Substance abuse/addiction is considered as a disease and should be treated by a health care provider with specialization on this area in order to arrive at a proper treatment protocol for that particular stage that client maybe in. For whatever the reason and at whatever kind of lifestyle the abuser may have, the question is, “Is help readily available and accessible for them?”

The good news is that help is just around the corner. The truth is, the greatest challenge is not to look for these rehab centres but it is finding a way to convince that person to undergo rehab.

Here are some Rehab Centres in Australia:
The Sanctuary Byron Bay
Location: Byron Bay 2481, Lismore
Specialization: Offers inspiration, advice and support for those who want to overcome addiction.

Banyan House
Location: Berrimah, NT 0828
Specialization: treatment for people recovering from alcohol and drug addictions and any co-occurring mental health disorders

Karobran
Location: Adelaide, Melbourne
Specialization: Residential programs with intensive assistance in addiction recovery and life skill watching with a Christian Philosophy.

Narcotics Anonymous of Victoria
Location: Victoria, Australia
Specialization: fellowship of recovering drug addicts

Related: Top 10 Luxury Rehab Centers – Betty Ford Center

Ibogaine, a brown powder derived from the African Tabernathe iboga plant, has intrigued researchers since 1962, when Howard Lotsof, a student at New York University and an opiate addict, found that a single dose erased his drug cravings without causing any withdrawal symptoms. Unfortunately, the hallucinogen can increase the risk of cardiac arrest, and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency lists it as a Schedule 1 substance, a classification for drugs like ecstasy and LSD with “no known medical value” and “high potential for abuse,” making it difficult to get federal funding to run clinical trials.

Animal tests, however, have shown the drug’s medicinal promise. “Rats addicted to morphine will quit for weeks after receiving ibogaine,” says Stanley Glick, the director of the Center for Neuropharmacology and Neuroscience at Albany Medical College. And addicts have reported positive effects in Mexico and Europe, where ibogaine therapy is legal. “Going cold turkey is horrible. There’s vomiting and diarrhea and pain and a constant drug craving,” says Randy Hencken, a drug user who was treated in Mexico. “After ibogaine, I didn’t feel any symptoms or cravings. I’ve been clean for nine years. Heroin and cocaine no longer have any power over me.”

Despite these successes, ibogaine lacks scientific credibility. “As great as ibogaine seems, no one knows exactly how effective it is as a treatment,” says Valerie Mojieko, the director of clinical research for the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Research (MAPS), a privately funded Massachusetts-based nonprofit. So starting this month, MAPS will enlist Clare Wilkins, the director of Pangea Biomedics, to run the first long-term study to gauge the drug’s lasting effects at her clinic in Mexico (where patients already pay $5,000 for the treatment).
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Nearly seven million Americans abuse illicit drugs, costing the nation an estimated $181 billion a year in health care, crime and lost productivity.

We certainly need better ways to treat drug addiction. Current methods are helping people. But current methods fail far too often for too many people. The way to find better treatments is to run medical studies and analyze the results.

Related: Looking at the Evidence of Treating Alcoholism – NIH on How Effective Drug Addiction Treatment Is? – Principles of Effective Drug Treatment and Rehabilitation

Beyoncé Opens Cosmetology Center at Phoenix House

The new Cosmetology Center will offer a seven-month cosmetology training course, helping our clients gain the career skills they need to lead productive, rewarding lives in recovery.
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Beyoncé spoke about meeting with women in treatment at Phoenix House while preparing for the role of Etta James in the 2008 film Cadillac Records. “Through their stories, I realized that all of us have our personal struggles and we all have something to overcome,” she said. “Drug addiction… has a stigma that must be removed. Addiction is a disease and these beautiful women I met did not choose to become addicts, but they have chosen to get better.”

Later donating her salary from the film, Beyoncé wanted to create a program that was geared toward women, “something that would teach them skills that would give them hope even after Phoenix House.” Together, she and her mother, who owned a popular hair salon in Houston when she was growing up, came up with the idea of our new cosmetology program.

