Interview Questions

I needed to create my own program. There are excellent places for detox and immediate intervention. Yet, there was not one place that combined them with a holistic ongoing program, all in a coordinated manner. And, since the main reason that patients relapse is due to ongoing physical cravings which is not dealt with in most programs, this is a huge problem throughout our country.

Our plan is comprehensive, but there are also new medical treatments for cravings such as Prometa and Buprenorphine, etc.. We strive to keep up treatment as long as needed, instead of discharging patients to 12 step programs. We also do counseling along with treating underlying medical, psychiatric, and nutritional problems. It's the new medical treatments along with the rest that makes our program so successful. Our numbers are about 80% overall recovery and that's very high.

We provide private treatment in our office. No public methadone clinic, no open 12 step type groups. We are sensitive to the fact that most of these people have jobs and a family life. We keep them in their lives, avoiding residential time that can be catastrophic for someone who has a job and other responsibilities. Most would love to stop using drugs, they just do not know how, or worse, they have dealt with the current revolving door programs and are rightly mistrustful of the usual system.

We have a questionnaire that determines whether there is an issue. If someone takes this test, they will see if their habits are problematic. To be honest, most addicted people already know that they have a problem. This lets them quantify their use and allows them to start reaching out for help.

This is vital to recovery. Yet, at times, the family can be a real problem for recovery as well. There are the co-dependency issues that cloud treatment. There are also patients who have been dishonest with their families and are distrusted and even feared. This makes the issue complex.

We use them for the cravings management, to treat legitimate pain and other medical issues, as well as for treating psychiatric problems.

We look at the whole person. Most programs treat patients for the diagnosis of "substance abuse". We look at the person form the medical, psychiatric, nutritional, and even the Chinese medical point of view.

Almost all addicts are malnourished because of inattention to their health, as well as due to the toxicity of the drugs they use. These people need to replenish their bodies. There are also supplements that can help recovery by decreasing cravings, treating depression and anxiety, and increasing well-being. Many of these patients also have food allergies and other food intolerances that we treat.

Chinese Medicine looks at the body system. This is in agreement with our overall philosophy to treat the person, not just the substance use. In addition, there are specific simple acupuncture treatments that help decrease anxiety and cravings.

This is a huge problem. The Internet has made it easy to get opiates and other dangerous addicting drugs such as benzodiazepines without a prescription. Although the DEA is working hard to stop this, the international nature of the Internet limits their effectiveness.

The number of prescription drug addicted persons is rising:
According to a 2003 National Survey on Drug Use and Health:

• 4.7 million teenagers and adults misused opioid painkillers.
• Almost 2.5 million people used opioid painkillers for non-medical reasons for the first time-an increase of 335 percent from 1990.
• 31.2 million teenagers and adults (over 13 percent of the population) said they misused prescription painkillers at least once.
• Approximately 1.5 million people used heroin.

The stigma is a major reason that addicts avoid treatment. Do we stigmatize diabetics? Also, we, as a society, do not like them. We are rightfully angry for the havoc that they cause in families and the justice system. Physical cravings are at the bottom of much of this behavior. Treat these cravings, give proper socio/psychological support in a way that will attract middle class people, and then see what happens.

This is the big question. If people do not get exposed to drugs, they will not become dependent. Most teens try smoking because of peer pressure and the fact that it is "cool". When the persons who are genetically predisposed to nicotine addiction try it, they get hooked, often for life. The only way to avoid this is to have them not try it in the first place. The bottom line is to make it "uncool" to use drugs. Most addicted people would love to stop if they only knew how. Providing treatment that works, as well as primary prevention is the way to help.

The key points are:

1. There are new, revolutionary, effective treatments available.
2. Treatment has to include the whole person with all of their individual problems.
3. Treatment has to be provided for middle class people in ways that they will be comfortable so they stay with it.
4. Most importantly, addicts can stop. There is help.