Rehab Drug Centers

When Drug Rehab Makes Sense

2011-02-11T20:11:00.001-08:00

Let’s face it, looking at the other guy and thinking he really has a drug problem is a whole lot easier than squaring up to the realization that it’s actually you that may be in trouble because of drug abuse, dependence, or addiction. Not only that, but when someone’s in the grip of drugs, it is so much simpler just to deny anything at all is wrong.

Is it any wonder then that it’s often so difficult for the person who really needs help to know when drug rehab makes sense? For the purposes of discussion, let’s say this person is you – although the same suggestions apply if you are looking for ways to help a loved one or friend get more information on whether drug rehab is the right choice now.

Life Spiraling Out of Control

There are many aspects of drug use that could be examined in order to get at the specifics of how bad it has to be before someone needs professional help. That is beyond the scope of this article. Suffice to say that when the drug user’s life is spiraling out of control, that’s when treatment is necessary – and fast.

But what, exactly, constitutes a life spiraling out of control? Here’s what it isn’t. It isn’t when you just seem to have a bad day, aren’t making enough money to suit you, or are vaguely dissatisfied with life in general.

Likewise, if your drug use is limited to occasionally taking a prescription medication for pain or anxiety or depression – and you take it as directed by your doctor, that’s not an indication that your life is out of control. You may be in a little more discomfort than you had in the past, but injury, aging, or accidents could be the reason for that. And, the body is pretty miraculous in how well it can heal, given enough time.

Here’s a clearer picture of life spiraling out of control:

• You are constantly thinking about where, how, and when to get drugs.
• You become anxious and agitated the closer it gets to the time when you normally use.
• Thoughts about using – anticipating the rush, how good you feel after you use – consume your every waking moment.
• You lose interest in anything not connected with your drug use.
• You stop associating with former friends and your only companions now are those connected with drug use. These may be the pals you use with, your dealer, or other drug-related acquaintances.
• You stop taking care of yourself physical needs. You don’t eat properly, sleep is fitful and plagued with nightmares. You have medical conditions that you don’t seek treatment for.
• Your physical appearance suffers: skin is pale, or sallow, maybe hangs from your frame like a drape or you are so emaciated that your bones are visible.
• You completely disregard personal hygiene, refusing to take regular baths, shampoo and comb your hair, brush your teeth. Your gums may bleed and your teeth may be rotting – especially if you are addicted to crystal meth.
• Your family has disowned you, kicked you out of the house, or the relationship is so strained that your homelife is like a powderkeg.
• You lose your job or get demoted as a result of your drug use.
• You squander all the household income in order to finance your drug use – as well as alcohol use and/or other addictions, such as compulsive gambling, compulsive spending, and so on.
• Your home goes into foreclosure.
• You have to file bankruptcy.
• You get arrested on drug charges.
• Legal bills mount, along with court costs, fees and fines.
• You go to jail.
• You start thinking that suicide may be the answer.

Do any of these sound like things you are experiencing in your life right now? If so, drug rehab could very well make sense for you.

Getting Past Denial

Of course, no one wants to admit that they have a drug problem. The person with the drug problem is usually the last one to recognize that their life has spiraled out of control. Everyone else around him or her can see it, but not the one who’s constantly using.

No, the person – maybe you – thinks, “I can take care of myself. My drug use is under control. I don’t need any help.” There are many different variations of what you tell yourself, but the synopsis is always the same: don’t have a problem, don’t need help, don’t want help.

That is a huge mistake.

Until you can wake up to the truth and admit that you do have a problem with drugs, you’re only going to perpetuate the misery you’re currently in. In fact, your downhill slide is more than likely going to happen quicker.

What will it take for you to be able to see how unhappy your drug use is making you? What about the looks on the faces of your loved ones, your spouse, your children? They only want the best for you, even if life with you has become intolerable, frightening, even dangerous.

If you live with a spouse or others who also abuse drugs or alcohol or engage in other addictive behavior, self-recognition of your problem becomes even tougher. That’s why couples who both use have such a hard time staying clean and sober following treatment unless both are committed to long-term sobriety.

Facing the reality that your life is now as a result of drug use takes courage. It’s certainly not pleasant to look at the mess you’ve made of your life, how much sorrow you’ve caused those who care about you.

But you can do it. First, you have to squash that inner voice that tries to insist that you’re okay. You’re not okay, and deep down inside you actually know it.

Can’t You Just Quit on Your Own?

While you might be an extraordinarily strong person, trying to quit drugs on your own is like trying to fly. You might have a brief success, but you’ll ultimately crash. Why is that? When you become dependent upon or addicted to drugs, your brain becomes habituated to the presence of the drugs. It changes in dramatic ways so that the messages sent to the brain’s pleasure center only react to the next intake of drugs. Your body demands the drugs, that’s why you have such intense drug cravings. The only thing that qualms the cravings is to use.

Sure, you may have all the best intentions. You toss the drugs or flush them down the drain, or use up the last of your stash and vow not to buy any more.

Guess how long that promise lasts?

Only until you start feeling the first symptoms of withdrawal.

Funny how it works. Even a brawny, six-foot-plus male who prides himself in self-discipline (except for his drug use) is reduced to a crazed search for drugs once withdrawal kicks in big-time. Going cold-turkey on drugs is just as foolhardy, in most instances, as trying to kick drinking when you’re a stone alcoholic. It could be more than just mild withdrawal symptoms you’ll have to deal with. Depending on your drug of choice, how long you’ve used, how often you use, and how much you use, whether you abuse alcohol as well as drugs – along with other factors such as your general health and pre-existing medical conditions – withdrawal can be severe or even life-threatening.

So, quitting on your own is just not a good idea. You need to undergo withdrawal under 24-hour medical supervision. This can be done at a detoxification center, either a hospital or detox center, or residential drug rehab that also has a detox facility on-site.

Besides, detoxing – or getting all the toxic substances (drugs) out of your system – is just the prerequisite or first step to getting better. Without treatment, usually consisting of counseling and perhaps medications to help control or reduce urges, you’ll only relapse and be right back where you started.

That’s when drug rehab makes sense. When you want to quit and know that trying to do so on your own is likely to fail, going into treatment for substance abuse is a very good option. In fact, it may be your only opportunity to get clean and sober – and have any hope of a meaningful recovery.

Rehab Close to Home or Away

Maybe you have your reasons for not wanting to go into rehab. One of these may be that you need a complete change of venue in order to make a complete break from your past addictive ways. That’s perfectly understandable. There are many drug rehab facilities that are in other parts of your state or in other states that may be within your reach.

On the other hand, maybe you are worried that you can’t possibly go into drug rehab because you need to be close to your family. You’re afraid that if you’re away from them, something bad will happen.

Actually, going into drug rehab is the best thing you can do – for for yourself and for your family. What do you think will happen to you and to them if you continue your current drug usage? Your problems, whatever they are right now, will only get worse. You may resort to petty crime to finance your drug use, become aggressive and violent with your loved ones, close friends, even strangers.

This is not a situation you want to contemplate, but you need to look at how drug abuse changes individuals. The sorry picture you have of certain incidents that happened in your past due to drug use is nothing compared to the world of hurt you might be in store for if you don’t get help now to overcome your addiction.

Can’t Afford the Time

Here’s another excuse – yes, let’s call it what it is – that many people offer up as a valid reason for not going into drug rehab. Even when they know they need help, that they will continue to go downhill without professional help, they complain that they just can’t afford the time.

What about eternity? That’s time without end – and that’s what you’ll be looking at sooner than you think if you keep on abusing drugs. What’s a 30- or 60- or even 90-day treatment program in the vast scheme of things? If you come out of treatment better equipped to deal with life’s stresses, challenges, and opportunities without resorting to drugs, isn’t that a good use of your time?

You know the answer to that one. Of course, drug rehab makes sense – especially when your life right now doesn’t make much sense at all.

Afraid of What Others Think

If you’re deep into drug use, you may think that you’re so far past caring about what others think, but you’d be surprised. Studies have shown that even chronic alcoholics and drug addicts have a sense of what their community members (those who also abuse alcohol and drugs) think. Dr. Gabor Maté, physician and author of In The Realm Of Hungry Ghosts, who works in a clinic for addicts in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, notes how the men and women there – all addicts – care for one another, despite how far down on the rung of humanity they’ve slipped.

These addicts, many of whom support their habit by prostitution, petty crime, handouts, know what they are. Yet they still cling to hope, even the faintest shred of it. Due to the non-judgmental attitude of Dr. Maté and others at the clinic, the addicts receive treatment for their medical condition, prescriptions to help them with sobriety, allay anxiety, combat depression, even help with living conditions. If they want counseling, that is provided for them as well.

Different world? Perhaps. Vancouver’s system is rather unique. But that isn’t the point. What is the point is that addicts the world over are human beings. And as human beings, we each have value. We each have an innate worth, even if we’ve buried it so far beneath years of drug use that we can’t even recognize it.

Why should you care what others think? If anything, they’re thinking that they wish you well and hope that you get the treatment you need to overcome your addiction.