As a child, she observed that her mother’s salon was a place for women to “share stories, cry, laugh, and get advice” – and she wanted to bring that experience the women at Phoenix House. “The first sign of recovery is caring about your appearance,” she said. “And hopefully, this Center will be a place that will change lots of lives every year.”

Photo by Hassy, 2009.

Related: Smokey Robinson Helping Fight Against Drug Addiction – Eminem’s ‘Relapse’ Explores His Drug Addition and Rehabilitation – Maradona Drug Rehab – Carrie Fisher’s Novel Explores Drug Addiction and Rehab

Alcoholics Anonymous is the most widely used treatment for alcoholism. It is mandated by the courts, accepted by mainstream medicine, and required by insurance companies. AA is generally assumed to be the most effective treatment for alcoholism, or at least “an” effective treatment. That assumption is wrong.

We hear about a few success stories, but not about the many failures. AA’s own statistics show that after 6 months, 93% of new attendees have left the program. The research on AA is handily summarized in a Wikipedia article. A recent Cochrane systematic review found no evidence that AA or other 12 step programs are effective.
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The 1992, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism’s National Longitudinal Alcohol Epidemiologic Survey studied 42,000 Americans. 4500 had been dependent on alcohol at some time in their lives. Of these, only 27% had had treatment of any kind, and one-third of those who had been treated were still abusing alcohol. Of those who had never had any treatment, only one-quarter were still abusing alcohol. George Bush is a well-known example of someone who stopped drinking on his own without attending AA and without admitting that he was an alcoholic.

To me what matters is finding solutions that work. It is known that the success rates for treating addiction are not great no matter what treatments are used. We certainly should be doing more study of the effectiveness of various treatment methods to improve the success rates people experience. The impact on people’s lives is too large to rely on whoever markets better to end up being the deciding factor.

Related: How Effective is Drug Addiction Treatment? from the NIH – Combination Strategy to Treat Alcohol Dependence – Results of 4 Year Study of Women in Drug Treatment

Although part of the trend was offset by rising numbers of cocaine and crack addicts seeking
treatment over the same period, the numbers of women entering treatment in the under 30 age
group fell by nearly nine per cent in four years.

The study also showed that at the same time the numbers of women problem drug users
successfully leaving treatment having overcome their addiction almost doubled. In addition, the
number of women dropping out of treatment has fallen by well over a third in four years.
The study by the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse (NTA) also highlights:

• While women start using drugs at the same age or slightly older than men, they are more adept at seeking help for themselves and tend to come into treatment earlier
• Cocaine is the fastest growing treatment need among women drug users, accounting for a 55 per cent increase in new entrants since 2005
• The number of women entering treatment for crack dependency has increased by 14 percent since 2005
• Almost two-thirds of women entering treatment are mothers, nearly half of whom have a child living with them. The data indicates that treatment outcomes for mothers are stronger than those who were not parents.

“These findings demonstrate how thousands of women have successfully obtained drug treatment and recovered through it,” said Rosanna O’Connor, NTA director of delivery. “Treatment is the first step on the road to recovery, so it is encouraging that women tend to seek help of their own volition, enter treatment earlier before their drug misuse has become entrenched and frequently achieve better outcomes sooner. Treatment provides the opportunity for individuals to get better, for families to stabilise, and for children to be looked-after at home.”

Related: Research on the Brain and Behavior on Addiction – University Research on Improving Addiction Treatment – Alcohol is a Major Cause of Drug Rehab Admissions

