Substance use disorders are like any other chronic illness that afflicts the body: treatment is not a cure, requiring long-term work. A person who is in drug addiction recovery is at risk of relapse during treatment, and in fact, this is often a normal part of the process. Other chronic illnesses like heart disease, cancer,…
More than ten years ago, buprenorphine hit the market with critical acclaim from government officials and treatment professionals alike. It was seen as a helpful tool to use for opiate withdrawal, but was then later pushed as a maintenance drug as well.
Daily reports have posted ever-increasing numbers of cases of Covid-19, as well as the constantly rising number of deaths. Attention to the pandemic has overshadowed the steadily rising death toll from addiction.
In a long-term treatment program, safety concerns are greatly reduced when all residents and staff have been tested for COVID-19 and individuals are tested and must be negative before they are admitted into the program.
The number of Americans dying from drug overdoses rose sharply in the first quarter of the year, putting the country on track for setting a new record for annual overdose deaths. The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on people in general and addiction services more specifically is also playing a role.
Addiction treatment has come a long way since the 12 Step program was developed in the 1930s and today there are dozens upon dozens of treatment programs and therapies that address substance use disorder and addictions.
Family get-togethers, anticipated to bring joy and celebration, are often brought to a screeching halt when you or a family member does something foolish or inappropriate while under the influence of alcohol or another substance.
Non-12-step rehab shares a few common characteristics with its AA predecessor. To begin, both ideas promote abstinence from the abused substances. It should also be noted that, like traditional twelve-step programs, there is no unified non-12 step approach. Some versions feature elements of spirituality, while others do not.
Historically seen as the standard of care for alcohol treatment and substance abuse disorders in general, 12-step programs are extremely limited. Only in recent years have those limitations been examined.
While few young Americans probably know that former First Lady Nancy Reagan coined the “Just Say No” slogan used to encourage youth to refrain from engaging in illegal recreational drug use, some may be taking the slogan to heart.