AHS Views

While no specific numbers have been reported, I would imagine there are several hundred thousand drug addicts out there who are parents. And parents, just like anyone else struggling with substance abuse, often end up needing some type of drug addiction help treatment to handle their addiction.

Unfortunately, when that times comes, many parents will chose to not get the addiction help they need because they know that once they are in a program it will be left up to their families or the state to decide who will take care of their children. Losing or being away from their children can be too much for any parent to bear, even when a parent knows that if they don’t get addiction help they could lose their children permanently.

But what if drug addiction treatment centers provided child care or allowed children of addicts to stay with their addicted parent while they were undergoing substance abuse treatment?

This is actually the plan at a drug addiction treatment center in Oregon. Facilities are being built to accommodate six mothers and their children.

The center is one of the first to offer this option and it may open the door for more addicts to get the addiction help services they need while also enabling mothers to learn to be responsible for their children again in a controlled, drug-free environment.

Getting someone who needs help with alcohol or drug addiction can be difficult. In fact, 95% of alcohol and drug treatment candidates think they don’t have a problem. But, they do. They have a problem with alcohol or drugs, and they have the problems that got them into alcohol or drugs in the first place. And the only way to resolve those problems is through a successful alcohol and drug rehab program.

But how do you convince them of that fact? Sometimes the addict is afraid the person will think less of them if they discuss it, sometimes they think the person couldn’t possibly understand what they’re going through, and sometimes the relationship between the addict and the person trying to convince them to get help is not that great.

That’s when you need outside help – someone who understands what the addict is going through, has worked with hundreds or thousands of alcoholics or drug addicts in the past, and can convince them to get into alcohol or drug rehab.

If you need help getting someone into treatment, call a drug rehab program counselor. They’ll help you determine if an interventionist is needed, and will also help you find the right treatment program.

Many people go in and out of drug rehab over and over again. They go through rehab, relapse, rehab, relapse, and on and on. Why? There are thousands of rehab centers available, they have different philosophies and treatment methods and the results, obviously, can vary. How are you supposed to know beforehand whether a drug rehab program will suit your situation and actually work?

For the layman, it’s hard to know. But a drug rehab specialist who has helped thousands of addicts and is familiar with the various types of rehab can assess the situation and determine which type of program would be best.

No matter which program is used, success is determined by the rehab program’s ability to get down to the bottom of the problem that caused the person to become addicted in the first place. It also has to give the person the tools they need to stay drug free once they leave.

Each person’s needs are different. If you want to stop the revolving door of rehab, get a drug rehab counselor to help you find the program that’s right for you.

I saw an article today entitled Rehab Centers Take Issue with Media’s Portrayal of Revolving Door Celebrities. While it’s true that relapse gets more attention that success, the fact is that many rehab facilities are a revolving door – which is why “relapse is part of recovery” is believed by so many. But, it doesn’t have to be like that. There is such a thing as a successful drug rehab program and, if you’re looking for a rehab that works, a drug rehab program counselor can help you find one.

Why do people relapse? Because all of the components needed to make rehab successful are not part of every drug rehab program. For example, many rehab programs last 30 days or less. Drug addicts have often been using drugs for years and, chances are, the reasons they began using drugs probably started years before that. How can you sort all that out in 28 days? It’s just not enough – especially when they first have to go through withdrawal.

If you’re looking for a good drug rehab program, choose one that will keep the person until they are really rehabilitated. They have to have a real desire to be off drugs. In fact, the desire to not take drugs has to be stronger than the desire that drove their addiction. When you consider that addicts will do just about anything to get their next hit, that’s saying a lot.

Nevertheless, once the person is back out in the world, that’s exactly what it will take to prevent relapse. And the chances of a person getting to that point in 21 days are pretty slim.

If you’re looking for a rehab program that really works, don’t settle for something second best. It may seem easier, faster or even less costly, but none of that will do you any good if there’s a relapse. Not only does the risk continue, you’ll have to pay for rehab over and over again. Contact a drug rehab program counselor who can help you find something that really works.

Should addicts who commit crimes as a result of drug addiction get their prison sentence reduced if they successfully complete a drug rehab program?

I read an article today about a man who robbed 11 restaurants, a liquor store and a convenience store to get money for drugs. While awaiting sentencing, he got into a drug rehab program and, so far, appears to have handled his addiction. As a result, the judge reduced his seven-year sentence to five.

The judge noted that this is the first time in the man’s adult life that he’s been clean and that “his efforts should be encouraged as being the best means of protecting the public.”

