Carter explained the “substance abuse continuum,” which outlines varying stages of alcohol addiction, and how individuals in those stages respond to negative consequences, such as being arrested for a DUI.
Here’s how Carter explained the five stages:
Full story at; Addictions counselor explains ‘substance abuse continuum’ / LJWorld.com.
Many heavy drinkers, alcoholics, addicts, co-dependents and adult children of alcoholics have experienced good and bad counsellors. These guidelines may help next time you seek professional help.
Seeking a therapist? Here’s what the experts advise
To be effective, counselling needs to be provided in a way that meets a set of well-defined criteria. Condensing many hundreds of studies, psychologist Bruce Wampold, in a recent American Psychological Association symposium, boiled these ingredients down to this baker’s dozen.
1. Possession of a sophisticated set of interpersonal skills. Can your therapist communicate to you in language that you understand? Does your therapist talk about you, rather than him or herself?
2. Ability to help you feel you can trust the therapist. Clients of effective therapists believe that their therapists will be helpful because the therapist communicates both verbally and non-verbally that he or she is someone the client can trust.
3. Willingness to establish an alliance with you. Though the therapist is obviously the expert, do you feel that the therapist cares about your goals in therapy and is willing to work with you to set goals that both of you agree on?
4. Ability to provides an explanation of your symptoms and can adapt this explanation as circumstances change. Clients want to know why they’re experiencing their symptoms. Effective therapists provide explanations that clients can understand.
5. Commitment to developing a consistent and acceptable treatment plan. Effective therapists conduct an assessment very early in treatment and share the treatment plan with you.
6. Communication of confidence about the course of therapy. An effective therapist keeps clients in therapy by communicating to clients the feeling that therapy will be worthwhile.
7. Attention to the progress of therapy and communication of this interest to the client. Good therapists are interested in finding out how their clients are responding to treatment. They show that they want their clients to improve.
8. Flexibility in adapting treatment to the particular client’s characteristics. A good therapist doesn’t follow a rigid schedule of treatment- a “one size fits all” approach.
9. Inspiration of hope and optimism about your chances of improvement. Hope is a terrific motivator. Feeling that something is going to work is often a large part of the equation in successful treatment.
10. Sensitivity toward your cultural background. Therapists adapt treatment to their client’s cultural values. This includes showing respect for your background and being aware of attitudes within your culture or community.
11. Possession of self-insight. An effective therapist is self-aware and is able to separate his or her own issues from those of clients.
12. Reliance on the best research evidence. Therapists should stay abreast of the latest developments in clinical psychology, particularly in their areas of expertise.
13. Involvement in continued training and education. Licensed mental health professionals must participate in continuing education to maintain their credentials.
The outcome of therapy depends on many factors, but researchers have evidence to show that these 13 qualities in a therapist play a key role in increasing the odds of a successful outcome. Therapy can occur in many types of situations, ranging from marital counselling to employee assistance. Each therapist may not meet each of these 13 criteria, but as long as you are aware of them all, you can decide whether you or a loved one are getting the best possible treatment.
All these points are fully explained at; Qualities of Good Counsellors
-
In Recovery—Steps to Overcoming Addiction.
Seek treatment. The first step to recovery is to decide to seek treatment. It’s hard for people to recognize or admit they have a problem, even when they are putting their lives – or the lives of others – at risk. It doesn’t help that the brain’s decision-making center is impaired when under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Treatment may mean medications, behavioral counseling, or a combination of the two.
More at In Recovery—Steps to Overcoming Addiction.
“When a child has substance abuse issues, the whole family needs support,” says Ken Winters, PhD, Director of the Center for Adolescent Substance Abuse Research, Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Minnesota and member of The Partnership at Drugfree.org Science Advisory Board. “Parents may need a counselor to walk them through exactly what they will say to their teenager when they suspect substance abuse. If they have not already done so, parents need to establish rules about alcohol and other drugs, and consequences for breaking those rules. They may also need help figuring out whether their adolescent should get a professional assessment. These are some of the things that a counselor on the helpline can assist them with.”
