Are Drug Addicts and Alcoholics Truly Powerless?
Do you believe that it is helpful to tell another person that they are powerless to solve their problem? Consider that oncologists typically don’t tell their cancer patients that they are powerless over their cancer. Cardiologists do not tell their patients that...
Are Drug Addicts and Alcoholics Truly Powerless?
Do you believe that it is helpful to tell another person that they are powerless to solve their problem? Consider that oncologists typically don’t tell their cancer patients that they are powerless over their cancer. Cardiologists do not tell their patients that...
A Guide for Personal Change
Treatment for addiction (excluding medical detox) is completely unnecessary. That is a bold statement, but it’s true. Drinking and drug taking have remained a stable aspect of the human condition for thousands of years, as have stopping and moderating substance use....
Keeping the Holidays Happy with a Heavy Substance User in the Family
The holidays are here again and you realize that for your family not much has changed over the past few years. Last year you had a get together a couple weeks before Christmas, and you were so happy because all four of your children were home for the first time in...
Who Should Get Credit When You Stop Drinking or Using Drugs?
When criticizing 12 Step groups and treatment based on it, people will often tell me that they know it works because someone they know got sober in AA. I don't doubt their experience as I, too, know people who still attend meetings and have maintained decades of...
A Parent’s Guide to Loving a Drug Addicted Child
In 2014, just as the air was getting cooler and the world was painted white, a dear friend lost her nephew to a drug overdose. It was a tragedy for the family and their small community, but what happened in its wake was truly unspeakable. Friends were around for the...
The Incredibly High Cost of Alcoholics Anonymous
When you feel as if you have a drinking or drug problem, most people will tell you to go to a meeting. They say AA is free and it works. When you go to your first AA meeting, it is likely you've already heard a lot about it. Friends, family, doctors and mental health...
Addiction Counselors, Are they at Higher Risk of becoming Addicted Again?
Important Note to the reader: The counselors we are discussing here in this article are those who were once “addicts” themselves and are now “in recovery” through conventional disease-based treatment. We are not discussing a counselor who never had a substance use...
The Scary World of Addiction Treatment
Ghosts and ghouls, witches and jack o' lanterns, and all sorts of scary creatures abound; it's Halloween! These creatures can't hurt you because they only exist in myth and legend, and in our imaginations. But there are myths and legends that have created monsters...
Are Meetings Necessary After You Go To Rehab?
The answer to whether someone needs support meetings such as AA or NA after rehab is not as easy as saying yes or no. It all comes down to what you are taught in rehab and how much of it you believe to be true. The need for support meetings arises out of the idea that...
Alternative Options When CDPHP Does Not Cover Addiction Services
I have CDPHP health insurance. It’s relatively good health insurance. I’m healthy and do not require to use it all that much so it works for me. However, when it comes to addiction services, I’ve listened to many people complain that their CDPHP insurance does not...
Abstinence from Alcohol or a Life of Addiction! Are These my only Two Options?
Anyone who has any knowledge of rehab for an addiction knows that abstinence is the common “solution” to addiction in America today. Addiction in this disease-centered perspective is seen as a lifelong condition, and therefore no amount of drugs or alcohol are...
5 days into my rehab and I was told my insurance would not pay anymore – I was left with a hefty bill
With the passing of the Affordable Care Act (more commonly known as Obamacare) in 2010, all insurance providers were mandated to provide coverage for treatment for addiction. Many people took this to mean that insurance would have to pay for all inpatient treatment...
Alcohol Use in the Elderly as a Result of Loneliness
Over the past 30 years I have personally witnessed as hundreds of people over the age of 70 have enrolled in The Freedom Model System at our residential retreats. For many of them, alcohol was their drug of choice, and most explained that loneliness became their...
Harm Reduction and MAT – A Marriage on the Road to Nowhere
Harm reduction at face value seems to make sense. After all, common sense tells us that better is better. Providing a path for heavy substance users that “reduces harm” is logical on its face. Needle exchanges to avoid disease, Narcan to keep addicts alive, and...
Drugs don’t cause addiction or drug deaths—recovery does
We Need a New Way of Thinking About Addiction Drugs don’t cause addiction or drug deaths—recovery does Article by: Stanton Peele, Ph.D - Author of The Life Process Program Since the turn of the 21st Century, when the National Institute on Drug Abuse promulgated what...
30 Day Rehab Near Me? Be Cautious
In this age of social media and instant searches for anything and everything, there are benefits to the “instant search” features of the internet we have all become accustomed to. However, there is a dark side to every coin – and in this case, there is as much fraud...
A Parent’s Nightmare – Heroin
There are few things more terrifying to a parent than finding out that your son or daughter is using heroin. But if you’re going to get through this devastating development, you need to find a way out of the panic. Your fear is valid, but in the long run, it won’t...
Mandated by the Legal System to Attend Addiction Support Group Meetings? Here are 3 Things You Need to Know
It is estimated that 20% of people who go into treatment and 12 step meetings are forced there by the legal system. If you find yourself in the legal system due a drug charge or DUI, or if you are in a fight for custody of your children and your ex has accused you of...
There are 3 things every lawyer should know about addiction when dealing with addicted clients
1. Addiction is a choice and is NOT a disease or disorder Your client is responsible for their issues related to their use. Regardless of the fact that the public opinion sways in this regard and tends to see addiction as a disorder or disease, in the court of law,...
Recognize that Addiction is NOT Your Problem
The title of this article presupposes that you believe you’re addicted to something. We will assume it’s a drug of some type, and we will further assume that you are asking yourself whether addiction is the issue causing some sort of discomfort in your life. We make...
