Inside Addiction Treatment
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2013-02-11/inside-addiction-treatment
More than 20 million teenagers and adults are addicted to alcohol or drugs in this country. Some go to residential treatment programs, while others turn to outpatient programs in their communities. But the vast majority of people who need help don’t get any at all. In a new book, health and medical writer Anne Fletcher describes what goes on inside many different kinds of rehab programs. She joins us to talk about the challenge of finding effective addiction treatment. We’ll also hear from the head of a residential care facility and a director of an outpatient addiction treatment center. Please join us to discuss the challenges of getting help for drug and alcohol addiction.
Guests
Beth Kane-Davidson
director of the Addiction Treatment Center at Suburban Hospital.
Anne Fletcher
author of "Inside Rehab: The Surprising Truth About Addiction Treatment - And How to Get Help That Works."
Dr. Marvin Seppala
chief medical officer at Hazelden Foundation.
Comments
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Please ask about the pharacuticals available to reduce alcohol cravings. I have been in negotiations with my doctor to be prescribed one of these drugs, please comment on doctors attitudes to these drugs, everything I read says these works very well for many folks, but I have gotton a lot of push back. In fact when I asked about these a few years ago my doctor suggested I drink more soda instead of alcohol, needless to say this was not a helpful suggestion.
What about the Sinclair Method, which purports to have lots of scientific evidence supporting the use of Naltrexone to "control" drinking?
Come on Doc you know people can not access Hazelton unless you have great insurance or are rich. The only people I know who have been able to access Hazelton have been rich...really rich or have great insurance. Sad and telling that these are the only people who have this disease can access most treatment centers including Hazelton
Please have your panelist talk about the exorbitant fees with regards to getting help in the right treatment centers. The rates for treatment keep many families in need from getting the help they need.
Thank you.
Give folks some examples of in patient treatment for this disease that people can get when they do not have great insurance or are rich?
I know a person who was a very serious addict and had had great insurance and was wealthy and went in and out of treatment programs. At one point they said to me "do you think people know" I responded "who gives a rats ass, you have a disease, nothing to be embarrassed about" Please discuss the social stigma that still clings to this misunderstood disease.
The other thing that was so sad about this case is after one of their treatment programs this persons once a week women's card group would not stop drinking at the event to support this person in their recovery
How much does the Hazelden treatment center cost per week? How many people can access Hazelden without great insurance or being rich? Come on Doc you know that place is filled with people with lots of money
With regards to an aging population are there in-patient and out-patient programs that geer services toward the special needs of the addicted older adult? There are many programs geered toward teenagers or adults but what about addicted seniors who are also dealing with the physical and emotional complications of aging?
I would like to say that this is a great topic and it is. It is VERY frustrating to hear "experts" with "degrees" speak to addiction and it's treatments. Unless they have actual experience either AS the addict or AS the family member of an addict and recognise it, I don't take much of what they say seriously.
Case in point: Rehabs. A rehab stay is NOT JUST for the addict. it is as much for the family to have a break. Please speak to the fact that alcoholism is a FAMILY DISEASE and the FACT that most families have been fighting (unsucessfully) the disease and are just as sick (most times sicker) than the addict.
The first chance a partner, child, parent has to relax is when they know their loved one is in a residential treatment facility. Those 28 days are important for the family so they can start healing and begin a program of recovery themselves so that when the addict is released, the pattern, the "dance" will have changed.
I'm an alcoholic, sober since 12/11/1986, AA only, no rehab. The two toughest years to stay sober are the first year and whatever year you're on now. Stay sober by going to meetings, getting a sponsor, working the steps and spending time with sober people.
As part of a court watch that I do, where I attend and report on criminal cases involving crimes committed in or near my neighborhood, I attended a scheduled violation of probation hearing this morning for a defendant who had almost killed two people, then had managed to drive about 3 blocks before he had been arrested. He had plead guilty to leaving the scene and to causing life threatening injuries by driving while impaired, and he had been given a 3 year suspended sentence.
The defendant had twice failed an interlock alcohol test, and that was his alleged violation of probation. In addition, he has three pending cases of driving during the month his license was suspended. The case was postponed because of the pending cases, but the defendant was taken into custody.
While I am certainly glad that a dangerous driver will be off the roads for a while, I wonder whether this defendant eventually will simply be on the road again and driving under the influence or whether something can be done for him to end his cycle of addiction and drunk driving.
To improve the efficacy of addiction treatment it will be vital to destigmatize such treatment. We must decriminalize addiction and stop prosecuting people for only having symptoms of a disease.
The criminal justice system (CJS) is the largest provider of addiction treatment in our country, yet only a tiny fraction of their "patients" receive any treatment. We should be using the CJS to educate all inmates about addiction disease and the provide the skills necessary to live sober. These skills, including cognitive therapy, could be provided by using the many video educational programs available on these topics. I realize this is really a topic for a different show, but I believe it is intricately related to the limitations of current addiction treatment.
Please contact me at mappes@sbcglobal.net to further explore these possibilities.
