Ending Heroin Addiction Depends on Drug Addiction Treatment Center Funding

Posted by admin in treatment of drug addicts on January 20, 2012

By Gloria B. MacTaggart

If heroin addicts don’t have access to a long-term residential drug addiction treatment center they sometimes turn to solutions that simply reduce the potential harm caused by the addiction. Safe injections sites are a prime example. Insite, the first safe injection site in North America, is now under attack by Canada’s Minister of Health, who thinks these sites condone heroin addiction. But at the same time, he’s withholding funding for a drug addiction treatment center that could really handle the problem. Where is an addict to turn?

A safe injection site is just what it sounds like – heroin addicts go to the location to shoot up. They bring their own drugs, and inject them at the site. So, how is that a step in the right direction? The addicts use clean needles and thereby lower their risk of HIV, AIDS and hepatitis (and the possibility of those being spread to others), used needles don’t wind up littering the streets where they can, and will be, used by someone else, and since the addicts are shooting up in the presence of staff who watch over them, the number of overdose deaths is reduced.

True, that doesn’t handle heroin addiction; for that you need a long-term residential drug rehab center. But it does reduce the harm to both the addict and others, it exposes heroin addicts to people who they might never be in contact with otherwise who will try to guide them into the treatment that will end their addiction, and it reduces health care and other costs for the city.

Insite, located in Vancouver, Canada, has come under attack more than once and is currently under the fire of Tony Clement, Canada’s Minister of Health. Clement argues that Insite does nothing to handle the heroin addiction problem and, in fact, encourages it.

While there’s no doubt that getting people into a drug addiction treatment center is the only way to handle heroin addiction, anyone who thinks a safe injection site is going to turn people into heroin addicts or even encourage them to continue doesn’t understand the heroin addiction problems these sites are trying to resolve.

First of all, absolutely no one is going to get addicted to heroin because there’s some safe place they can shoot up. Second, the people these sites deals with aren’t people who have decided to end their heroin addiction, they’re people who either are not up to that at all or who have tried but been unsuccessful – which is the case with 95% of heroin addicts who make the attempt. And there are plenty of them.

Clement says he wants something that will really handle heroin addiction. Nevertheless, he’s trying to cut heroin addicts off the from the only contact they have in their lives that might make that possible and, worse, he’s dragging his feet on funding the type of addiction treatment that can really handle the problem.

No Comments

Diagnosis and Treatment Program For Older Adults by Drug Addiction Treatment Center

Posted by admin in treatment of drug addicts on January 20, 2012

By Matt Brindisi

Different age groups have different issues which stress them out or pose a problem for them when they try to recover from addiction. Recently, researchers are addressing the treatment of addiction with a focus on the individualistic and the personal frame of mind. As such, management, diagnosis and treatment of addiction for older adults at the drug addiction treatment center is developed keeping in mind the requirement of people who fall on senior levels in the age category. There are special demands on their treatment systems.

Age-specific diagnostic and treatment criteria need validation. They are tailored keeping in mind the specific emotional, physical and psychological needs. The organization for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) specifically recommends that this new criteria of addiction treatment should be brought to focus in every facility. Their publication which is titled “Substance Abuse and Mental Health among Older Americans: The State of the Knowledge and Future Directions,” directs people to implement and design program which would address and manage addictions by assisting older people as well.

Reasons: The foremost reasons of addressing age specific treatment programs in the drug addiction treatment center are that older people metabolize substances differently than people of younger age. They also experience much higher amount of intoxication when they are consuming substances of a smaller quantity. It is also very difficult for any normal subject to diagnose the addiction related symptoms. Memory loss and various ailments of different diseases in an older age subject are very similar to different age related conditions.

Diagnosis: Blood test is not an important tool of diagnosis for addiction. It can only be used to know whether the subject has taken drug in the recent past. Diagnosis requires evaluation from a proficient individual of the psychiatrist and the specialized addiction counseling field.