The success of drug courts in the U.S. has proven his point. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration quotes about 80% of addicts commit crimes directly related to their drug addiction. If the criminal gets help with his addiction through a successful drug rehab program, he’s likely to stay out of prison permanently.

The most difficult news articles to read are the ones about addicts losing their lives because of drug addiction. When you have seen that drug rehab can be successful, someone dying from a addiction-related circumstance is unreal – it is so preventable.

I came across an article about this today - a man who had been addicted to cocaine for 10 years died when he made an aggressive move towards police and was shot.

According to the article the man was not violent but had a criminal record; mostly crimes that were drug related. At one time he was successful in life - a good job, a family and a nice home. But his addiction to crack cocaine destroyed all of it, and now it’s destroyed him.

Anyone that has worked in or gone through a successful drug treatment program could tell you that a successful drug rehab program would have helped.

The New Jersey Star Ledger just reported that an employee of a drug treatment center was arrested for sexual assault. He’s worked at the center for the last five years but was picked up after investigations revealed he had demanded sex from two clients in exchange for swapping their dirty urine samples for clean ones so they could pass their drug tests. Not exactly the ideal employee for a drug rehab program.

Currently the man is not allowed to counsel women doing court-mandated drug rehab but, believe it or not, he’s still working there!
 
That kind of behavior is bad enough under any circumstances but having worked in the drug rehab field for a while now I can guarantee you that the chances of those girls completing the program successfully are very slim. Several years ago a client told me she got involved in a relationship with her drug counselor at another rehab center – both she and the counselor wound up on drugs. Thankfully, the client ended the relationship and got into a successful drug rehab program.

But others aren’t so lucky. When a drug rehab program employee steps over the line and behaves inappropriately towards a client, they should be out of there. Forever. And never allowed to work in another drug rehab program.

Another heated debate about whether or not drugs should be legalized: this one between a retired police captain and a district attorney. The police captain says drug laws are causing crime and violence that we wouldn’t have if we made drugs legal. Sounds to me like he’s just given up. Can’t blame him really – with about 10 million people in America needing drug rehab to straighten out, it must seem pretty hopeless.

However, I don’t think legalization would handle the problem. While it’s true that the crimes of possession and trafficking wouldn’t exist, we’d still have a country overrun with people trying to get drugs. Drug habits are expensive – how will addicts support their habits? Not by holding down a 9 to 5 job.

And what happens when we want to curb the crime and violence connected to just getting the drugs, legal or not? Will we then raise our health insurance rates even higher so addicts can go to the doctor and get a prescription for heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine, or marijuana?

And what happens to drug cartels and local dealers who want to control the turf and make more money? That’s not going to go away with legalization. The only difference is that the police won’t have to do anything about it because they won’t be doing anything illegal. Until they kill each other, or an innocent bystander, because someone stepped on someone else’s toes.

And what about the violence created by the drugs themselves. Do parents on drugs abuse their kids because drugs are illegal? No, it’s because that’s the effect drugs have on them.

Making drugs legal is suicide. God knows drugs have already caused enough damage – continue the crack-down, and continue getting more people into a drug rehab program.

Formerly contracted performers of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) have apparently received letters from WWE offering alcohol and drug rehab completely financed by WWE.

The letter says that too many WWE performers have died from drugs and alcohol, and the organization wants to prevent further tragedy.

WWE is also offering to provide intervention for those who have a problem, but think they don’t. Families and friends of formerly contracted performers need only contact WWE to take advantage of this offer. It doesn’t matter how long the performer was contracted, or what the circumstances were when the contracted ended.

I’m impressed. The interventionists and treatment centers are chosen by WWE. I’m sure they’ll avoid the overly-expensive luxury centers that are churning out celebs who go out one door and in the other. Let’s hope they choose a successful drug rehab program that will help our sports figures turn their lives around.

A new recommendation from the Australian Parliament regarding how to handle drug addicts is causing considerable controversy: According to a recent article, they want to pull funding from harm minimization programs and put the funds into drug rehab programs that offer drug free approaches.

The committee also announced that young people addicted to drugs should be mandated into drug treatment programs, and that children of addicts should be adopted.

The CEO of an Australian drug rehab center strongly disagrees with the recommendation. He said it will alienate users, and that it ignores families.

Honestly, as a professional in the addiction field and a former addict I think part of this program could work. It will, at the very least, get young people the help they need at an early age so they won’t struggle with substance abuse for years. They also won’t be such a drain on the economy.

The other issues may be controversial, but getting someone through a successful drug rehab program that actually gets them off drugs instead of getting them on a substitute drug is definitely a step in the right direction.