You should care about you, and what you think about your life right now and how much better it can be in the future. This is when drug rehab makes sense.

Where to Find Treatment

Looking for a drug rehab center that will work for you is not that difficult. You can call 877-378-6407 to find out about drug treatment options in your area. Or you can go to the Treatment Facility Locator (http://findtreatment.samhsa.gov/) maintained by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). This is an online searchable database that includes drug and alcohol treatment facilities across the United States. You can also call their toll-free treatment referral helpline at 1-800-662-HELP and speak with a representative who can assist you by directing you to local treatment facilities, state agencies for treatment assistance, answer questions or send you informational material.

Another source for finding treatment is to talk with your doctor, local health agency, your health care provider, even a friend who has gone through drug rehab with good success.

The point is that if you can admit that you have a drug problem and want to get help for it, drug rehab makes sense. And if drug rehab makes sense, take the next step and make plans to go in for treatment. The sooner you get treatment, the quicker you’ll be on the road to recovery.

Imagine a future where you’re no longer a slave to your drug habit, where you’ll have the opportunity to live your life to its fullest, setting goals and achieving your dreams. You can have this. It is attainable. Now, do your part and get started with drug rehab. It really does make sense.

When Drug Rehab Makes Sense is a post from: Drug Addiction Treatment

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When Drug Rehab Makes Sense

2011-02-11T16:43:00.001-08:00

Life Spiraling Out of Control

Here’s a clearer picture of life spiraling out of control:

Do any of these sound like things you are experiencing in your life right now? If so, drug rehab could very well make sense for you.

Getting Past Denial

That is a huge mistake.

But you can do it. First, you have to squash that inner voice that tries to insist that you’re okay. You’re not okay, and deep down inside you actually know it.

Can’t You Just Quit on Your Own?

Sure, you may have all the best intentions. You toss the drugs or flush them down the drain, or use up the last of your stash and vow not to buy any more.

Guess how long that promise lasts?

Only until you start feeling the first symptoms of withdrawal.

Rehab Close to Home or Away

Can’t Afford the Time

You know the answer to that one. Of course, drug rehab makes sense – especially when your life right now doesn’t make much sense at all.

Afraid of What Others Think

Why should you care what others think? If anything, they’re thinking that they wish you well and hope that you get the treatment you need to overcome your addiction.

You should care about you, and what you think about your life right now and how much better it can be in the future. This is when drug rehab makes sense.

Where to Find Treatment

Another source for finding treatment is to talk with your doctor, local health agency, your health care provider, even a friend who has gone through drug rehab with good success.

When Drug Rehab Makes Sense is a post from: Drug Addiction Treatment

Source: "Drug Addiction Treatment" via Glen in Google Reader

From Drug Use to Drug Addiction: No Longer Having a Choice

2011-02-09T14:20:00.001-08:00

Seventy-five years ago two men came together and agreed that they had no power over their addictions. The power to quit would have to come not from their will power but from somewhere else. It took 75 years for science to catch up to what the founders of Alcoholics Anonymous figured out intuitively — addicts have no choice but to continue to use and reuse whatever drug or substance they are addicted to because they cannot stop. Addiction is by definition a habit that is beyond rational choice.

The two men who founded AA also determined that once addicted, always addicted, although they did not know why.

Although two ordinary men figured out how addiction works in 1935, the American Medical Association did not officially recognize substance addiction as a disease beyond control until 1970, opening the door for insurance and government programs to pay for drug addiction treatments like any other medical condition. Today drug addiction is considered an organic brain disease something like asthma, diabetes and hypertension in that it is caused and determined by a complex interaction of a person’s genetic tendencies, behaviors, and environment. Like those other three diseases, drug addiction has approved methods of treatment that include medication and behavioral changes. Also like asthma, diabetes and hypertension, drug addiction is a chronic, incurable disease. How much you recover and how healthy you remain depends on how well you comply with medical recommendations. Drug addicts have about the same level of compliance as people with other diseases.

Some people can try drugs many times without being addicted, others become addicted almost immediately. Studies of separated identical twins indicate that the reasons may be partly genetic because if one twin is addicted, the other has a much higher than average chance of being addicted too. Scientists also know the genes of a laboratory animal alter if the animal is injected with cocaine, and that these genetic changes affect their offspring in ways that make them in turn more susceptible to drug addiction. A study of female drug addicts found that their children and grandchildren were more likely to become drug addicts, even if the woman quit before getting pregnant. If a child has a disease that causes brain inflammation, the child has an increased risk of becoming a drug addict. Such research indicates that people can be born or acquire a tendency toward drug addiction in the same way that genetics can put people at higher risk for other chronic diseases.

Scientists have also discovered that once a person is addicted to drugs, they experience certain irreversible changes in their brain circuitry and the way they feel pleasure. This means that if they go back to drugs after treatment, they will become addicted again, which the founders of AA understood when they said, “Once addicted, always addicted.” The reason is that drug addiction causes permanent changes in the brain’s structure and functions, particularly in five of the brain’s neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters are chemicals that permit the brain to transmit signals from one cell to another. So far, research indicates that drug addiction permanently affects two of these chemicals, serotonin and dopamine, which are involved in the process of feeling pleasure. Addicts feel depressed and then experience an overwhelming need to seek out their drug of choice because their past substance abuse has created a chemical imbalance in their brains. Although a drug addict’s first use of drug was a voluntary choice to experiment, once he becomes an addict, he loses the ability to choose.

The treatment for drug addiction involves medications and behavioral changes. Diabetics have to monitor their blood sugar, eat healthy foods, and maintain a healthy weight. Former drug addicts have to monitor their feeling states because certain ones, such as anger or depression, can “trigger” drug cravings. Likewise, they have to learn how to deal with their former drug-using friends as well as places and opportunities that are cues for using drugs. Since it is so hard for a recovering addict to overcome these triggers, she usually has to remain in a drug-free facility for several months and then get continued support from psychologists and self-help groups like Narcotics Anonymous. Socio-economic status, psychiatric disorders, dropping out of treatment, and the amount of support from family and friends affect the ability to recover from drugs. How the person complies with her treatment program determines if she remains healthy and drug-free.

REFERENCES
Alcoholics Anonymous Services. Alcoholics Anonymous: Big Book, 4th Edition. New York: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., 2003.
“The Brain: Understanding Neurobiology through the Study of Addiction,” National Institute of Health, pamphlets and web instruction, see http://drugabuse.gov/Curriculum/HSCurriculum.html
Childress AR; McElgin W; Mozley PD; Fitzgerald J; Reivich M; O’Brien CP. “Limbic activation during cue-induced cocaine craving,” American Journal of Psychiatry, 1999, 156:1, pg. 11-18.
Everitt, Barry and Trevor W Robbins. “Neural systems of reinforcement for drug addiction: from actions to habits to compulsion.” Nature Neuroscience 8, 1481 – 1489 (2005)
Leshner, A.I. “Science Is Revolutionizing Our View of Addiction—and What to Do About It,” Focus, Spring 2003; 1: 194 – 195.
Leshner, A.I. “Addiction is a brain disease, and it matters,” Science 3 October 1997: Vol. 278 no. 5335 pp. 45-47.
McLellan, Thomas; David C. Lewis; Charles P. O’Brien; Herbert D. Kleber. “Drug Dependence, a Chronic Medical Illness: Implications for Treatment, Insurance, and Outcomes Evaluation.” JAMA, Oct 2000; 284: 1689 – 1695.

Siegfried, Tom. “Mom’s Past Drug Abuse may alter brain chemistry of offspring,” US News and World Report, November 15, 2011, posted at http://www.usnews.com/science/articles/2010/11/15/moms-past-drug-abuse-may-alter-brain-chemistry-of-offspring.html

From Drug Use to Drug Addiction: No Longer Having a Choice is a post from: Drug Addiction Treatment

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According to Narconon: Never Too Late To Seek Out Drug Rehabilitation

2011-02-05T17:45:00.001-08:00

After a 30 year addiction, one man explains how Narconon gave him a renewed outlook on life.

Mike, a Narconon graduate from 2001, spent most of his life struggling with an addiction to alcohol. “I had lost so many great career opportunities and close relationships to drug addiction,” said Mike. “I was 48 years old and felt like I had wasted my life chasing the false high of drugs and alcohol.”

After 30 years of drug addiction, with little hope for the future, Mike decided to seek out treatment through a drug rehabilitation program called Narconon Arrowhead.
“Upon arrival at Narconon, I was given immediate help and assistance,” explained Mike. “The staff and the therapy techniques made the withdraw experience virtually painless.”

Narconon Arrowhead uses a totally drug-free method of withdrawal. During withdrawal the individual will cease substance abuse and begin treatment with minimal discomfort through proper nutrition, vitamins, and treatments from the trained withdrawal specialist.

“On the sauna detoxification program, I was able to get decades of stored drugs and toxins fully out of my system, while restoring the nutritional balances vital to a drug free and happy life,” said Mike. “I literally felt 20 years younger after completing this part of the program, and the physical cravings were gone.”

