Posts Tagged ‘alcoholism’

Recovery Assistance, and why it works

Thursday, October 8th, 2009

As was just announced yesterday, we at Assistance in Recovery recently celebrated our 500th Recovery Assistance Program (or RAP) participant. This is a huge step forward in the recovery world; after 60-plus years of people seeking treatment for alcohol and drug addiction, we’ve finally seen a change in how addiction in the long term is being managed. When people first started attending residential treatment centers, they generally would enter a 28 or 30 day program, followed by either outpatient or simply 12-step groups. Nowadays, with the expanding of extended care and sober living homes, we’ve been able to drastically improve the levels of care for clients in need of long term treatment.

But what happens when a client gets out of the safe haven of a treatment center? Besides themselves, and potentially their 12-step groups, there has been very little accountability. We at AiR have developed an amazing solution to this through our Recovery Assistance Program. With clients and families getting an individual case manager who can help the recovering person stay on track, it takes away the need for a family to be the “sober police.” A client can communicate directly with their case manager, ideally providing a safe person for both the family and the recovering individual to speak with when troubles arise. With an intensive collateral contact, featuring connections and support with therapists, psychiatrists, outpatient services, sober living homes and 12 step sponsors, as well as toxicology screenings, we are able to provide a recovering person with that level of accountability, and success, that they wouldn’t get just returning home.

Our goal is to improve treatment outcomes; with the introduction of Recovery Assistance, we’ve been able to see rates of recovery around 84%…a truly amazing figure. We can help guide families through that treacherous time of trying to find resources for their loved one, and help the recovering individual get through the minefield that is early recovery. 500 people have come through our doors so far; with millions of other addicts out there, we can only hope for the number to increase, and seeing more and more people achieve long-term recovery.

For questions about our Recovery Assistance Program, or any of our additional services (including intervention), please call us directly at 877-320-0247.

Tags: addiction, addiction intervention, AiR Assistance in recovery, alcohol, alcoholism, assistance in recovery, intervention, pain addiction, prescription drug abuse, Recovery Assistance Program, substance abuse, Treatment
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Heroin for Heroin Addicts?

Monday, September 28th, 2009

An interesting post in Time Magazine today touched on a new British trial, over the last four years, of providing free daily heroin injections as a method to wean them off the drugs. Since the results of the trial were positive (i.e. lower street drug use, lower crime rate among participates, etc.), officials are talking about making this a permanent addition of state-funded heroin clinics for the drug addicts in the U.K.

A quote from John Strang, one of the researchers with the National Addiction Centre (who helped lead the project): “It’s a less than perfect treatment, but for entrenched addicts, it gives them the first steps toward getting their life together. Some make a virtually complete recovery, but others, we get them from a bad place to a less bad place.” According to the research, those treated with heroin had better results than those treated with methadone. However, Paul Hayes, head of the National Treatment Agency, stressed in the Guardian this month that the services would be available to only a  “very small proportion” of the nearly 200,000 heroin addicts in treatment.

So, government, if this works so well, why is it only available to a very small population? Shouldn’t this be the course of treatment for everyone? Obviously not. By giving drug addicts more drugs, aren’t we simply condoning and encouraging their habit? Why not fund a comprehensive, state-funded detoxification program followed by residential treatment? And harm reduction, in the long run is, in the words of our CEO Andrew Wainwright, simply a “band-aid on a bullet wound.” With addiction being a disease, and a malady of the physical, social and spiritual, simply medicating the addict’s “need” for the drug will not create a long term solution. We need to be moving people into comprehensive treatment, not helping them sustain their addiction.

For more information on heroin addiction and getting your loved one help, please call us at 877-320-0247.

Tags: addiction, addiction intervention, air, AiR Assistance in recovery, alcoholism, andrew wainwright, assistance in recovery, chemical dependency, drugs, heroin, heroin addiction, intervention, legal heroin, Legalization of Drugs, mental health, substance abuse, Treatment
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Turbulent Economic Times Don't Slow Expansion

Monday, August 31st, 2009

With the news today of Caron Foundation’s expansion into Dallas (an adult residential program) , we continue to see treatment centers continuing their growth process. Caron will add 40 beds in a facility outside of Dallas to their programs both in Pennsylvania and Florida. Last week, it was announced that Hazelden, one of the nation’s leading treatment centers, would be opening a new residential program in Naples, FL. With an additional 48 beds adding to their over 200 now, Hazelden will have a facility in each region, including Springbrook in Oregon, Hazelden Center For Youth And Families and Hazelden Center City in Minnesota, and the new Florida program. As we can see, during times of economic distress, there are more and more people needing, and seeking, help for their drug or alcohol problems.

In times of an economic downturn, more and more families are affected by alcoholism and drug abuse. We here at Assistance In Recovery have seen an upswing in families in crisis- and we’re here to help. Even in the economic downturn, there are many resources available via insurance and scholarships to help addicts who are in trouble. The biggest piece here is that, regardless of a family’s current economic status, there IS help available. As we’ve said before, the WORST thing a family can do is wait it out. Hoping someone gets better isn’t effective; taking action, providing resources, and being proactive is the way to get a loved one out of trouble. Waiting for an addict to get better is like waiting for a sinking ship to patch itself- it’s just not going to happen without outside help. We can be your lifeboat.

