Drug and Alcohol Rehab Blog

Questioning Drug Rehab Authority

There is a very destructive element in the drug and alcohol rehab field now that has been considered the authority on addiction and treatment.  This self-appointed authority passes off theory as fact and is driven by pharmaceuticals and recurring insurance and medicaid funding.  It is based on continual treatment (i.e. more money) and no results.  This so-called authority is the traditional mental health field, and it has fooled millions of Americans into thinking that addiction is a disease, that it is okay to give more drugs to addicts, and that relapse is an acceptable result after treatment.  None of these are true and they are not okay.  Contact us to find out the truth behind these lies and how to find effective drug rehab help.

Drug Rehab and Pharmacology

As a counselor, I am continually pushed in the direction of researching the latest medications that are given to addicts undergoing treatment.  Frankly, it disgusts me.  In every trade magazine I get about the treatment industry, mixed in with the ads for the highest-priced drug rehabs are the ads and articles about the newest prescription drugs and multiple diagnoses.  If a direct question is asked of a person, then common sense prevails more than half of the time.  The question in this case is, does it make sense to you to give more drugs to an addict?  Most people say “no!” and then go on to tell me how wrong they thought it was that their son or sister or whomever was given multiple prescriptions and continues to relapse.  So why to people keep taking them then?

Drug Rehab Trouble in Malibu?

The Los Angeles Times this morning reported about a series of problems and questionable practices involving numerous high-priced drug rehab centers in the Malibu, CA area.  With prices as high as $75,000 per month and celebrity clientele, no wonder they make headlines.  But should they be under attack, or are they simply filling a niche and providing services that some people are looking for?

In my opinion, anyone expecting to stay at a resort for a month and get some counseling or go through initial detox or have some pills prescribed to them can’t possibly be serious about wanting to end their addiction.  It is more of a therapeutic retreat than a rehabilitation center.

 If anything should be attacked, it shouldn’t be their methods, style or prices, it should only be if they pretend to get any substantial results.

The True Meaning of Recovery Month

Each year some of our tax dollars go toward getting an assessment of the drug and alcohol problems in the United States.  This National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) is overseen by the Department of Health and Human Services, and the release of its findings has fallen in September of each year.  September also marks National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month, which is now in its 18^th annual observance.

This year’s theme, “Join the Voices for Recovery: Saving Lives, Saving Dollars,” aims to raise awareness about the financial and human costs of substance abuse and highlights the benefits that investing in treatment can have on those who enter recovery, their families and the larger community.

The drug rehab and alcohol addiction treatment field is comprised of thousands of outpatient and residential programs across the country.  There is a chunk of public funds that is spent on substance abuse treatment and prevention, but not enough.  Even more importantly though, is that the dollars that are spent often go to ineffective treatment methods.

Most treatment programs in the country are centered on the 12 steps, which came from Alcoholics Anonymous.  The problem is that the original text didn’t talk about being “in recovery” for the rest of your life.  In fact, author Bill W. said he had recovered from alcoholism.  Some may say this is merely semantics, but let’s look at the literal and implied meanings of those words.

According to Webster’s online dictionary, “recover” means to bring back to a normal position or condition; and “recovery” means the process of combating a disorder or a real or perceived problem.

The difference is in the process or tense of it.  Someone “in recovery” is given the idea that they must continue to fight because they’re not yet there.  Someone who is considered “recovered” has won – they’ve moved on with life and drugs or alcohol are no longer a problem.

Our tax dollars should be given to programs that focus on the product instead of the process.  The product is a person no longer affected by drug or alcohol use and who has recovered from their addiction.  By spending money on programs that expect relapse and write addiction off as an improvable “disease” that one is always in recovery from, then we’re only throwing dollars at the process with no end result in sight.

This inverted theory has gotten so out of hand that the misinformed few have tried to change the name of one of our governmental agencies, from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to the National Institute on Diseases of Addiction, in an effort to further distort the process on the road to eventually making it all but impossible to recover.

Effective rehabilitation programs are ones that focus on getting people fully recovered.  The rest are just temporary treatment centers, whether they’re based on the 12 steps or not.  Any program that can demonstrate the ability to get people off of drugs and make them productive members of society again at a high ratio should be given a lot of credit, because they embody the true meaning of Recovery Month. 

National Survey Results Released for Drug Addiction Recovery Month

Each year our government conducts the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) to get a snapshot of the substance abuse issues we currently face and as a measurement tool to see trends in drug and alcohol use amont Americans aged 12 and older.

Not surprisingly, it found that prescription drug use continues to rise among young and old alike.  We get many calls and e-mails each week about people addicted to prescription drugs and searching for an effective drug rehab.  In most cases, it is a combination of drugs, with narcotic painkillers being at the top of the list.