Promises Treatment Centers became famous for its Hollywood clientele, including starlets Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan.
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Promises charges $38,500 for a 90-day stay at its West L.A. facility, while treatment at its Malibu location – with panoramic views of the ocean and perfectly manicured lawns – starts at $54,500 for a 31-day stay.
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Sack then turned his attention to improving the centers’ treatment programs. He started a service program where patients volunteer with organizations such as homeless veteran projects while they are being treated. He upgraded the staff and contracted with more licensed professionals who provide care in a wider range of areas, including post-traumatic stress disorder, sex addiction and other compulsive disorders.
Susan Blacksher, executive director of the California Association of Addiction Recovery Resources, said Sack is making the program better by not just treating a patient’s drug and alcohol issues.
“More and more, people of good programs are dealing with the entire person,” Blacksher said, “including an assessment of any underlying medical or psychiatric needs that could interfere with a person’s ability to stay with a commitment of a more sober lifestyle.”
A big part of Sack’s efforts have been focused on improving Promises’ follow-up care, which he said will help patients remain sober and allow staff members to better track information such as relapse rates.
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Promises started setting goals for discharged patients. They are now held responsible for attending 12-step meetings, finding a group home and sponsor, and remaining sober.
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He said the most recent data shows that 79 percent of Promises’ alumni were continuously sober for 90 days. The national relapse rate for that period is 40 percent to 60 percent, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Obviously the luxury addiction rehabilitation centers are out of the price range of most people. But the basic rehab strategies are the same as many other centers.

Related: Betty Ford Center – Rehab Center Reality Check – Should Rehab be Enjoyed?

Tiger Woods has greatly increased the focus on sex addiction recently. A few years ago, David Duchovny, of X-Files fame, rehabed to the Pine Grove Behavioral Health & Addiction Services Treatment for a sex addition. That is the same rehab center that Tiger Woods is rumored to be a patient at now.

Taking sex addiction seriously by Nicole Baute

Statistics claim that from 3 to 10 percent of Americans have a sex addiction, but the condition is not listed in the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and not all experts agree that problematic sexual behaviour should be called an addiction at all.
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Vermeire describes sex addicts as people struggling with sexual compulsions they cannot stop, despite negative consequences.

The addiction is not limited to the rich and famous. In Toronto, there are therapists who specialize in sexual addiction and support groups like Sex Addicts Anonymous. Bellwood Health Services has a 12-week, $12,000 residential program and outpatient counselling.

Margaret Hicks, a Toronto psychotherapist and social worker, says the addiction is often about shame and low self-esteem. Sufferers are trying to fill a void in their lives, she says: “You can fill the hole with alcohol, you can fill it with drugs, you can fill it with sex.”

Hicks says Internet porn is increasingly driving the addiction, and exposure to certain types of porn can change a person’s sexual template in destructive ways.
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“Treatment for sexual addiction involves abandoning the unhealthy sexual behaviours and, after a period of abstinence, developing healthy sexual functioning with a primary partner – which often requires learning how to function in a healthy emotional way,” says Lawson, manager of family services and special programs at Bellwood.
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“With sex addictions we are sort of where the people supporting the idea of alcoholism were 50 years ago,” she says.

“When they started talking about alcohol addiction and being an alcoholic back then, there was the same reaction, ‘No way, there’s no such thing, what are you talking about?’ So, it takes time.”

Related: Brett Favre Overcomes Painkiller Addiction – Robin Williams Reflects on Rehab – Eva Mendes on Rehab

While alcohol was the major sole factor, Mr Pitts said 70 per cent of admissions also listed it as “among their reasons for seeking treatment” and this demonstrated how pervasive alcohol dependence had become across society. It was also viewed as an “easily accessible, socially acceptable and relatively inexpensive drug to self-medicate life’s difficulties and challenges for older people”, he said.

Amphetamine-type substances including ice and ecstasy accounted for 21% of Odyssey House admissions in 2009 (23% in 2008), while heroin and cannabis each accounted for 18% (19% and 18% respectively in 2008).

Methadone accounted for 8% of admissions, while gambling and other drugs like benzodiazepines, buprenorphine, morphine and cocaine accounted for 9%.

Alcoholism remains a huge problem. Rehabilitation programs for those with addictions to alcohol continue to have success but they also continue to have plenty of people in need of treatment. It is not a problem that society has been effective at dealing with. While we have some success there remains much to do.

Related: Top 10 Luxury Rehab Centers – Combination Strategy to Treat Alcohol Dependence – Alcohol Remains a Major Cause of Drug Rehab Admissions

According to the 2007 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, an estimated 6.9 million people ages 12 or older used prescription medications for nonmedical use in the month before being surveyed. That total included 5.2 million using pain relievers, 1.8 million using tranquilizers, 1.1 million using stimulants and 350,000 using sedatives.