The Narconon New Life Detoxification Program as delivered at Narconon Arrowhead is backed by scientific studies showing drugs are eliminated during the program. Results from these studies show that the New Life Detoxification Program releases these toxins from the stored fat and safely removes the toxins from the body, resulting in an increase in mental clarity, improved physical health, and an elimination of the physical side of drug cravings.

“The rest of the program addressed all emotional damage and depression that came from the drug and alcohol abuse,” explained Mike. “Narconon gave me actual tools to use in my everyday life, helping me actually go for and reach my new found goals without drugs and alcohol.”

The long term, residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation program has been successfully rehabilitating addicts since the 1960’s. With a 70% success rate for permanent sobriety, Narconon has proven to be successful in rehabilitating those struggling with drug or alcohol addiction and specializes in handling the full extent of all types of drug and alcohol addictions.

“I have been drug and alcohol free for almost 10 years now, and I can honestly say I have never once had the urge to return to the life of drinking and abusing drugs,” said Mike.

“No matter how hopeless it may seem and no matter how many times you have already tried to get and stay clean, there is hope and there is a workable solution. There is a whole world out there waiting for you, full of life, joy, happiness, and fulfillment.”

After completing the Narconon Program, Mike trained to become a Certified Chemical Dependency Counselor, helping others to get the Narconon technology which saved his life.

For more information on the Narconon program or to help someone who is struggling with an addiction, contact Narconon Arrowhead today at 800-468-6933.

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Study Finds Psychological Deterioration in Drug Abusers

2011-02-03T13:12:00.001-08:00

A new study from researchers at Spain’s University of Granada has found that drug abusers have difficulty identifying negative emotions (such as anger, disgust, fear, and sadness) by their facial expressions. In addition, the study found that regular abuse of alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine usually affects the users’ fluency and decision-making. Cocaine abuse is associated with changes in inhibition, and marijuana and cocaine use negatively affects work memory and reasoning.

For the study, the researchers performed a neuropsychological evaluation with 123 polysybstance abusers (those who abuse different types of drugs) and 67 non-drug users from similar social and demographic backgrounds. The polysubstance abusers mostly abused cocaine, marijuana, heroin, alcohol, MDMA, and methamphetamine, and were enrolled in two drug rehab programs (Proyecto Hombre and Cortijo Buenos Aires) in Granada.

The study found that 70 percent of drug abusers had some type of neuropsychological deterioration, regardless of the type of drug they used. Deterioration was found in working memory, fluency, flexibility, planning, multitasking, and interference.

This study is the first to study psychological deterioration in drug abusers who are enrolled in drug rehabilitation programs. Although previous studies have looked at emotional recognition by drug users, those studies focused on recognition as a unit process. The current study analyzed the relation between drug abuse and recognition of basic emotions such as happiness, fear, sadness, and surprise.

Lead author María José Fernández Serrano, along with professors Miguel Pérez García and Antonio Javier Verdejo García, of the Department of Personality and Psychological Treatment and Evaluation at the University of Granada, said she thinks that the study’s results could help develop policies aimed at promoting drug rehab programs that have been adapted to the neuropsychological profile of drug abusers.

Source: Science Daily, Drug-Abusers Have Difficulty to Recognize Negative Emotions as Wrath, Fear and Sadness, Study Finds, February 3, 2011

Study Finds Psychological Deterioration in Drug Abusers is a post from: Drug Addiction Treatment

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Drug Addiction Starts During Teen Years

2011-01-31T16:43:00.001-08:00

Two new studies involving laboratory animals indicate that adolescence is a crucial time to develop drug addictions, because adults react differently to drugs than youngsters.

The first study was from Beckman Institute at the University of Illinois. Dr. Justin Rhodes and his colleagues found that adolescent mice were less sensitive to the effects of cocaine and methamphetamine than adults. The adults showed more increases in locomotion, but the drugs had little to no effect on the "teenagers." Dr. Rhodes was unsure why this occurred.

Dr. Rhodes said that a young person’s first experiment with cocaine and methamphetamines may be extremely mild, which in turn would increase the likelihood of his or her using drugs again.

"If you have a strong reaction to something, then you are less likely to do it again," Dr. Rhodes said.

This study appears in the journal Neuroscience.

The second study was from the University of Valencia. Dr. Jose Minarro found that mice given ecstasy and cocaine during adolescence developed a vulnerability to them in adulthood. The control group of mice that had not been exposed to drugs in adolescence had less vulnerability.

"Adolescence is a critical stage during which time drug consumption affects plastic cerebral processes in ways that cause changes that persist right through adulthood," according to Dr. Minarro in a report published in the journal Addiction Biology.

Drug Addiction Starts During Teen Years is a post from: Drug Addiction Treatment

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Drug Rehab Discusses: Possible Cocaine Vaccination

2011-01-29T11:45:00.001-08:00

With the possibility of a new cocaine vaccination, the question arises whether or not this is an effective form of drug rehab.

A new cocaine vaccine has been developed by a team of researchers led by Dr. Ronald Crystal at Weil Cornell Medical College. A team, led by Dr. Crystal created a combination of an inactive part of the cold virus, known as the adenovirus, with a structure similar to cocaine to act as a vaccine to this addiction.

According to CNN Health, the vaccine works by stimulating the auto immune system which creates antibodies, preventing the cocaine from passing through the blood barrier. After an experimental trial on mice, CNN Health reported on January 5, that the vaccine appears to negate the effects of cocaine addiction by keeping it from affecting the central nervous system.

The current vaccine, although not tested on humans yet, raises concern among industries treating addiction as many other substitute therapies for drug abuse have not been successful for permanent recovery in addicts.

Derry Hallmark, Certified Chemical Dependency Counselor and Senior Director for Expansion for Narconon Arrowhead, one of the world’s largest and most successful rehabilitation centers, discusses the cocaine vaccination.

“Although this cocaine vaccination is marketed to possibly prevent the physical abuse of cocaine, the mental drug addiction will definitely still be present,” explains Hallmark. “We haven’t seen enough cases to know the validity of the vaccine, but even if it works the addictive personality will find a way to get high by abusing another drug or skipping treatment with the vaccination.”

“With drug addiction, the underlying issues must be treated or the addictive personality will continue to control the individual’s life,” adds Hallmark. “Narconon has been treating addiction since the 1960’s and there has to be an effort on part of the addicted person to really tackle the mental aspects of addiction. There is no shortcut like a magic pill or vaccine to do this.”

Narconon Arrowhead is a long term, inpatient drug rehab program that handles the full extent of addiction, and with a 70% success rate, has done this effectively for more than 40 years.

“The cocaine vaccination cannot fully address all components that lead the person down the road of addiction in the first place,” says Hallmark. “Narconon Arrowhead can rehabilitate the person fully, without the use of any drugs or substitute medications.”

For more information on drug rehab for you or someone you know who is struggling with a drug addiction contact Narconon Arrowhead today at 800-468-6933.

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Enablers Delay Recovery of Drug Addicts

2011-01-27T17:43:00.001-08:00

The power of addiction is deep-seated. It is so strong, that it may cause an otherwise, sweet and innocent individual to become a completely different person. It can push someone to prostitute themselves for drugs. Some struggling to overcome addiction will steal money from family or friends in order to get their next fix. Many will take advantage of those they care about because the urge to use is so intense.

An enabler is someone who offers support or resources to an addict. It could be something as simple as providing the addict with housing or transportation because he is spending all his money on drugs. Or, maybe the addict is prostituting herself or stealing in return for drugs, and the enabler supplies financial support because he doesn’t want to see his loved one end up in jail. Whatever the case may be, these behaviors are very dangerous to the health of the addict.

Enablers aren’t always family members. They can be neighbors, friends, co-workers, or even teachers. If the enabler truly understood the harm they were inflicting, they wouldn’t continue to provide support. They are usually people that truly care for the person suffering with addiction. Most have good intentions and want to help—or at minimum, don’t want to cause a scene.

They believe that they are actually helping those they care about by preventing ‘worse case scenarios.’ Enablers often operate under the mentality that if they don’t help those who are afflicted, they will get resources from somewhere else anyway. However, the truth is, most addicts would not be able to continue in their addictions without the support of enablers.

Enablers may also fear rejection from their loved ones if they do not yield support. Thomas Kosten, MD, founder of the division of substance abuse at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston says that enablers should not feel guilty for saying no. He affirms that tough love is actually the best way to help.

Just like everyone else in life, addicts need to know that there are consequences for their actions. When we stop enabling, we allow them to face the repercussions of their bad choices. Whether that is the loss of a job, being stripped of material possessions, going to jail, or destroying a relationship with someone they love, hitting rock-bottom may be the only catalyst compelling addicts to wake up and change their ways.

When addicts are faced with the consequences of their actions, they realize what they stand to lose. They are forced to make decisions about what is most important in their lives. It is only then that treatment and recovery can begin. But just like any form of loving discipline, friends and family need to stand firm in order for the process to work.

If you think you might be an enabler, examine your role in aiding the addiction, and let your loved one know that you will not be able to continue the cycle. Be strong and don’t back down. Enforcing consequences can pull at your heart strings, but doing so will offer those you care about the best chance at recovery and rehabilitation.

