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The best addiction treatment option
I get asked which addiction treatment option is the best all the time. The short answer? Whichever one ends up working for the client. I don’t like being stuck in the corner, having to pick a “best of” option just because I’m asked. For some clients Moderation Management will work, others need intense day-treatment or…
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Calling bullshit on addiction treatment bullies
About three years ago, I was attending a national conference on public health (American Public Health Association) and presenting my posters on the relationship between drug use and violence, and sexually transmitted infections and injecting drugs. As I walked the aisles I ran into a woman who runs a Florida addiction “treatment” facility. We talked…
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People, places, and things – How important are drug-related triggers for addiction relapse?
In cognitive behavioral therapy they’re a big part of the “Five W’s” = When, Where, Why, With, and What. In the various 12-step programs they’re simply referred to as “People, places, and things.” But no matter how you refer to them, drug-associated cues, or “triggers” as they are more commonly known, obviously play a big…
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The brain after cocaine – White matter damage and addiction treatment
The brain damage left behind after long-term cocaine use can apparently tell us quite a bit about how well a cocaine addict will do in addiction treatment – as long as we assess the right kind of damage. Different kinds of brain matter I’ve talked before about the fact that use of cocaine, and other…
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How it doesn’t work – the dogma of the 12 steps
Imagine being diagnosed with cancer, going through a regimen of chemotherapy only to have the cancer return within months, and being told by your doctor that there must be something wrong with you and that he can’t treat you unless you let the chemo do its work. Absurd right? 12-Step dogma Unfortunately, if you replace…
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A million ways to treat an addict
When I was still attending my addiction counseling classes at UCLA, we often discussed the many different tools now available when treating drug abuse (CBT, 12 step, medications, rapid detox, etc.). Still, most of the class members focused on how many of these don’t work with everyone and how some have actually resulted in problems…
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Creating a better system of addiction treatment: Matching rehabs to patients
I can’t hide it any longer, I just have to confess: I hate the way addiction treatment is managed nowadays. With over 25 million people meeting criteria for addictions in the U.S., only 10% are seeking treatment on a yearly basis. Sure, part of the problem is that others just don’t want it, at least…