History of Addiction Rehabilitation

Had a bit of time today so started looking at the history of addiction treatment and was quite surprised to read the first time anyone tried to rehabilitate an addict was back in 1864 so decided to do a little blog on it for hopefully your interest. Brief History of addiction treatment The effects of drugs and abusing them have been effecting many for hundreds of years or basically since first taken. Ever since drugs have been taken there has always been many that abused them and went a bit further than others using them for recreational or whatever other purpose at the time. These few (maybe not so few) used addictively suffering all the side effects that come with addiction and withdrawals. Once this became clearer with the physical as well as mental health implications then some form of help or rehabilitation became sought particularly in the USA and can be traced back for hundreds of years. A Mr Benjamin Rush was a pioneer in identifying that alcoholism wasn’t a willpower problem with the individual but an issue with the alcohol and challenged the moral failing attitude at the time bringing society closer to the disease concept noted today to be the most effective form of and sort of alcohol or addiction treatment. His work eventually helped stop addiction being viewed as a criminal offence and slowly began to get professionals to come around to the thinking of treating addiction as an illness that may be managed rather than use punishing prayer groups or time in mental institutions as some sort of cure. The first hospital to be set up for only dealing with alcoholism patients as a mental health condition dates back to 1864 in the New York State Inebriate Asylum and as the public began viewing addiction and alcoholism much more seriously than before they began to open community groups offering support plus the equivalent of what we now see as sober homes began to appear for alcoholic’s to try to remain sober in. Obviously now we have thousands of various forms of addiction treatment type centres, sober homes, sober houses, dry houses, drop in centres, detoxification hospitals or centres and basically every area from using drugs or alcohol right through to after care can be taken care of should the addict / alcoholic wish to engage with any of these services. More often than not an individual’s treatment plan or recovery plan will be a mixture of the above facilities working together plus (or) an introduction to a self-help group such as Narcotics Anonymous / Alcoholics Anonymous depending totally on the individual seeking help.

Addiction Treatment Centres in America

Just a quick post to keep anyone reading up to date on what's been going on at the site recently. It seems the last internet push we made over in America did catch the eye of quite a few drug rehabilitation centres from seemingly all over, thats judging by the various places from different states now listing with us. Hawaii, Georgia, Connecticut, Delaware, Arkansas, Idaho & Alaska all now have a treatment or detox facility listed plus more currently deciding what sort of listing they want. It's looking like we may have to spend a bit more time and effort making sure the word remains live and active for addiction treatment centres within the wonderful USA (US OF A in my best Kenny Everett voice).

Addiction Treatment

There is so much information around now of all the various forms of treatment available to those addicted and I am sure almost every one with a problem has been told about at least one of them at some point and either attempted to access the service, ignored the suggestion, is waiting for the right time or has been put off completely by reading information on the net that can at best be misleading. Obviously I value the fact that so much information is available but don't think a proper informed bit of research has yet been done giving the actual success rates from all the various forms of addiction treatment available to help anyone wanting it make an informed choice. Here's one small example taken from our National Institute on Drug Abuse website "Drug treatment is intended to help addicted individuals stop compulsive drug seeking and use. Treatment can occur in a variety of settings, take many different forms, and last for different lengths of time. Because drug addiction is typically a chronic disorder characterised by occasional relapses, a short-term, one-time treatment is usually not sufficient. For many, treatment is a long-term process that involves multiple interventions and regular monitoring." Anyone being recommended to residential treatment reading the above information could well be put off by thinking whats the point of going into rehab as its going to take more than one time so thats not going to solve my problem now. In my experience many recovering addicts I know have been through rehabilitation more than once however there is also a very large amount that only ever went through once and have managed to maintain ongoing recovery for many years and sometimes decades. I know there is no way of knowing who will benefit first time and who will not but wouldn't it be a good idea to have a piece of information that broke down the figures honestly for all rather than just another government document leaning towards favouring whatever direction the current party in power is deciding to aim the funding. Just a thought.

Google Maps

Good day to you all and thanks for checking this little informational Blog about our 12 Step Treatment Guide and what's new about it. It has now been completely transformed at the back end making it much quicker and simpler to get around plus a lot of the deadwood that Google needed to see 10 years ago is now totally irrelevant and obsolete so deleted leaving the site quicker smoother and we think a little bit smarter to look at. One of the main new features is the home page premier display (plus all the featured countries displayed) has now been changed and updated to include Google Maps for simpler quicker searching. For example, if you are on the home page and wish to view treatment centres in say Central America then you simply enlarge the map so you can see what centers are listed by the balloons showing within the area you are looking ( Panama, Belize, Nicaragua etc) you get the point. Plus if you have a certain center that you appreciate or simply like then you can now click on the Facebook like button to let others know or simply click the Facebook share to display it on your Facebook page. Please do have a look around and like as many pages as you wish plus do check out the articles submitted and if you think you have an informative bit of work worthy of being shown then get in touch and let us know all about it. Take care and thanks for reading.