Enablers Delay Recovery of Drug Addicts is a post from: Drug Addiction Treatment

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Combining Alcohol and Drugs

2011-01-26T12:39:00.001-08:00

The National Survey on Drug Use and Health reports that 17.5 percent of underage drinkers admitted to having used illicit drugs within 2 hours of using alcohol. When drugs and alcohol are combined, the result is often a visit to the emergency department. Healthcare professionals have an opportunity during that visit to intervene and educate the young person about the dangers of combining alcohol and drugs.

Using alcohol and drugs together can result in very dangerous consequences, such as injury or risky sexual behavior. It is important to understand the trends occurring among adolescents related to alcohol and drug use, and the Drug Abuse Warning Network provides reports detailing emergency department visits involving drug use.

Recently DAWN released a report for the 2008 emergency department visits involving underage drinking in combination with drug use. The report focuses on emergency visits by individuals under the legal age of 21, including adolescents aged 12 to 17 and young adults aged 18 to 20.

There were 188,981 alcohol-related emergency department visits by individuals aged 12 to 20 in 2008, with 70.0 percent involving only alcohol and 30.0 percent involving alcohol in combination with other drugs. Illicit drugs were used in 68.4 percent of those visits that involved both alcohol and drugs. Marijuana was the most common illicit drug used, followed by cocaine, illicit stimulants and heroin.

Over half of the cases involved pharmaceutical drugs, and of those drugs, medications used to treat anxiety or insomnia were the most widely used, followed by narcotic pain relievers, antidepressants or antipsychotics and acetaminophen products.

The report indicates that there was little difference indicated between genders or age groups regarding emergency department visits involving a combination of drugs and alcohol. There was also little difference seen between different racial groups.

Many underage patients who were treated in the emergency department require additional treatment. However, the DAWN report showed that nearly two thirds of cases showed no evidence of any type of follow-up care. There was more evidence of follow-up care among adolescents aged 12 to 17 than there was for young adults aged 18 to 20.

The report released by DAWN for 2008 shows that 3 out of every 10 emergency department visits made by underage drinkers also involved drugs. The emergency department can be the only chance for prevention and education strategies to be introduced to underage drinkers.

The lack of difference between age, gender and race indicate that a general intervention program may be just as effective as targeting particular individuals. The emergency department is also an ideal time for educating parents about the importance of involvement with their children’s decisions about drinking and drugs.

Combining Alcohol and Drugs is a post from: Drug Addiction Treatment

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Americans Admit to Driving After Using Drugs and Alcohol

2011-01-25T12:16:00.001-08:00

There are many dangerous behaviors associated with the use of drugs and alcohol. The rate of risky sexual behaviors goes up with the use of drugs and alcohol, as well as the occurrence of related injuries. One dangerous behavior that affects not only the user but countless others is the decision to drive while using drugs or alcohol.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) provides information about the state of drug and alcohol use in the United States. The reports issued by SAMHSA offer insight into developing effective strategies for preventing dangerous behaviors associated with substance use.

According to SAMHSA data, approximately 30 million Americans aged 16 years and older admit to drunk driving. In addition, an estimated 10 million report that they have driven while under the influence of drugs.

The analysis completed by SAMHSA indicates that those figures may translate to approximately 20 percent of the population admitting to driving in drunk in some states. On average across the states, 13.2 percent of those aged at least 16 years drove while under the influence of alcohol in the last year, while 4.3 percent drove while using illegal drugs.

The rates of driving while using a substance vary widely from one state to another. For example, the highest percentage of drunk driving took place in Wisconsin and North Dakota (23.7 and 22.4 percent, respectively). The highest rates of driving while using an illegal drug were recorded in Rhode Island and Vermont (7.8 and 6.6 percent, respectively). The lowest levels of drunk driving were found in Utah and Mississippi.

The use of alcohol and drugs while driving also varies among different age groups. In a self-reported body of data, it was estimated that those aged 16 to 25 years drive while under the influence of alcohol at a rate of 19.5 percent, while those over the age of 26 report a rate of 11.8 percent.

The use of illegal drugs in combination with driving also varies by age. Those aged 16 to 25 used drugs while driving at a rate of 11.4 percent, while adults over the age of 26 reported driving while under the influence of drugs at a rate of 2.8 percent.

SAMHSA’s report includes encouraging information. The rates of driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol has dropped in recent years. In the report summarizing data from 2002 to 2005, the rate of alcohol-influenced driving was 14.6 percent. However, in the recent report released detailing information from 2006 to 2009, the rate had dropped to 13.2 percent. Likewise, driving while under the influence of drugs dropped from 4.8 percent to 4.3 percent in the same time period.

Americans Admit to Driving After Using Drugs and Alcohol is a post from: Drug Addiction Treatment

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Drug Rehab Financing

2011-01-20T16:46:00.001-08:00

In our current medical industry, unfortunately the best rehabs are not the cheapest rehabs. In fact, the old adage “you get what you pay for” is indeed applicable to drug rehab to a certain degree. While families shouldn’t expect that they need to sell their home and get second and third jobs, sometimes saving someone’s life does require a sacrifice like, as an example, parting with the old and rarely used bass boat.

And for some families, bass boats aren’t readily available and they are just simply doing their best to make ends meet. When the unexpected and unprepared for addiction presents itself in a family, it can be tough for families to know where to turn. Families do not want to sacrifice the quality of care for their loved one for any reason, especially for a financial reason.

Fortunately, the ability to finance treatment is available at most of the top centers. Financing treatment can be available often through structured payment plans or even through the ability to get a loan for the balance of the program. Most admissions counselors at the top facilities will be very educated on how to help families maximize their financing and lending potential including helping to identify credit scores and credit-worthiness and even extending to knowing which external lending companies to shop with, depending on each specific circumstance.

Because financing is so readily available for treatment, most of the centers including the top centers are no longer cost-prohibitive to most families. This means that a family does not have to have to worry about getting their loved one the best help possible and ultimately saving their lives.

Our rehab center offers a wide range of financing and payment options for clients.

Call us today at 800-468-6933 for more information.

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Vaccine for Cocaine Addiction May Cause Body to Attack the Drug as an Invader

2011-01-19T18:13:00.001-08:00

A new vaccine may bring new possibilities for people who hope to break free from cocaine addiction.

Researchers say the vaccine, recently studied in mice but planned for human clinical trials, could essentially cause the user to create immunity to the drug – cancelling out cocaine’s pleasurable and addictive effects.

Published in Molecular Therapy, researchers from Weill Cornell Medical College, genetic medicine department, say the vaccine could bring hope for cocaine addicts where other possibilities have failed. Weill Cornell researchers are especially hopeful because the process is one that could rapidly be adapted for trials for humans, leading the vaccine down a quicker path to FDA approval for cocaine addicts. Currently no formally approved vaccine is available for treating people with addictions to drugs.

Funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, ingredients in the vaccine tested on mice include pieces from the virus that causes the common cold and a particle that acts similar to cocaine. These ingredients created an immune response in mice, an antibody reaction that adheres to the cocaine before it goes to the brain. The vaccine causes the body to believe that the cocaine is an invader that must be stopped, an effect boosted by the cold virus. Over time, a person’s biologic immunity to cocaine could grow stronger and stronger until any attempts to use the drug are blocked by the body.

While the vaccine shows promise, it may not be perfect, warn experts. Cocaine addicts may attempt to bypass their body’s immune response by taking in even larger amounts of cocaine. Additionally, people’s immune responses vary, and there may be unique challenges for the vaccine for people whose immune systems are already weakened.

Cocaine users are drawn to its quick stimulating effect, which is known to contribute to dangerous behaviors. Like other drugs, cocaine causes changes at the brain level that make it highly psychologically addictive. The new vaccine prevents the boost of stimulation from cocaine, because the body begins to attack the drug as it would a virus. The immune-block effects of the vaccine endured for a considerable amount of time in the mice – more than three months, another favorable element of the vaccine.

The researchers have utilized only the elements of the cold virus that trigger an immune reaction, leaving behind those that are linked to symptoms of the illness. Overall, the mice that were injected with the vaccine and then given cocaine were not as active and stimulated as the mice who did not receive the vaccination. These results held true even when the mice took in continuous, larger amounts of cocaine, similar in proportion to the level a cocaine addict might consume.

Researchers associated with the study say the vaccine may have the strongest benefit for people whose cocaine addiction is already in full swing, but who want to recover. Clinical trials with humans are planned, and could lead to a new tool cocaine addicts could use along with other forms of addiction treatment.

Vaccine for Cocaine Addiction May Cause Body to Attack the Drug as an Invader is a post from: Drug Addiction Treatment

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Inpatient Drug Rehabilitation vs. Detoxification Treatment: Which One Is Most Effective For Addiction?

2011-01-15T21:45:00.001-08:00

With the ever increasing abuse of powerful opiates, such as heroin, OxyContin and other opioid drugs, there has become a great need for effective drug rehabilitation that works for this type of addiction.