People with addiction to drugs:

• Develop tolerance
• They show withdrawal symptoms
• They are unable to quit and as such take larger amounts of the substance for longer periods of time.
• They cannot quit
• They cut back on various responsibilities of their life (professional and personal)

Treatment: The treatment procedure at the drug addiction treatment center for older adults is very different in the initial period. They require more initial intensive care and medicinal help than a younger person. Similarly, withdrawal symptoms are more severe and dangerous for older addicts as well. For these reasons, a treatment facility requires to be equipped to face a far more dangerous challenge than they would at a normal scenario. Side by side, the stresses and the behavioral challenges after the initial detoxification are far more crucial and strenuous in the older patients.

Many drug treatment centers now offer specialized treatments which include:

1. Age specific therapy aimed at improving self-esteem
2. A careful consideration to meet the challenges of different mental ailments.
3. Providing support which would address their requirement and drive them.
4. A treatment process which is appropriate for older age.
5. Medicines which are specifically designed by keeping in mind the older adults

No Comments

Common Therapies Used for Drug Rehab

Posted by admin in Therapy Drug Abuse on January 19, 2012

By Rusell Tweldon

Clinical rehabilitation is the only way for drug addicts to make lasting recoveries. Whereas laypeople and even medical professionals once treated addiction as a simple lack of willpower, rehab specialists have come to realize that it is a disease which requires holistic treatment.

However, most people still do not understand the various therapies offered at rehabilitation clinics. It is crucial that communities gain better understandings of common rehab therapies so that they may serve the needs of those who are unable to help themselves. Here are some of the most common therapies used for drug rehab.

Individual Counseling

The most widely used therapies are known as evidence-based therapies. These have been rigorously tested under controlled conditions and approved for nationwide use by government and private agencies alike. Of these treatments, one-on-one counseling sessions between addicts and their clinicians have shown to be the most beneficial.

During counseling, addicts talk about their life circumstances and addictive behaviors in order to uncover the root causes of their substance abuse problems. They discover why they began to use drugs in the first place, as well as the main reasons that they developed full-blown addictions.

These personal discoveries can be mentally and emotionally painfully, but they are crucial for lasting sobriety. Using what they learn during counseling, addicts are able to develop personalized strategies for avoiding their addiction triggers and coping with inevitable future cravings.

Group Discussions

In some group discussions, addicts from various types of treatment programs come together to share their struggles and give each other advice on how to deal with future cravings. Participation in these discussions is not required, but many rehab patients find this kind of therapy to be invaluable for their long-term recoveries.

Other group therapies involve addicts’ family members. Clinic staff facilitate discussion in which relatives talk about the ways in which they’ve all been hurt by addictive behaviors. Families also discuss strategies for fostering positive family dynamics and safe, drug-free homes.

Reality Therapy

Reality therapy is a subtle but crucial part of inpatient drug rehab. Clinicians who use these methods have their patients cook, clean, shop, and even schedule appointments for their own therapies. By completing daily tasks at the same time they receive treatment, addicts can more easily connect what they learn in clinical environments to real-life situations. Overall, reality therapy allows for smooth transitions between rehab and normal life.

Reality therapy also teaches addicts the difference between situations they can and cannot control. Control issues often lie at the hearts of patients’ addictions, and understanding when and where they can make a difference in their circumstances is crucial for lasting sobriety. Patients who can accurately analyze different life situations can make proper choices about the avoidance techniques or coping strategies they should employ.

Biofeedback Therapy

Biofeedback treatment helps patients make connections between physical stressors and drug cravings. People who abuse physically damaging drugs – especially opiates and methamphetamines – often become out of touch with their bodies. Rehab clinicians use specialized machines to monitor patients’ vital signs and help them recognize the physical signs of impending drug cravings. Addicts who learn about these warning signs can then take steps to avoid such cravings altogether.

If you or someone you know is addicted to drugs, you need to act fast. Addiction is treatable, but it can quickly destroy people’s families, jobs, and friendships. Click the links at the bottom of your screen to locate treatment facilities in your area, and get started with a proven plan for rehabilitation.

No Comments