With the help of programs like Caron Foundation and Hazelden, we’ve been able to create plans of action for families around the world. Contact us at 877-320-0247 for help today.

Tags: addiction, addiction intervention, air, AiR Assistance in recovery, alcoholism, caron, caron foundation, chemical dependency, drug treatment expansion, hazelden, intervention, substance abuse, Treatment
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September is Recovery Month

Thursday, August 20th, 2009

AiR is focused on bringing you the most information on addiction, alcoholism, gambling, eating disorders and mental health related illnesses. In addition to being your leading resource, our national team is focused on celebrating recovery.

September is National Alcohol & Drug Addiction Recovery Month – a time for everyone touched by these diseases to celebrate recovery – be it one day or a decade.

Recoverymonth.gov offers a site with community events, newsletters, special topics and more. The Recovery Month Web site aims to promote the societal benefits of alcohol and drug use disorder treatment, laud the contributions of treatment providers, and promote the message that recovery from alcohol and drug disorders in all its forms is possible.

We hope you take time in September to celebrate Recovery with us!

Tags: addiction, alcoholism, eating disorders, gambling, intervention, Recovery Month
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Drinking and driving facts

Friday, August 14th, 2009

An article in the Associated Press by Lisa Flam (seen here in the Dallas Morning News) brings up some interesting facts- that more women are getting behind the wheel of automobiles after consuming cocktails. According to the article, the number of women arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs was 28.8 percent higher in 2007 than it was in 1998, while the number of men arrested was 7.5 percent lower, according to FBI figures that cover about 56 percent of the country.

“Younger women feel more empowered, more equal to men, and have been beginning to exhibit the same uninhibited behaviors as men,” said Chris Cochran of the California Office of Traffic Safety. This article was brought up as a result of a New York woman causing a fatal accident while drunk and under the influence of drugs.

A good article from Women’s eNews touches on issues with women and substance abuse, especially among mothers. This talks about how dealing with kids is difficult, as well as dealing with marital issues. More women are turning to alcohol and drugs for stress relief.

Well the truth is, everyone deals with stress. Developing healthy coping mechanisms is one of the integral parts of recovery; however, if we work with our families at a younger age, we may be able to encourage healthy behaviors prior to a mother driving the wrong way down a one way street, drunk and with children. The main issue here is denial; this woman’s husband has said repeatedly that he’s never seen her drunk during their marriage. Our guess? He probably wasn’t looking that hard. People don’t just randomly decide to go out and drink and drive– there tends to be some sort of build up.

If her husband and family had been aware of the resources available, or hadn’t been to worried to say anything, then we could’ve avoided this tragic accident. Denial kills far more alcoholics and addicts than treatment, that’s for sure.

Tags: addiction, alcoholism, drunk driving, DUI, mothers against drunk driving, women alcoholics, women drinking more
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AiR's COO, Jim Geckler, on 107.1 July 31 from 9am-11

Friday, July 31st, 2009

Jim will be talking with radio show host Kevyn Burger about intervention, addiction and alcoholism on The Kevyn Burger Show in the Twin Cities market. Listen to it live or subscribe to it on iTunes.

James P. Geckler has been actively involved in the recovery community for the past 9 years. Jim has been a key member of the AIR team for the past 5 years, working with families, clinicians and treatment centers to develop solutions for people struggling with Addiction, Eating Disorders and Mental Health Issues.

Jim is a certified HIV/AIDS Educator with the American Red Cross and acts as a lead facilitator with Alternatives to Violence, a non-profit program which addresses anger and violence issues with at risk adolescents and incarcerated adults and has managed transitional sober housing for people leaving a treatment environment.

Tags: addiction, alcoholism, eating disorders, FM 107, intervention, jim geckler, kevyn burger, mental health
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Commercials for Drugs

Monday, July 27th, 2009

An article in the New York Times this weekend talked about the commercials put out by the prescription drug community. With all the hubbub as of late with prescription pain killers and their disasterous potential (and addictive) side effects, more and more awareness is being brought out by the government about pharmaceutical companies and their advertising. Considering in our not-too-distant past we could see ads for cigarettes on TV- and that beer commercials are some of the highest-budgeted in the advertising industry- this is a little bit of a non-shocker.

However- when you think about it- why are we talking about regulating ads for Cialis and Latisse when alcohol commercials are so prevalent in prime-time television and sporting events? Alcohol is linked to 75,000 US deaths a year, according to a government study- and that’s the third-leading cause of mortality. Even more shocking- the fact that half of Russian deaths in the 90s are blamed on alcohol-related consequences. So who’s the bigger criminal? The prescription drug market trying to get us to buy more restless-leg-syndrom drugs? Or the TV regulators that consistently allow alcohol ads- that kill 75,000 Americans a year- to have prime television real estate? This should be an easy call.

So, government, get rid of the “Just Say No” campaign and get to the bottom of this- stop allowing drug and alcohol companies to determine their amount of mind-share. We deal with enough problems already with people making their own decisions- the last thing we need is more convincing.

For help with a drug or alcohol problem, contact us directly at 877-320-0247.

Tags: addiction, alcohol, alcohol advertising, alcohol-related consequences, alcoholism, assistance in recovery, beer advertising, pain medication, prescription advertising
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