The most recent addition to the drug trade can easily be identified as prescription medications such as OxyContin and other pain pills classified as opioids. Around the country, more and more addicts are being prosecuted for falsely obtaining prescriptions.

Some doctors are under investigation for writing illegal scripts. There are also those who start out abusing prescriptions and turn to heroin. With this problem turning into an epidemic, there are many who are trying to get help only to find that some types of drug rehabilitation are not effective for treating this type of addiction.

To reveal which type treatment is more effective, doctors from the University of Birmingham and the National Addiction Center, both in London, England, conducted a 2 year study where numerous opiate addicts were recruited as patients. These patients were split into two controlled groups. One group entered inpatient treatment and the other group went through a detoxification process then entered outpatient treatment.

As a result of this study, it was determined that, inpatient long term drug rehabilitation was by far the most effective route for someone struggling with drug addiction.

Experts from the study go on to say that, “long-term treatment offers the most promising route to reduction in drug dependence.” In addition, the report stated that, “Detoxification is not a treatment in its own right, but rather the first (and often necessary) step in a pathway to recovery.”

In a recent survey done by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, it was found that the nonmedical use of prescription drugs, like OxyContin, rose 12 percent in the past two years. All around the United States, people are becoming dependent on powerful prescription opiates, which, once addicted, are almost impossible to quit using without the right drug rehabilitation.

“During the time following detoxification, a recovering addict will be very vulnerable, mentally and physically,” explains Derry Hallmark Certified Chemical Dependency Counselor and Senior Director for Expansion for Narconon Arrowhead. “They will need time to adjust to a sober lifestyle so oftentimes a more long term approach is needed for treatment to help the addicted person get through this adjustment period.”

Hallmark goes on to say that, “An inpatient environment will give the recovering addict a break from the people and places associated with the addiction, allowing them to focus on their rehabilitation and future of staying sober long-term.”

Narconon Arrowhead, one of the world’s largest drug rehabilitation centers, is a long-term, inpatient treatment facility that achieves over a 70% success rate for permanent sobriety from addiction.

For more information on Narconon drug rehabilitation or to help someone who is struggling with an addiction, contact Narconon Arrowhead today at 800-468-6933 or log onto www.stopaddiction.com.

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Marijuana Use in Adolescence Associated with Adult Depression

2011-01-12T11:44:00.001-08:00

High school students who use marijuana are at higher risk for drug abuse and other problems as adults, and it may have something to do with the physical aspects of adolescent brains, according to two new studies.

The first study done by Australians followed 1943 people from age 15 to 24 years old. Those who used marijuana were more likely to become dependent on drugs, tobacco, and illegal drugs as adults, and less likely to go to college. Marijuana use in high school also predicted psychosocial problems in adulthood.

The second study , this time from McGill University in Canada, found that laboratory animals exposed to marijuana in adolescence developed symptoms of anxiety and depression as adults. Dr. Gabriella Gobbi, lead author, found that marijuana actually altered two brain chemicals that regulate mood and anxiety in these laboratory rats. Even those rats who were taken off marijuana still had measurable differences in their levels of serotonin and nonrepinephrine.

"Our study is one of the first to focus on the role of biological mechanisms at the root of this influence of cannabis on depression in adolescence," according to Dr. Gobbi, whose study appears in the journal Neurobiology of Disease.

Marijuana Use in Adolescence Associated with Adult Depression is a post from: Drug Addiction Treatment

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Drug Court Shows Positive Results, But Further Research Needed

2011-01-11T16:43:00.001-08:00

For drug offenders and substance abusers with a non-violent record, drug court can mean a choice: admit guilt, and go into closely monitored substance abuse treatment; or deny guilt and head straight to incarceration. Drug courts are designed to help end the cycle of repeated offenses by offering substance abuse treatment for offenders with non-violent crimes. A report from the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), part of the U.S. Department of Justice, suggests the courts have made positive strides – but further research is needed to determine their overall effects.

Meant to focus on addiction-based problems for offenders as part of the nation’s attack on drugs, drug courts were established in the 1980s. The Department of Justice says people who abuse drugs are more likely to return to the crime than any other offender, and that once they reach parole, about two-thirds of drug offenders will abuse drugs again or be found in possession.

While an offender is participating in a drug court program, there is a suspension of charges. These charges can ultimately be modified or even dismissed, determined by the offender’s participation in the drug court program. Proponents say the programs work because they lessen the chances that the offender will return to old habits, using recovery-based measures – even for offenders with repeated drug-related crimes.

The report from the NIJ says that recidivism rates were reduced through drug court programs, though it is unknown exactly which aspects of the program had the strongest effect. The report also recommends that treatment be focused on substance abuse theories, and that it should allow program participants to learn cognitive-based strategies for working through recovery. Past participants of drug court have said one-on-one interaction with the judge has made a significant impact on their success.

The report also recommends that all members of a participant’s drug court team be involved with plans for treatment, types of service delivered and reports of results. The NIJ suggests that teams learn more about addiction practice and treatment, especially toward helping participants avoid relapse, in order to offer the most benefit for the program.

When it comes to helping teens and young adults with a history of substance abuse problems, the NIJ report indicated that more exploration is needed to find out whether intervention-based approaches are more effective at reducing drug offenses, or if the focus of drug court efforts should be on preventative measures.

In terms of cost savings, the report indicated that approximate cost per participant was $5,928 over a timeframe of 30 months, but came with savings totaling more than $2,300 in additional costs from within the criminal system, and an additional $1,301 in potential costs toward victimization services.

Drug Court Shows Positive Results, But Further Research Needed is a post from: Drug Addiction Treatment

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GBL Withdrawal Should Be Medically Monitored

2011-01-10T14:43:00.001-08:00

The withdrawal from any addictive drug can be life threatening, especially if the withdrawal occurs outside of a certified doctor’s care. According to a recent Medical News Today report, this is especially true if the individual is trying to overcome an addiction to GBL.

GBL is a popular party drug that is often a preferred substance among the party crowd in the UK. Addiction to the drug can be swift and the withdrawal process can be severe, requiring extensive medication and monitoring. GBL (gamma butyrolactone) is an industrial solvent used to degrease engines, remove stains, and strip wood. In the body it changes to GHB (gamma hydroxybutyrate), a potent central nervous system depressant.

Dr. James Bell is the head of the party Drugs Clinic at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. He believes that withdrawal from GBL should be viewed as a medical emergency.

Bell has conducted extensive research into GBL dependence and withdrawal, even writing a report on the subject. In this report, Bell argues that “round-the-clock” users can experience life-threatening situations when withdrawing from GBL. As a result, these individuals need immediate treatment that uses appropriate medications.

This is a key focus for Bell as health care professionals seem to be well aware of the dependence and withdrawal issues that surround drugs such as heroin and alcohol. It is often assumed that party drugs do not have the same addictive qualities and therefore the withdrawal process is often not monitored or medicated.

When interviewed, most of the users at Bell’s clinic downplayed the dangers associated with GBL and other party drugs. Where GBL is concerned, most users begin occasional use to achieve social confidence, facilitate sexual activity and to treat insomnia. Occasional use quickly develops into around the cloud dependence that requires treatment to overcome.

GBL Withdrawal Should Be Medically Monitored is a post from: Drug Addiction Treatment

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Health Care Reform Could Allow More Americans To Get Into Rehab Centers

2011-01-08T22:14:00.001-08:00

With millions of people under 26 able to be insured under new laws, those addicted will have more choices when it comes to finding effective rehab centers.

According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, it is estimated that almost 22.8 million Americans need treatment for substance abuse. Unfortunately, many of these people are unable to find both affordable and effective treatment, as a result of the admission rates required to house an individual in most rehab centers.

According to a survey conducted by the National Institutes of Health, 30 percent of all adults between the ages of 20 and 29 have no health insurance. Unfortunately, many of these people who are struggling with a drug or alcohol addiction are unable to afford effective treatment.

On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed legislation to reform health care, allowing guaranteed access to health insurance for millions of people. In Obama’s reform, young adults will be able to stay on a parent’s insurance plan until they turn 26. This means that young adults under the age of 26, who went off the insurance according to previous laws, will be able to return onto their parent’s health and dental insurance. The reforms went into effect on January 1, 2011.

With the Affordable Health Care Act now in place, more young Americans will now be insured, and those struggling with drug addiction in that age bracket will now be able to find solutions for effective drug treatment.

Narconon Arrowhead, one of the world’s largest and most successful drug rehab centers, is prepared to assist these young adults as they look for help with their drug or alcohol addictions. The long term, residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation program has been successfully rehabilitating addicts since the 1960’s.

“With this healthcare reform, millions of young addicts will be able to enter into addiction treatment who, under the previous laws, didn’t qualify,” says Derry Hallmark Certified Chemical Dependency Counselor and Senior Director for Expansion for Narconon Arrowhead. “While it pains us to see so many struggling with addiction, it is good to know that there is a solution for permanent recovery from substance abuse through Narconon rehab centers.”

With a 70% success rate for permanent sobriety, Narconon Arrowhead has proven to be successful in rehabilitating those struggling with drug or alcohol addiction and specializes in handling all types of drug and alcohol addictions.

