08:57:38+01:00

CONCORDAT RECOMMENDATIONS RE OUTCOME DATA Easter Monday was not the most convenient deadline for rehabs to submit suggested changes which could affect their survival – and that of their vulnerable clients – to the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse....<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AddictionToday/~4/ft64hswMwcM" height="1" width="1"/>

Deirdre Boyd http://www.addictiontoday.org/addictiontoday/2012/04/vital-changes-ndtms-discharge-codes.html tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e54f8c56378833016304a5edd8970d 2012-04-23T21:55:58+01:00 2012-04-25T15:06:31+01:00

“Addicts in part of West Yorkshire spend years in treatment schemes with limited chance of recovery,” stated the BBC. An audit of Calderdale Substance Misuse Services by Huddersfield University proves what we knew anecdotally: the lack of services leading to...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AddictionToday/~4/ZHneJoCTqsQ" height="1" width="1"/>

Deirdre Boyd http://www.addictiontoday.org/addictiontoday/2012/04/huddersfield-university-audit-calderdale-substance-services.html tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e54f8c56378833016765953872970b 2012-04-23T21:48:17+01:00 2012-04-25T09:00:06+01:00

THE NEW SCIENCE ON MUTUAL HELP – AND COST CONTROL Rigorous studies by the scientific community on the clinical and cost benefits of mutual-help groups – plus testing professional paths to encourage their use – mark 12-step groups moving from...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AddictionToday/~4/7Pn3g-u4j7s" height="1" width="1"/>

Deirdre Boyd http://www.addictiontoday.org/addictiontoday/2012/04/empirical-awakening-new-science-on-mutual-help.html tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e54f8c5637883301676599dd08970b 2012-04-23T21:19:27+01:00 2012-04-23T21:22:36+01:00

"Multiple Award Winner Gets Snubbed By National Treatment Agency (NTA) And County (DAAT) But Supported By Overseas Organisation," goes Gary Topley's petition headline. He asks that you click through and sign it; as a benefit, you get to read the...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AddictionToday/~4/n2mjCV1K5Xk" height="1" width="1"/>

Deirdre Boyd http://www.addictiontoday.org/addictiontoday/2012/04/sign-gary-topleys-petition.html tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e54f8c563788330168e87a560b970c 2012-03-07T08:04:41+00:00 2012-03-07T08:04:41+00:00

The National Treatment Agency states that pooled treatment budgets have a revised formula “to ensure funding goes to those areas successfully treating more people” – but how can this be done on an equitable or effective basis when the system...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AddictionToday/~4/vqbMMST1sIM" height="1" width="1"/>

Deirdre Boyd http://www.addictiontoday.org/addictiontoday/2012/03/ndtms-fails-to-measure.html tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e54f8c563788330167637926a4970b 2012-03-07T08:01:51+00:00 2012-03-06T12:17:23+00:00

45,000 top-class addiction professionals worldwide have been rigorously tested and ‘credentialled’ by IC&amp;RC. Mary Jo Mather explains what it is, and how it protects both professionals and their clients. Print-friendly version: Download AddictionToday135 - IC&amp;RC In October 2011, Phyllis Gardner,...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AddictionToday/~4/esjhwL2ZM6A" height="1" width="1"/>

Deirdre Boyd http://www.addictiontoday.org/addictiontoday/2012/03/icrc-introduction.html tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e54f8c563788330167637b8c2f970b 2012-03-06T17:48:06+00:00 2012-03-06T17:48:07+00:00

Group therapy can be more more effective than one-to-one counselling – but how does it work? And what factors can help it to be more effective? Divine Charura offers top tips, from size of groups to grieving their natural endings....<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AddictionToday/~4/fUR-Kp1ZgMc" height="1" width="1"/>

Deirdre Boyd http://www.addictiontoday.org/addictiontoday/2012/03/group-psychotherapy.html tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e54f8c563788330163028662d9970d 2012-03-06T16:23:55+00:00 2012-03-06T16:23:55+00:00

A disproportionately high number of people recovering from addiction have experienced childhood trauma – and must be helped to overcome the biologically-automatic response of “fight, flight or freeze” in order to develop mature recovery. Benjamin Fry explains from personal and...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AddictionToday/~4/aOfOwWDLdWE" height="1" width="1"/>