In 2003, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reported that about one-third of all U.S. drug abuse is prescription-drug abuse.

Locally, as many as 30 percent of the patients in the inpatient and outpatient treatment at the Community Healing Centers are addicted to prescription drugs, said Sally Reames, executive director of the nonprofit substance-abuse-treatment agency. And many have “secondary” addictions to alcohol, she said, a potentially fatal combination.
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People often mistakenly believe that prescription drugs are safe because a doctor is prescribing them, said Dr. Michael Liepman, a professor of psychiatry at Michigan State University Kalamazoo Center for Medical Studies and medical director of the Jim Gilmore Jr. Community Healing Center. Many patients who end up addicted to prescription drugs start with a legitimate pain condition.
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“Sometimes people think, ‘If one pill makes me feel better, three will be better,’” said Dr. Richard Tooker, chief medical officer for Kalamazoo County. In the case of pain killers derived from opium, increasing the amount taken can be deadly because these drugs decrease brain activity, breathing rates and heart rates.
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The prescription drugs that Reames has observed are most often abused are Vicodin, OxyContin and the anti-anxiety medication Xanax.

Liepman said he sees extensive addiction to opiate pain killers, anti-anxiety drugs such as Xanax, Klonopin and Ativan as well as abuse of drugs prescribed for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.

The problems due to abuse of prescription drugs are not as widely known as the problems caused by illegal drugs. While both are serious for many that would not consider taking illegal drugs the dangers of prescription drugs and alcohol are the biggest risks. People must be careful to use powerful drugs as directed and even then understand there are real risks to doing so.

Related: Methamphetamine Abuse Costs U.S. $23.4 Billion – Brett Favre Overcomes Painkiller Addiction

Photo of United States Representative Patrick J. Kennedy (son of Senator Ted Kennedy) at the ADA rally at the Capitol, 17 September 2008.

Rep. Kennedy returns to Congress after month in rehab

After a four-week course of addiction treatment, Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy returned to Congress Wednesday with what he called “excellent” prospects for long-term sobriety – in large part because he sought help before he landed in the kind of trouble that has brought him criticism in the past.
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In May 2006, a late-night car crash on Capitol Hill attracted harsh publicity and prompted Kennedy to enter an addition treatment facility and to acknowledge that he had been an alcoholic and drug addict for most of his adult life. Since then Kennedy had become a public face for recovery from addiction.

On June 12, Kennedy announced through his office that he had left the House for an indefinite period of time to enter a treatment facility. He has since disclosed that he underwent a 28-day treatment regime at Father Martin’s Ashley, a Maryland center well-known in recovery circles.
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Kennedy said Wednesday that he hopes his decision to seek treatment was another “sign to people that this is a chronic illness not unlike a cancer that goes into remission but then becomes malignant again.”

He said, “This is a chronic illness that needs lifelong attention. You can’t ever be cured of it. It needs to be monitored on a day-to-day basis for your whole life.”

Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy Statement on His Drug Addiction (May 2006)

Over my 15 years in public life, I’ve felt a responsibility to speak honestly and openly about my challenges with addiction and depression. I’ve been fighting this chronic disease since I was a young man, and have aggressively and periodically sought treatment so that I can live a full and productive life. I struggle every day with this disease, as do millions of Americans. I’ve dedicated my public service to raising awareness about the chronic disease of addiction, and have fought to increase access to care and recovery supports for the too many Americans forced to struggle on their own.

This past Christmas, I realized that I had to seek help again so checked myself into the Mayo Clinic for addiction to prescription pain medication.
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I am deeply concerned about my reaction to the medication and my lack of knowledge of the accident that evening. But I do know enough to know that I need to seek expert help. This afternoon, I’m traveling to Minnesota to seek treatment at the Mayo Clinic to ensure I can continue on my road to recovery.

Related: Cindy McCain Drug Rehab – Brett Favre Overcomes Painkiller Addiction – Drug Rehab Centers in California – Top 10 Luxury Rehab Centers