“These reforms have made drug rehabilitation more accessible to the people who need it most; the youth of America,” says Hallmark. “Many more young people who are addicted will now get the chance for a drug free life.”

For more information on rehab centers for you or someone you know who is struggling with a drug addiction contact Narconon Arrowhead today at 800-468-6933 or log onto www.stopaddiction.com

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David Arquette Enters Rehab

2011-01-03T19:45:00.001-08:00

By janice

Actor David Arquette has entered a rehab program for alcohol issues and depression, according to People magazine. A source told the magazine that Arquette is having trouble dealing with his separation from actress Courteney Cox.

The two, who have a 6-year old daughter, Coco, have remained friendly since their split in October. “I really admire David and his choice to take charge and better his life,” Cox told People of Arquette’s decision to enter rehab adding, “I love and support him.” Read more….

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Media Partners - Behavioral Health Central

2011-01-03T19:35:00.001-08:00

		A&E Intervention^TM is a powerful and gripping television series in which people confront their darkest demons and seek a route to redemption. The Intervention Television series profiles people whose dependencies on drugs and alcohol or other compulsive behavior has brought them to a point of personal crisis and estranged them from their friends and loved ones. Each Intervention episode ends with a surprise intervention that is staged by the family and friends of the alcohol or drug addict, and which is conducted by one of three Intervention specialists: Jeff VanVonderen, Candy Finnigan and Ken Seeley.
		The American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence (AATOD) was founded in 1984 to enhance the quality of patient care in treatment programs by promoting the growth and development of comprehensive methadone treatment services throughout the United States.
		The Anxiety Disorders Association of America (ADAA) is the only national nonprofit organization solely dedicated to informing the public, health care professionals, and media that anxiety disorders are real, serious, and treatable. ADAA promotes the early diagnosis, treatment, and cure of anxiety disorders, and it is committed to improving the lives of the people who suffer from them.
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		The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University is the only nation-wide organization that brings together under one roof all the professional disciplines needed to study and combat abuse of all substances – alcohol, nicotine as well as illegal, prescription and performance enhancing drugs – in all sectors of society. Founded in 1992 by Former U.S. Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare Joseph A. Califano, Jr., the nonprofit organization aims to inform Americans of the economic and social costs of substance abuse and its impact on their lives, as well as, remove the stigma of substance abuse and replace shame and despair with hope. Substance abuse is our nation’s number one health problem and a major player in the many social problems our nation faces. CASA is committed to developing proven, effective ways to prevent and treat the disease of substance abuse and addiction.
		The Case Management Society of America aims to improve patient well-being and health care outcomes by supporting the professional development of care managers from a variety of disciplines, practice settings, skill levels and professional capacities.
		The Illinois Institute for Addiction Recovery (IIAR) is located in a 12,000 sq. ft., free-standing facility adjacent to Proctor's Counseling and Recovery Center. The facility accommodates inpatients and outpatients from across the country in an easily accessible, highly confidential setting surrounded by the wooded, park-like campus of Proctor Hospital. Addiction assessment and recovery services are also provided by IIAR in Springfield, at BroMenn Regional Medical Center in nearby Bloomington/Normal, and at Ingalls Memorial Hospital in Harvey, Illinois.
		Intervention 911 works with families nationwide providing the solution when a family member is suffering from addiction or behavioral issues. We provide Intervention, Consulting, Treatment Referrals, Monitoring and Recovery Aide programs that are effective tools to guiding an addict to recovery and helping maintain long term sobriety. Our professional staff is available 24/7. Please call 866-888-4911 or visit us at www.intervention911.com. The Solution Starts Here!
		Mental Health America(formerly known as the National Mental Health Association) is the country's leading nonprofit dedicated to helping ALL people live mentally healthier lives. With our more than 320 affiliates nationwide, we represent a growing movement of Americans who promote mental wellness for the health and well-being of the nation - everyday and in times of crisis.
		The National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression (NARSAD) is The World's Leading Charity Dedicated to Mental Health Research. NARSAD invests in the best and brightest scientific minds throughout the world to unravel the complexities of schizophrenia, depression, anxiety and many other psychiatric diseases. Then, NARSAD continues to support the researchers as they use their findings to develop the next-generation of diagnostics and treatments for these conditions. With enough effort, NARSAD expects scientists someday to discover preventions and cures for these devastating illnesses.
		For 30 years since its founding in 1978, the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers (NAATP), which represents nearly 275 not-for-profit and for-profit providers (free standing and hospital based programs, which offer a full continuum of care from outpatient, partial hospitalization and inpatient rehabilitation regimes), has acted as the voice of private alcoholism and drug dependency treatment programs throughout the U.S. That voice has been heard time and time again - in Congress, in the insurance industry, in the utilization review arena and in the chemical dependency treatment field itself. NAATP has assumed a strong leadership role on behalf of treatment providers in areas such as treatment standards, education, research, and advocacy of legislative, regulatory and reimbursement positions supported by the field.
		NIATx is a pioneering improvement collaborative that works with substance abuse and behavioral health organizations across the country. We teach organizations to use a simple process improvement model developed under the leadership of Dr. David Gustafson. NIATx is part of the Center for Health Enhancement System Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
		The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has a mission is to lead the Nation in bringing the power of science to bear on drug abuse and addiction. This charge has two critical components. The first is the strategic support and conduct of research across a broad range of disciplines. The second is ensuring the rapid and effective dissemination and use of the results of that research to significantly improve prevention, treatment and policy as it relates to drug abuse and addiction.
		New Directions for Women (NDFW)is a drug and alcohol treatment provider offering services for women, pregnant women, and women with children. NDFW is nestled in one of the most serene and beautiful communities in the country in Orange County, California. Our treatment center is steps away from Newport Beaches, Back Bay and Nature Preserve and only moments from Newport Beach.
		The Quick Fix mission is to promote health, healing and happiness by removing the stigma of recovery from behavioral issues, helping victims of substance abuse, their families and children by providing insight, preventative education, and life enhancement techniques via radio and TV programs, seminars, lectures, books, CD's and public events.
		Segal Institute for Clinical Researchis a site-management organization specializing in psychiatric, neurological, substance abuse, medical and women's health conditions. A 90-plus member, full-time staff of principal investigators, sub-investigators, coordinators, research assistants and doctorate-level raters conducts clinical trials in outpatient, inpatient, and residential care facilities. Founded in 1998, Segal Institute for Clinical Research was created as a division of Compass Health Systems, a multi-specialty group practice. Compass Health Systems is the largest provider of mental health services in South Florida.
		For over a decade, Sensory Logic, Inc. and Dan Hill have been the market leader in helping major, global companies measure and manage emotions in strategic as well as tactical terms. They do so through combining unique research tools like eye tracking and facial coding with traditional ratings and verbal input.
		Founded in 1995 by Robert Weiss, LCSW, CAS as a local agency to meet the needs of sexually addicted men, women and their loved ones, The Sexual Recovery Institute has grown to a current staff of 7 therapists, serving over 125 people weekly in group, individual and intensive sexual addiction treatment. The agency provides local programs for individuals and couples residing all over Southern California while also hosting persons seeking intensive treatment from throughout The United States and abroad.
		Summit for Clinical Excellenceis the premier provider of continuing education for mental health, behavioral health, and addiction professionals. If you have not joined us before, you will discover how the Summits are a whole different experience in conferencing.
		The Trail Blazing Woman provides personal coaching and mentoring for women who support a husband or partner suffering with depression. Christine McRae is a spokesperson for these women whose goal is to raise the awareness of the role they play in assisting their husbands or partners to come more quickly to a place of wholeness and recovery from their depression.
		The Treatment Research Institute (TRI)is an independent, non-profit research and development organization founded in 1992 by researchers from the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for the Studies of Addiction. Dedicated to science-driven transformation of substance abuse policy and treatment, TRI conducts original research and adapts scientific findings into products and services helping treatment providers, policy makers and parents. TRI was co-founded by the same researchers who developed and introduced the Addiction Severity Index and Treatment Services Review in the 1980s. Since its founding TRI has been in the forefront of many of the major advances in the field of addiction, including addiction as a chronically relapsing condition, substance abuse and crime, substance use/abuse and the medical field, and the intersection of policy making and quality in addiction programming.
		The Whole Health Campaign calls on Presidential candidates and political parties to adopt three principles: Ensure equitable and adequate mental health and addiction treatment coverage in all public and private health care plans; Support policies that promote individual and family recovery from mental illness and addictions as integral to overall health; Commit to investing in America’s future through prevention, early intervention and research on mental illness and addictions. The campaign is comprised of more than 70 mental health and addiction organizations. For a complete list of organizations supporting the WHC or for more information about the campaign, visit http://wholehealthcampaign.org/.
		World Congress, the leading global provider of healthcare conferences, forges health care communities by convening senior executives from all segments of the industry and government policymaking. Whether it's our annual flagship event, the World Health Care Congress, its overseas counterpart, World Health Care Congress Europe, or one of our more specialized Congresses and Leadership Summits, we produce the premier industry forums that generate content that matters and foster connections that provide the lasting benefits.