Deirdre Boyd http://www.addictiontoday.org/addictiontoday/2012/03/tackle-trauma.html tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e54f8c5637883301630284530e970d 2012-03-06T11:43:42+00:00 2012-03-06T11:43:11+00:00

For the first time, public health will be measured against a framework which sets out 66 health measures, so councils and government can compare progress against them. From April 2013, councils will be given a ringfenced budget – a share...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AddictionToday/~4/pnr6jduYyMQ" height="1" width="1"/>

Deirdre Boyd http://www.addictiontoday.org/addictiontoday/2012/03/public-health-england-addiction-recovery.html tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e54f8c56378833016304e28fb1970d 2012-03-01T13:05:00+00:00 2012-04-28T13:12:58+01:00

Laura Graham gives a personal perspective on the news, trends, people and events she encounters as she travels across the country. This article was first published in the March 2012 issue of Addiction Today journal. As Cocaine Anonymous UK hosts...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AddictionToday/~4/B9BvB4laedY" height="1" width="1"/>

Deirdre Boyd http://www.addictiontoday.org/addictiontoday/2012/03/laura-cocaine-anonymous-health-reform.html tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e54f8c563788330167617eea7d970b 2012-02-01T22:07:05+00:00 2012-03-06T10:52:15+00:00

After months of liaison, Addiction Recovery Foundation ambassador-at-large Laura Graham went to Brussels in January to meet with the Board of EMNA, the European Mutual-Help Network for Alcohol Related Problems. Their meeting concluded in success, achieving the final step of...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AddictionToday/~4/dDNq_b8k9Xg" height="1" width="1"/>

Deirdre Boyd http://www.addictiontoday.org/addictiontoday/2012/02/arf-represents-uk-in-europe-1million-people.html tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e54f8c56378833016760e45526970b 2012-01-21T16:46:29+00:00 2012-01-21T16:48:28+00:00

It is one year since the Drug Strategy was launched. Gus Jaspert, head of drugs and alcohol in the Home Office, recaps progress to date – and identifies some of the challenges to be faced in the year to come*....<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AddictionToday/~4/j0Mae84P7T0" height="1" width="1"/>

Deirdre Boyd http://www.addictiontoday.org/addictiontoday/2012/01/drug-strategy-progress-home-office-view.html tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e54f8c563788330162ffa84014970d 2012-01-16T09:46:25+00:00 2012-01-16T09:46:25+00:00

A common definition of prevention is “educating youth to abstain” – but this is doubly erroneous, explains Peter Stoker. First, all age groups can benefit. Second, education is only part of a process which also encompasses knowledge, attitudes and behaviour....<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AddictionToday/~4/vOFRW9gLotQ" height="1" width="1"/>

Deirdre Boyd http://www.addictiontoday.org/addictiontoday/2012/01/prevention-in-context.html tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e54f8c563788330168e593d740970c 2012-01-15T17:50:14+00:00 2012-01-15T17:55:16+00:00

Leading personalities in the field of addiction treatment and recovery use their insights and inside information to predict what they consider will be the major opportunities and threats of the year to come. Prepare now. Print-friendly version: Download Addiction Today...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AddictionToday/~4/jrhr0HjTsbA" height="1" width="1"/>

Deirdre Boyd http://www.addictiontoday.org/addictiontoday/2012/01/predictions-2012.html tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e54f8c563788330168ead83f24970c 2012-01-06T13:13:00+00:00 2012-04-28T13:22:52+01:00

Laura Graham gives a personal perspective on the news, trends, people and events she encounters as she travels across the country. This article first appeared in the January 2012 issue of Addiction Today journal. The start of a new year...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AddictionToday/~4/UtEXusa9Sg8" height="1" width="1"/>

Deirdre Boyd http://www.addictiontoday.org/addictiontoday/2012/01/laura-families-history-lessons.html tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e54f8c563788330154372f6346970c 2011-11-21T23:06:40+00:00 2011-11-21T14:53:58+00:00