Apparently there are a lot of doctors out there who just don’t understand how addictive and damaging these drugs really are.  If they did know, they would be much more hesitant in prescribing them.  We are always advocating drug-free ways to approach problems in life, physical or otherwise, if at all possible.  While taking a prescription might curb the symptoms temporarily, a drug-free solution will almost always be much better off down the road.

Effective Detox Missing from Most Drug Rehabs

Ask just about anyone in the country, whether they work in the drug and alcohol rehab treatment field or not, what they consider to be detox and the explanation you will get will be nothing more than withdrawal.  Sure, it might be in a social or medical setting or have various ingredients, but it is still only withdrawal, because science has proven that toxic residues store in the tissue of a person’s body and are still present long after they stop using drugs.

The only known method to remove these residues safely and effectively in a relatively short period of time is through a biophysical detox program, which can still last many weeks as part of a longer-term inpatient rehabilitation facility.  Sure, your body will do this on its own naturally, but it can take up to 5-7 years for cellular regeneration (like re-growing a new head of hair). 

This means that none of the other 13,000+ rehab programs out there can effectively help someone become thoroughly detoxified, and that at the end of their course of treatment there, addicted individuals are still under the residual effects of drugs - including cravings to go use again.

So why risk it?  Why not give yourself or your loved one the best possible opportunity to recover by getting their bodies completely detoxified?

The Anti-Rehab Demigoddess Caves In?

Despite a catchy tune of young rebellion, it appears the singer Amy Winehouse may be getting what she has been so proudly resisting for a while - a drug and alcohol rehab program.  Reports continue to surface of her stint in a hospital for “exhaustion”, or whatever the PR term was. 

Frankly, it’s a bit disgusting to me for someone to openly flaunt their self-destructive drug use, resist getting help, and tout that message to mistakenly impressionable young drug users all over the world as being something to be proud of.  Hopefully her tune will change if and when she finally does go to rehab.

Drug-Free Rehabilitation

Thousands of people contact us each year for help finding drug and alcohol rehab programs for themselves or loved ones.  A recurring theme is that many people who have been in treatment recently have been given some type of drug as a prescription during their stay there as well as to take after discharge.  The problem is these people keep relapsing.  Unfortunately, people take their doctor’s word for it when they’re prescribed a drug, but common sense tells us that taking a new drug won’t solve the problem.  After speaking people about this and suggesting a healthier alternative, most people generally agree that drug-free rehabilitation is the way to go to get long-lasting results.

From Oxycontin to Methadone

The recent conviction of the company and several executives who make and promoted the prescription painkiller Oxycontin led to a $634 million fine.  Sure, that’s good, but the drug is still being prescribed and people are still getting addicted to it.  The AP article last week announcing this read: “From 1996 to 2001, the number of oxycodone-related deaths nationwide increased fivefold while the annual number of OxyContin prescriptions increased nearly 20-fold, according to a report by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. In 2002, the DEA said the drug caused 146 deaths and contributed to another 318.” 

My question is this, if people are outraged over Oxycontin and it’s addictive and deadly qualities, what about methadone.  It is actually given to addicts, telling them it will help them get off of heroin as a form of drug addiction treatment, yet the drug is implicated in ten times the number of deaths as Oxycontin.  What is going to happen to people who make and sell methadone (or even those who condone its use)?  It should be something very heavy, and a fine just won’t cut it.

Guess who’s footing the bill for drug rehab after all?

If you thought drug and alcohol addiction didn’t affect you.  Think again.  There is a huge volume of data relating substance abuse and associated costs to the average american taxpayer.  In fact, an exerpt from a recent Join Together online newsletter regarding this matter reads:

“Two decades ago, the cost of providing addiction treatment was split about evenly between private and public payers, but today taxpayers foot the bill for more than three-quarters of all treatment, according to a new report.A study funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) found that 77.4 percent of treatment in 2003 was paid for by Medicaid, Medicare, and other federal, state and local sources, up from 50.4 percent in 1986. Meanwhile, the private sector’s share of the treatment cost burden slipped from 49.6 percent in 1986 to 22.6 percent in 2003.

Private insurers, who paid 29.6 percent of treatment costs in 1986, were only paying 10.1 percent by 2003. Total dollars paid by private insurers for addiction treatment fell from $2.8 billion to $2.1 billion during the same time period.

Fewer patients were paying for treatment out of their own pocket, as well: in 1986, 13.8 percent of treatment was self-paid, but that fell to 8 percent in 2003.”

While insurance companies are generally regarded as slimy, money-hungry, profit-pushing penny-pinchers, they don’t carry all the blame.  A huge problem lies in our social health care system, in that drug rehab programs don’t have to prove that they work in order to receive our tax dollars to treat people who cannot or will not pay (with or without the help of family members).

Here’s something that may be news to some people - treatment costs money! It has to be paid somehow.  So, if you’re not paying for it, and your insurance isn’t paying for it, then we’re all paying for it for others!