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Visibility brings prosperity, growth to Teen Challenge - Youngstown Vindicator

2011-01-03T03:36:00.001-08:00

Published: Mon, January 3, 2011 @ 12:09 a.m.

The Vindicator (Youngstown)

Members of Ohio Valley Teen Challenge work in the kitchen of the rehabilitation center in Youngstown. Thanks to an outpouring of donations, the program's kitchen and catering service has been expanded.

TEEN CHALLENGE

Nearly 200 residential Teen Challenge centers across the United States provide care for people of all ages with substance abuse issues. Here are some key dates in the organization’s history.

1958: First Teen Challenge center is constructed by Dave Wilkerson in Brooklyn, N.Y.

1974: Roy Barnett, who grew up in Indiana, moves to Youngstown and marries Cathy Barnett.

1975: Roy Barnett joins Philadelphia Teen Challenge as publications director.

1979: LAMB (Lay Action Ministry of Believers) Ministries residential men’s center opens on Glenwood Avenue.

1982: LAMB adopts Teen Challenge curriculum and format. Kevin Rauch enters program, then located at 130 Cleveland St., as a resident. Center offers four-month program and then sends men to other Teen Challenge centers in U.S.

1984: Rauch graduates from Rehrersburg Pennsylvania Teen Challenge, home of Wilkerson.

1986: LAMB facility closes due to lack of funding.

1987: Rauch returns to Youngstown and helps form the Greater Youngstown Teen Challenge, a crisis and referral outreach center.

1999: Cafaro Memorial Hospital (Youngstown Osteopathic Hospital) closes.

July 2007: Frank Vennes calls Rauch to set up a residential Teen Challenge center in Youngstown.

October 2007: Vennes purchases the Cafaro hospital for $73,000, according to the auditor’s website.

November 2007: Barnett, who is serving on the board for Greater Youngstown Teen Challenge, returns to Youngstown.

September 2008: Barnett and Rauch begin construction of Ohio Valley Teen Challenge at the Florencedale Avenue facility.

January 2009: Hope for Youngstown donates $111,000 to OVTC for kitchen.

March 2009: OVTC opens.

March 2010: Dave Clementi is the first to graduate from Ohio Valley Teen Challenge.

Sources: Ohio Valley Teen Challenge, staff members

By Doug Livingston

newsoutlet.org

YOUNGSTOWN

Ohio Valley Teen Challenge executive director Roy Barnett was invited to a recent fundraiser at Pleasant Valley Church in Niles.

“It was just a normal Sunday morning service,” Pleasant Valley Pastor John Weisman said, but Barnett “had no idea what was about to happen.”

As Barnett sat with the congregation, a wheelbarrow was pushed to the front of the pews, filled with money from church members and then counted. The tally was projected on a screen as the opening theme to “2001: A Space Odyssey” filled the air.

The wheelbarrow’s collections, along with funds raised in the prior two days, totaled more than $37,000. The church wrote that dollar amount on a check and handed it to Barnett, no strings attached.

“He was speechless,” Weisman said.

Barnett and the staff at OVTC “are a crazy bunch of risk takers,” Weisman said, “but we believe in what they were doing as a vital part of the community.”

The Vindicator and TheNewsOutlet.org collaborated on a seven-part series in November that showcased the fledgling rehabilitation center that opened in March 2008 just off Wick Park on Youngstown’s North Side. As a result of the series, the new year looks brighter for OVTC.

Barnett had been praying for $35,000 to expand the kitchen and catering services at the Florencedale Avenue center, which provides faith-based residential drug and alcohol treatment for men.

He now has $2,000 to spare.

“We’ve been a year ahead almost of everything,” Barnett said of the accomplishments of OVTC.

They never imagined housing 40-some men at the center within two years.

They never imagined having to tell businesses and organizations that they are too busy to take on another job. The work program is publicized by word of mouth. They’re afraid to advertise because of the overwhelming workload.

Barnett and other officials are willing to take on more work, but the center can only house 48 men to staff the work program.

“We need at least an 80-man facility right now,” Barnett said.

OVTC’s web site is an indication of the increased support it has received from the community. The site was recently down. When Roy’s wife Cathy, an administrator at OVTC, called the web site provider to ask what the problem was, she was told the volume of visitors was too high.

“I guess that’s a good thing, right?” she laughed.

More bandwidth was supplied to keep up with all the donations and online visitors.

The $37,000 donation from Pleasant Valley was used to purchase $11,000 in kitchen equipment from the Mahoning-Youngstown Community Action Partnership, which is experiencing budget cuts that have hindered its ability to help Youngstown’s needy. An additional $12,500 secured the first and last months’ rent as well as a security deposit for the 4,000-square-foot kitchen formerly run by MYCAP.

OVTC is picking up where MYCAP left off.

“Our food services doubled with the contract,” OVTC board member Bruce Paulette said.

Sitting in Barnett’s office, director of operations Bob Pavlich throws a fatigued arm into the air and exclaims, “One week. We’ve made it.”

In that first week of December, Pavlich was referring to the men at OVTC who cooked and shipped more than 1,300 meals a day from breakfasts and lunches to snacks. The meals were sent to children in the Youngstown Area Community Action Center Head Start preschools, to other children and the elderly through Heart Reach Ministries and to the troubled youth of Safehouse Ministries Inc., which is housed in the same building as OVTC.

OVTC is constructing a cafeteria for Safehouse residents at the center.

Officials are also excited to announce their plans to open a women’s residential facility in Youngstown. The center on Florencedale Avenue houses only men. The plan, originally budgeted for 2012, is being pushed up a year.

Officials are sitting down with prospective investors in January and February to seek funding to purchase certain properties in Youngstown that have recently become available. Though no exact location has been determined, they said they are proud to announce that construction of a women’s facility will begin next year.

Support groups will also be available next year.

Starting this month, families who are struggling with a loved one under the influence of drugs and alcohol can meet at the Wick Park center for a weekly support group. Another meeting will take place weekly for those personally battling with drug addiction.

Two other support groups, one in Trumbull County and another in Columbiana County, are also expected to open this year.

NewsOutlet is a joint media venture by student and professional journalists and is a collaboration of Youngstown State University, WYSU radio and The Vindicator.

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Tribeca Building to Be Housing for Recovering Addicts - Tribeca Trib

2011-01-01T23:36:00.001-08:00

Carl Glassman / Tribeca Trib

Hazelden, a large-scale addiction treatment provider, hopes to turn the building at 283 W. Broadway (center) into a post-recovery dormitory for college-age men and women who plan to reenter school.

A six-story building in north Tribeca, once envisioned for posh loft apartments, is slated to become housing for college-age men and women recovering from drug and alcohol addiction.

Hazelden, one of the world’s largest addiction treatment providers, is close to finalizing its purchase of the building at 283 West Broadway, according to the nonprofit company’s president and CEO, Mark Mishek. If the deal goes through, Mishek said the building would be a residence for young people in a “post-recovery period,” most of whom hope to return to college.

The company now runs a 10,000-square-foot facility for adult treatment and recovery in Chelsea.

“This particular program is for the college-age population that has gotten themselves sober and now needs to begin getting back into school, and they need a safe environment in which to do that,” Mishek said in a telephone interview with the Trib. “There’s a high danger of relapse for that population without it.”

A representative from Hazelden will present the plan this month to Community Board 1’s Tribeca Committee. “I’m confident we’re going to have a good dialogue,” Mishek said.

The meeting takes place Wednesday, Jan. 12, at 6 p.m. at 49-51 Chambers St., room 709.

How neighborhood residents react to Hazelden’s plan remains to be seen. Enzo Pezone, a co-owner of Pepolino Restaurant next door to the proposed center, said he has serious concerns about the center’s ability to coexist with its neighbors, but will reserve judgement until after Community Board 1 vets the proposal this month.

“I don’t really feel comfortable with these people being next to me,” Pezone said. “If I had a choice, I would say no.”

“It can be a very, very positive thing,” Bray said. “There are no facilities quite like this in New York City.”

Mishek and Bray said they are prepared to dispel concerns frequently raised when new alcohol and drug treatment centers are proposed. One misimpression, Bray said, is that recovering students are more likely to relapse in an urban environment than in a controlled, remote setting. In fact, she said, the company’s research shows the opposite.

“Our program is designed to operate in concert with the community,” Bray said. “We find it’s much more useful to educate the kids on how to live a sober lifestyle in the real world. We find the outcomes are better.”

“Any program where you surround patients in a bubble is completely doomed to failure,” Mishek added.

The 95-year-old building, nestled in a largely commercial block, had been slated for conversion into luxury condominiums by the Dynamic Group until the project fell into bankruptcy.

To open the center, Hazelden will need approval from the state’s Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services. A spokeswoman for the agency said the company had met with staff members from the New York City field office, but had not yet submitted an application for the project.

By the summer, Hazelden hopes to use the second-through-sixth floors to house up to 30 residents, at a maximum of six per floor. Bray said the ground floor and basement would be used for meeting rooms, storage and “a very small area for treatment programs.”