3 Reasons to Choose a Non 12 Step Program
They say that the 12 Steps are the proven way to deal with a substance use problem, so why would you choose anything else? Because you want a solution rather than a label. In 12-Step programs, you’re essentially taught that you are permanently handicapped with the...
Top 5 Reasons to Choose a 12 Step Program
If you are struggling with a substance use problem and you begin seeking help, most people will immediately tell you to go to a meeting. The meeting they are talking about is Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, or one of the other myriad of 12 step self help...
5 Costs In Addition to Drug Treatment that Can Arise from Drug and Alcohol Addiction
When calculating the costs of addiction many people only think of the rising costs of treatment and that is understandable. More than $36 Billion is spent annually on addiction treatment in the United States and that's expected to rise to more than $40 Billion by...
1960’s Hippies Today – Do They Need Treatment? Are they Recovered?
This title is obviously loaded. It implies that all hippies from the sixties were in fact a population that struggled with drugs and alcohol. It also implies that there is something to “recover from”, and depending on your point of view that might be addiction or it...
12 Reasons to Stay Away From 12 Step Programs
12 Step programs are the foundation of the addiction treatment industry in the United States. Unfortunately, addiction treatment isn’t successful. At least 65% of alcoholics relapse within a year following treatment, and for other drugs, such as opioids, the relapse...
10 Questions to Ask Treatment Providers Prior to Choosing a Program
Finding the right addiction treatment provider and rehab program for you or your loved one struggling with an addiction can be daunting. Like most people you likely begin your search online by using search terms such as, 'addiction treatment in my area' or 'drug...
Deprogramming from Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)
I was steeped in AA and treatment since my first memories. I came from a 12 step family. My mother was a NYS certified alcoholism counselor, some of my eleven siblings went through multiple rehabs, and eventually I too fell into the 12 step prophecy that I would...
How do I explain to the Kids about my Spouse Getting Help for Addiction?
How do I explain to the Kids about my Spouse Getting Help for Addiction? One of the most difficult aspects of drinking issues or a drug problem is how to explain to your children why your spouse left for a period of time to go get help for a substance use problem....
Getting on with Your Life after Treatment
Getting on with Your Life after Treatment This is a common topic when someone calls us for help for their drug or alcohol issue. “What kind of aftercare do you provide once John completes his stay with you?” “Is there relapse prevention so Donna will have the tools to...
Video Gaming Addiction – Virtual or Reality?
The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared that video gaming can cause an addiction much the same as substance use and gambling. In the most recent article I've read on the topic of addiction written by Lindsay Tanner, an AP medical writer she asks the question,...
My Loved One Seems Worse After Rehab. Is This Normal?
It was 1988, I was 18 years old, I had a significant drug and alcohol habit, and I found myself falling apart at the seams. I was emotionally depressed, and filled with anxiety. I knew adulthood was looming over the horizon, and I felt totally lost and ill-equipped to...
An Open Letter to Those with an Alcohol or Drug Problem – “Are You Ready for a Solution?”
An Open Letter to Those with an Alcohol or Drug Problem – “Are You Ready for a Solution?” Have you been to rehab and thought to yourself, “How is this possibly going to help me?” Or maybe you have family members or friends who have gone to treatment, AA, or NA, and...
Is Urine Drug Testing Useful or a Money Grab?
What You Need to Know about Drug Testing in Addiction Treatment You pee into a cup and they test the urine for drug use. It seems a simple enough process and it is. Yet that simple process is making some people rich running rehabs and sober homes across the US. Some...
Is Track Palin Struggling with Domestic Violence and Drinking after Military Service?
Track Palin, oldest son of former Alaska governor and vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, was arraigned Sunday December 17th on domestic violence charges including felony burglary, misdemeanor reckless assault, and misdemeanor criminal mischief for property...
There is Still Time to Make a Change in 2017
Here we are again, another year almost over. Festive holiday decorations dot the landscape and there is a buzz of activity and excitement in the air everywhere you turn. Everyone has their holiday time traditions; baking cookies, watching cheesy Christmas love stories...
When Holiday Cheer Gets Out of Hand – 3 Strategies to Keep You and Your Loved One Off the Naughty List
For many people, the holiday season holds memories of celebrations past and anticipation of new memories to share together. For some, the holidays can feel like an obstacle course through a minefield. If you have a loved one who uses drugs or alcohol to excess...
Addiction Treatment and 12-Step in the Media
You can't turn on a sit-com, drama series, or watch a movie without hearing about someone who is an "alcoholic" going to AA or a drug addict who just got out of another treatment program and must go to meetings. Some of the most popular series of the 21st century have...
Everyone Loves the Holidays….Don’t They?
Substance Use Doesn’t Have to Ruin the Holidays or Their Life When You Know How to Get Help A crispness fills the air and everyone is hurrying with packages, scurrying to meet friends and family that we may see often or only once a year. Bright lights are dancing on a...
Do Drugs Have Power Over Us? The Addiction Religion a ‘Breathing Monster’ – VIDEO
There is so much misinformation about drugs, alcohol, drug addiction, and just addiction in general, that it is hard for most people to know what is true and what isn’t. Well, let's begin with the facts: Addiction is not a disease, nor is heavy use of substances a...
TedX Talk – Our Relationship to Addiction.
Mr. Steven Slate of Saint Jude Retreats was given the opportunity to present at a Tedx Talk in Tahoe City, CA on September 17th. Mr. Slate discussed “Our Relationship to Addiction”. He explains the unique approach taken by Saint Jude Retreats in their upcoming work on...