Singer Amy Winehouse’s fame and infamy have now been forever linked to one word: rehab. She is only one of many recent high-profile cases in which attempts at rehabilitation from substance abuse failed. Amidst strange public outbursts earlier this year, actor Charlie Sheen asserted that it was not rehab, but rather he, himself, that had been his secret weapon against abusing cocaine and booze.
And celebrities are not the only ones with untreated substance abuse problems. More than 20 million Americans ages 12 and older needed—but were not receiving—treatment as of 2007, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Mommy’s Coming Home from Treatment
In this sequel to Mommy’s Gone to Treatment, Janey learns to face some of the challenges a family must confront when a parent returns from addiction treatment as the whole family adjusts to a new way of life.
With brightly colored illustrations, Mommy’s Coming Home from Treatment addresses these issues children face in easy-to-understand language.
Includes a parent guide to help talk with children about addiction and treatment and what happens after a parent or loved one returns from treatment.
-
Order Today >> Mommy’s Coming Home from Treatment
-
-
Twelve-Step groups emphasize abstinence and have 12 core developmental “steps” to recovering from dependence. Other elements of 12-Step groups include
Participants often maintain a close relationship with a sponsor, an experienced member with long-term abstinence, and lifetime participation is expected.
Alcoholics Anonymous is the oldest and best known 12-Step mutual support group. There are more than 100,000 AA groups worldwide and nearly 2 million members.
The AA model has been adapted for people with dependence on drugs and for their family members. Some groups, such as Narcotics Anonymous (NA) and Chemically Dependent Anonymous, focus on any type of drug use. Other groups, such as Cocaine Anonymous and Crystal Meth Anonymous, focus on abuse of specific drugs. Groups for persons with co-occurring substance use and mental disorders also exist (e.g., Double Trouble in Recovery; Dual Recovery Anonymous).
Other 12-Step groups—Families Anonymous, Al-Anon/Alateen, Nar-Anon, and Co-Anon—provide support to significant others, families, and friends of persons with substance use disorders.
Twelve-Step meetings are held in locations such as churches and public buildings. Metropolitan areas usually have specialized groups, based on such member characteristics as gender, length of time in recovery, age, sexual orientation, profession, ethnicity, and language spoken. Attendance and membership are free, although people usually give a small donation when they attend a meeting.
Meetings can be “open” or “closed”?that is, anyone can attend an open meeting, but attendance at closed meetings is limited to people who want to stop drinking or using drugs.
Although meeting formats vary somewhat, most 12-Step meetings have an opening and a closing that are the same at every meeting, such as a 12-Step reading or prayer.
The main part of the meeting usually consists of
Twelve-Step groups are not necessarily for everyone. Some people are uncomfortable with the spiritual emphasis and prefer a more secular approach. Others may not agree with the 12-Step philosophy that addiction is a chronic disease, thinking that this belief can be a self-fulfilling prophesy that weakens the ability to remain abstinent. Still others may prefer gender- specific groups.
Mutual support groups that are not based on the 12-Step model typically do not advocate sponsors or lifetime membership. These support groups offer an alternative to traditional 12-Step groups, but the availability of in-person meetings is more limited than that of 12-Step programs (see individual group descriptions below). However, many offer literature, discussion boards, and online meetings.
For People Who Have a Substance Use Disorder
Acamprosate May Be Helpful to Treat Alcohol Dependence.
September 13, 2010 — Acamprosate appears to be effective and safe for supporting continuous abstinence after detoxification in alcohol-dependent (alcoholic) patients, according to the results of a systematic review reported September 8 in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.
“Alcohol dependence is among the main leading health risk factors in most developed and developing countries,” write Susanne Rösner, from the University of Munich in Munich, Germany, and colleagues. “Therapeutic success of psychosocial programs for relapse prevention is moderate, but could potentially be increased by an adjuvant treatment with the glutamate antagonist acamprosate.”
Full story at Acamprosate May Be Helpful to Treat Alcohol Dependence.
Via: Medical Billing
Drug abuse has been a controversial topic throughout American history. Which drugs should be legal or illegal? Do many people really do drugs? Are
drugs tearing the “great” society? Some of these statistics may justify your thoughts and some of them will perhaps change them.
Via: OnlineSchools.org
You are currently browsing the archives for the Addiction category.
Recovery Site