My WWII father started drinking in the Navy. He drank enough whiskey to kill a blue whale. 35 years after getting out of the Navy he was convinced to go to a treatment center and then went to AA for 33 years. I always thank him for taking control of his own life and disease with AA's extraordinary help. Over the last five years while he has been in a nursing home I have met many of the other members of his AA clubs that he has been able to help. Please talk about the amazing comraderie in AA. I am in amazement of the support folks with this disease give one another. AA is a remarkable organization. And you do not have to be rich to access
Thanks for the topic. Only a recovering alcoholic can help another alcoholic. I am 7 years sober, thank God. For me it is a spiritual disease. No doctor or drug could have ever helped me. AA saved my life.
Ther must be treatment on demand for any addict seeking help. The war on drugs was lost before it ever started and the war on addiction has never here. Addresses for those who cannot afford it. Until the media stops talking about celebrity overdoses and call it what it is - drug and alcohol addiction, nothing will change. The worst rehab or treatment is better than no treatment.
Ther must be treatment on demand for any addict seeking help. The war on drugs was lost before it ever started and the war on addiction has never here. Addresses for those who cannot afford it. Until the media stops talking about celebrity overdoses and call it what it is - drug and alcohol addiction, nothing will change. The worst rehab or treatment is better than no treatment.
Thank you for discussing Rethinking Drinking and encouraging people to take a serious look at their behavior with regards to alcohol. I have a friend who was a "closet alcoholic". His drinking did not affect his ability hold a job, have a relationship and live a fairly normal life. Until one night he chose to drive while drunk and was involved in an accident in which a woman was killed. He spent 7 years in prison where he underwent treatment for his alcoholism in the form of AA. He's now out and sober and dry and rebuilding his life, but it was a terrible way to be forced into admission of his problem and treatment.
Jennifer in Houston
I am so glad you are doing this show. I have struggled with my drinking for most of my adult life. I never clicked with AA, tho I tried for years. Now with the advent of the internet I use SMART recovery online for support.
So many people are turned off by the AA model. The religiosity of the program is the main stumbling block to many.
Look into the history of AA, it's not very nice.
With so many states loosening criminal penalties for marijuana - is there a difference between alcohol use and marijuana use? Does marijuana use lead to addiction and is the treatment different?
My teenage daughter is in residential treatment at Center for Success and Independence since Christmas Eve. This is a Houston, Texas treatment program for adolescents with substance addiction problems and/or mental health issues. I heard one of your speakers talk about the importance of programs which offer alternative approaches including those that provide insight into behaviors and tools for handling emotions and so forth. My daughter is
receiving something called Dialectical Behavior Therapy as well as 12 Steps. This is all wonderful, but I worry about what will happen after she graduates from the program. Falling back in with the "wrong crowd" is such a worry. What I have discovered as resources are a network of alternative peer groups for teens as well as two so-called sober high schools. So in addition to outpatient followup therapy, I will be sure my daughter is involved in an alternative peer group and will attend the sober high school. Can your guests address the importance and availability of these outpatient resources?
Thank you for your show.
Fixing body chemistry issues is a critical piece of the puzzle. The Health Recovery Center in Minneapolis is doing great work in this area (outpatient treatment). I have no affiliation with this program, just personal experience. A book addressing this is 7 Weeks to Sobriety by Joan Matthews.
I am a long-time AA who is immersed in the fellowship, meaning that I go to meetings, sponsor others, and have a sponsor - and engage in the 12 steps. It works for me. However, I also have many other strategies and support outside of AA. What concerns me is the folklore within AA that discourages or is suspicious of other medical and psychiatric treatment. I see this "AA is the only answer" point of view as a manifestation of the very addiction that AA aims to address. What are your thoughts on this issue, and do you have any suggestions?
AA is not religious based - it IS spiritually based.
I heard one of your listeners say that Alcoholics Anonymous is a religious program. That is absolutely not the truth, though a common misconception. AA asks that one find a power greater than themselves but has no specifications on what that needs to be. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. Thank you.
Your guest makes it sound as though it easy to find and get into treatment. I had a very severe bout of depression a few years ago and I found it almost impossible to get into treatment in 2 states, including private psychiatrists.
Marijuana is NOT addictive. In fact, a lot of people use marijuana to help them detox and stay off of the booze.
Your program is spending more time on alcohol addiction. What about the epidemic of opiate addiction? Heroin addiction?
I disagree with the author, she has made it too simplistic. Getting out of the environment may be the only way to have an opportunity for sobriety.
Very disappointing show on this important subject.
My brother is a binge drinker. He can go for years without drinking but if he starts drinking he will binge for days/weeks.
Its difficult to understand the binge drinker in terms of addiction. Can your guests discuss this?
Alcoholism is a family disease and I would like to encourage your guests to encourage family members to attend an Al-Anon meeting to help THEM cope with the disease. It doesn't matter if the alcoholic thinks they have a problem or not-if they're drinking bothers you YOU have a problem that needs to be addressed.
NOT TRUE
AA pushes Christianity. You are also supposed to view the Big Book as your bible.
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