Representatives of Hazelden declined to comment on the purchase price of the building. The Dynamic Group could not be reached for comment.

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Drug Rehab Explains: Tips For A Drug Free New Year

2011-01-01T11:15:00.001-08:00

Narconon Arrowhead drug rehab center explains why New Years can be a dangerous time for drug addicts and may be a great time for them to enter treatment.

Oklahoma- On New Year’s Eve people all around the world will be celebrating the end of yet another year. As the ball drops, people will be making resolutions to change their life for the better.

But, for someone with a drug or alcohol addiction, it is just another reason to party and binge on drugs or alcohol and can give those already addicted more of a reason to abuse drugs.

“New Years was definitely an excuse to go spend all my money on drugs and alcohol, and get inebriated,” explains Becca, an ex-heroin addict and graduate of the Narconon drug rehab program.

“Most people would over do it on New Year’s Eve,” she adds, “I saw many people get very close to overdosing as a result.”

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, emergency department visits as a result to substance abuse greatly increase on New Years. In order to help, Narconon drug rehab center gives a few tips on how you make your New Year’s Eve a little safer.

First, make sure your party has a designated driver or some sort of transportation for those who plan to drink alcoholic beverages. Offer non alcoholic beverages to your guest. For anyone attempting to have prolonged sobriety, simply stay away from location where their sole purpose is the distribution of alcohol. If you see someone who is overly intoxicated, do not allow them to get behind the wheel of a car. Finally, if you or someone you know is struggling with a drug or alcohol addiction, do not wait until after the New Year because that could be too late.

This New Years, Narconon wants to help your resolution be a life changing one. The long-term inpatient drug rehab center has had great results with their treatment, achieving a more than 70% success rate for permanent sobriety from addiction.

Narconon offers immediate assistance for drug addiction throughout this holiday with counselors on hand to speak with those struggling with addiction as well as their family members.

“Thanks to Narconon, I am able to celebrate another New Years with sobriety,” said Becca. “My life no longer revolves around drugs and alcohol.”

For more information on Narconon program or to get drug rehab help for an addiction for yourself or a loved one this New Years contact Narconon Arrowhead today at 800-468-6933 or log on to www.stopaddiction.com.

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Salt Lake City's New Roads Treatment Centers is Launching a New Pornography ... - Benzinga

2010-12-31T19:35:00.001-08:00

New Roads Treatment Centers is expanding its addiction-recovery programs to include a pornography addiction treatment program.

Orem, Utah (Vocus/PRWEB) December 31, 2010

After their first successful year of treating drug and alcohol addiction, New Roads Treatment Centers has seen a growing need for a pornography addiction treatment program and is launching this new program with the start of the new year. The center is also opening a non-profit entity that will help raise money to pay for individuals that need treatment and cannot afford it.

An overwhelming ten percent of adults admit to having an online pornography addiction.* With Internet use becoming more readily available on cell phones, lap tops and other wireless devices, it is reasonable to assume this number will continue to rise. The center has seen a great need for a program to treat this particular addiction. They have set up a group program dedicated to utilizing therapeutic culture, science based treatment, and a licensed, caring staff to help individuals on all levels, who are struggling with pornography or substance addiction.

Just like drug and alcohol addiction, pornography addiction is an addiction that must be treated physically, emotionally, and mentally. To aid the New Roads Treatment Centers with their new program, they have recently hired three new therapists; Sage O'Brien, LSAC, MSW, CSW; Jordan Harmon, CSW; and Aubrey Riddle, LCSW. In addition, they have had new training to aid them in understanding and treating pornography addiction. The entire staff, both clinical and support staff, just completed intensive DBT training from the DBT center of Michigan. DBT is a Dialectical Behavioral Treatment therapy program. Which, in recent years, has been used to treat a broad range of symptoms, including: mood disorders (depression & bipolar), anxiety disorders, eating disorders, substance abuse, self-harm in teens, and couples and relationship conflict.

“Though these issues can be overwhelming for individuals and families I have consistently been reinforced in my belief of the resilience of the human spirit and the reality of healing. I find great satisfaction in growing as a person as I am privileged to join with others who are on their own path of growth.” -Jordan Harmon, CSW

New Roads Treatment Centers offers a group of programs dedicated to utilizing therapeutic culture, science-based treatment, and simple caring to help individuals recover from addiction and emotional pain. Their staff is empathetic, respectful, and knowledgeable. More importantly, they understand and respect the sensitive, confidential, and private nature of treating the disease of addiction. Through each step of the program New Roads' clients achieve a sense of accomplishment and a renewed positive outlook on life and freedom from addiction. Feeling trapped behind the pornography or sex addiction is something that millions of individuals suffer through every day. With work and dedication there is treatment and complete recovery from these behaviors.

*http://www.safefamilies.org/sfStats.php

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For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/prweb2010/12/prweb8040850.htm

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Talking taxation: Mass. takes stock - Boston Globe

2010-12-31T03:36:00.001-08:00

There wasn’t a drop of beer, wine, or liquor to be found at yesterday’s event to celebrate the impending repeal of the state’s short-lived tax on alcoholic beverages.

A half-dozen Massachusetts liquor and wine store owners gathered at the site of the Boston Tea Party to symbolically pour bottles of wine into Boston Harbor, in anticipation of the 6.25 percent sales tax’s midnight expiration.

In deference to the environment, though, the bottles contained only water.

In November, voters repealed the surcharge, which had been in place for just a year after being promoted by lawmakers as a way to raise money during the recession.

Officials have estimated the repeal will cost the state more than $100 million.

But many shop owners, especially those who do business near the New Hampshire border, have complained of losing more business to the Granite State, which does not have a sales tax.

“I don’t know many taxes that have been repealed in Massachusetts,’’ said Jeff Cirace, who owns V. Cirace and Son Inc., a wine shop in Boston’s North End. Standing on the Congress Street bridge, Cirace poured from a bottle that once held B.R. Cohn cabernet.

At his side Tina Messina, owner of Wine Connextion in North Andover, held up a bottle that was formerly home to Beaulieu Vineyard Reserve Tapestry.

“With a wine like this, you’ll be able to save $1.50 now,’’ Messina said as she dumped her water into Fort Point Channel.

A small group of protesters attempted to have a sobering effect on yesterday’s gathering — they carried signs that read “Alcohol is a drug’’ and “Less taxes = Less lives saved.’’ A portion of the alcohol tax funds addiction treatment programs, and some worry services will be curtailed.

“People don’t quite understand where the money goes,’’ said Samantha Terry, 24, from Winthrop, who said she is living at Meridian House, an East Boston treatment center, as she fights an addiction to prescription pills.

“I spiraled out of control and needed help,’’ Terry said. “This program has given me a better understanding of this disease and helped me get my priorities straight.’’

John McGahan, president of the Gavin Foundation, which helps alcohol and drug addicts recover, organized the protest. He said the future of the state’s 500 in-patient slots for alcoholism treatment is now “a big unknown.’’

“Everything is subject to cuts, but these are people we are talking about, not widgets,’’ McGahan said.

Frank Anzalotti, executive director of the Massachusetts Package Stores Association, noted that public health programs were funded long before the alcohol tax was enacted.

“This was not a necessary tax,’’ he said.

Rick Gordon, a third-generation spirits seller and owner of Gordon’s Fine Wine and Liquors in Waltham, said it is difficult to quantify how much alcoholic-beverage business was lost because of the sales tax.

To avoid paying more, Gordon said, some of his customers got creative. “People would gather together in the neighborhood and make runs up north.’’

Now, however, Massachusetts shop owners say they are expecting 2011 to be more prosperous, especially for those who sell expensive wines.

“A lot of customers have been deferring purchases until the tax came off,’’ said Leonard Rothenberg, president of Federal Wine and Spirits in Boston. “January will be strong.’’

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Hearst-Shaw won't play Lohan in film - UPI.com

2010-12-30T16:03:00.001-08:00

Published: Dec. 30, 2010 at 2:44 PM

NEW YORK, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- U.S. socialite and model Lydia Hearst-Shaw says she has no plans to play troubled starlet Lindsay Lohan in a film.

Lohan, star of "Mean Girls" and "The Parent Trap," is undergoing court-ordered treatment for alcohol and drug addiction at a California rehabilitation facility following probation violations for a 2007 driving under the influence conviction.

Screenwriter Charles Casillo recently told the New York Post Hearst-Shaw would play a Lohan-like "bratty movie goddess in and out of rehab."

However, Hearst-Shaw is denying she's attached to star in the film called "Dogs in Pocketbooks."

"Just so we are all clear, my hair is red because I am the new face of Schwarzkopf color," UsMagazine.com reported Thursday Hearst-Shaw said via Twitter. "I am a model. I dyed my hair to front the campaign. ...

"As for any theatrical roles I am currently filming Two Jacks directed by Bernard Rose. My next project is Catwalk by Tony Hickox," Hearst-Shaw added. "Thank you all for your messages of encouragement during my transition into acting. I truly love and appreciate it. At this time I am not officially signed onto any other projects. Thank you."

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