On 7 November 2011 with a deadline of 11 November 2011, Concordat members were emailed the question “How could/does NDTMS* artificially lower your successful completion rates?”. The overwhelming trend was patients waiting too long for referrals to rehab, during which...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AddictionToday/~4/TBMQ5c5O01Y" height="1" width="1"/>

Deirdre Boyd http://www.addictiontoday.org/addictiontoday/2011/11/rehabs-snapshot.html tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e54f8c563788330154372ee533970c 2011-11-21T23:02:59+00:00 2011-11-21T23:05:12+00:00

Patients are arriving at rehab to quit their addictions far sicker, frailer and more physically damaged (than less than five years ago), according to a report commissioned by the Addiction Recovery Foundation and completed by members of the Concordat of...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AddictionToday/~4/cNDjxnmwwPE" height="1" width="1"/>

Deirdre Boyd http://www.addictiontoday.org/addictiontoday/2011/11/state-of-residential-treatment-england.html tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e54f8c563788330162fc05931d970d 2011-10-31T10:11:34+00:00 2011-10-31T10:11:34+00:00

TREATING PEOPLE AS PAWNS Everyone involved in the treatment of addiction must know what works and what does not so that they can follow the best course of action for themselves, their patients, families, community and society. We all deserve...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AddictionToday/~4/UaNEeCANyE8" height="1" width="1"/>

Deirdre Boyd http://www.addictiontoday.org/addictiontoday/2011/10/lies-damn-lies-and-drug-statistics.html tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e54f8c5637883301543682fecb970c 2011-10-30T20:34:21+00:00 2011-10-30T21:06:01+00:00

PIECE TOGETHER A COHERENT PICTURE "We cannot overcommunicate with commissioners” – getting addicts into rehab nowadays means many organisations, people and processes all contributing to the jigsaw that makes up a complete person in recovery. Huseyin Djemil has guided both...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AddictionToday/~4/QgM4rzQXhYU" height="1" width="1"/>

Deirdre Boyd http://www.addictiontoday.org/addictiontoday/2011/10/commissioning-recovery-coherent-picture.html tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e54f8c56378833015436846e85970c 2011-10-30T19:27:50+00:00 2011-10-30T19:31:25+00:00

The American Society of Addiction Medicine has released a new definition of addiction, highlighting that it is a chronic brain disorder and not simply a behavioural problem involving too much alcohol, drugs, gambling or sex. Four years of work with...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AddictionToday/~4/7bdJhU3X7Oc" height="1" width="1"/>

Deirdre Boyd http://www.addictiontoday.org/addictiontoday/2011/10/latest-definition-of-addiction.html tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e54f8c56378833015436845fc4970c 2011-10-30T19:09:00+00:00 2011-10-30T19:13:24+00:00

To help implement the Drug Policy goal of getting more addicts into drug-free sustainable recovery -- and raise the number managing to get a referral to drug-free rehab from the current 2% to 10% of those 'in the system --...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AddictionToday/~4/8VSY9rCDeF4" height="1" width="1"/>

Deirdre Boyd http://www.addictiontoday.org/addictiontoday/2011/10/concordat-watchdog-launches-parliament.html tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e54f8c56378833015436844a1f970c 2011-10-30T18:46:58+00:00 2011-10-30T18:49:44+00:00

With only 2% of registered drug users getting the opportunity to benefit from residential rehab, the Concordat of rehabs formed in February to raise this number to at least 10% in the next few years. But the best ‘voice’ for...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AddictionToday/~4/3CWotHy-H-o" height="1" width="1"/>

Deirdre Boyd http://www.addictiontoday.org/addictiontoday/2011/10/concordat-graduates-launch-parliament.html tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e54f8c563788330162fc04ae12970d 2011-10-30T11:49:46+00:00 2011-10-30T11:55:21+00:00

Laura Graham gives a personal perspective on the news, trends, people and events she encounters as she travels across the country. We preview her article in the November issue of Addiction Today journal. A close encounter places her in favour...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AddictionToday/~4/gHSbyvqr61w" height="1" width="1"/>

Deirdre Boyd http://www.addictiontoday.org/addictiontoday/2011/10/laura-loves-laura-loathes-2.html