Drug Addiction Treatment in the United States

Treatment for drug abuse and addiction is delivered in many different settings, using a variety of behavioral and pharmacological approaches.


Drug addiction is a complex disorder that can involve virtually every aspect of an individual's functioning—in the family, at work and school, and in the community.

Because of addiction's complexity and pervasive consequences, drug addiction treatment typically must involve many components. Some of those components focus directly on the individual's drug use; others, like employment training, focus on restoring the addicted individual to productive membership in the family and society (See diagram "Components of Comprehensive Drug Abuse Treatment"), enabling him or her to experience the rewards associated with abstinence.

Treatment for drug abuse and addiction is delivered in many different settings using a variety of behavioral and pharmacological approaches. In the United States, more than 14,500 specialized drug treatment facilities provide counseling, behavioral therapy, medication, case management, and other types of services to persons with substance use disorders.

Along with specialized drug treatment facilities, drug abuse and addiction are treated in physicians' offices and mental health clinics by a variety of providers, including counselors, physicians, psychiatrists, psychologists, nurses, and social workers. Treatment is delivered in outpatient, inpatient, and residential settings. Although specific treatment approaches often are associated with particular treatment settings, a variety of therapeutic interventions or services can be included in any given setting.

Because drug abuse and addiction are major public health problems, a large portion of drug treatment is funded by local, State, and Federal governments. Private and employer-subsidized health plans also may provide coverage for treatment of addiction and its medical consequences. Unfortunately, managed care has resulted in shorter average stays, while a historical lack of or insufficient coverage for substance abuse treatment has curtailed the number of operational programs. The recent passage of parity for insurance coverage of mental health and substance abuse problems will hopefully improve this state of affairs. Health Care Reform (i.e., the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, "ACA") also stands to increase the demand for drug abuse treatment services and presents an opportunity to study how innovations in service delivery, organization, and financing can improve access to and use of them.

USA Drug rehab centers

Children Treated For Drug And Alcohol Abuse

Children as young as four are being referred to specialist drug and alcohol treatment services in the UK, an investigation has revealed.

Hundreds of youngsters have been flagged as being at risk of becoming addicts or have even started abusing alcohol and substances themselves, leading charities to call for improved education in schools.
Freedom of Information requests sent to all councils in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland reveal children as young as four have been referred to specialists in South Ayrshire.
Eight year olds have been flagged up to services in Waltham Forest and East Ayrshire, while Herefordshire, Liverpool, Oxfordshire, Rutland, the Scottish Borders and West Berkshire have all seen nine year olds referred.
Bury, Calderdale, Halton, Hull, Monmouthshire and Rochdale councils have referred 10 year olds.
The figures were uncovered by the Press Association.
A referral can either mean the child is vulnerable to drug and alcohol misuse through exposure from a parent or relative, or could have started abusing them on their own.
The most common reason for children to come into contact with drugs and alcohol is through their parents, according to experts.
Preventative work is key to heading off the problem among youngsters, they say.
According to the most recent statistics from Public Health England, 366 children aged 12 or under were referred for treatment in 2012/13, compared with 433 in 2011/12.
More than half of under-13s - 59% - received treatment for cannabis misuse.
A third were treated for alcohol misuse, with a small number abusing solvents.
Andrew Brown, director of programmes at the charity Mentor UK, which seeks to protect children from drug and alcohol misuse, said it was "vital" education surrounding alcohol and drugs is improved.
Evidence suggests the "norm" of having one or two lessons on the subject a year is not sufficient, he added.
One of the Government's official drug advisers, Professor Simon Gibbons, recently said more needed to be done on drugs education in primary and middle schools.
By law, schools must cover the harmful effects of drugs on behaviour and health as part of the national science curriculum.
A new curriculum being introduced in September states that pupils in year six - those aged 10 and 11 - must learn to "recognise the impact of diet, exercise and drugs and lifestyle on the way their bodies function".
Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) lessons remain non-compulsory, although the Department for Education recommends schools schedule time for them and use the lessons to expand the knowledge pupils get in science lessons.
A Government spokeswoman said: "Both the old and the new curriculum are clear that all pupils should be taught about how drugs and other substances can be harmful to the human body.
"The science curriculum also covers how drugs can affect people's health and lifestyle.
"Teachers are also free to use their professional judgement to address any specific issues that meet the needs of their pupils through PSHE."

Children Treated For Drug And Alcohol Abuse

Heroin Has Expanded Its User Base

Compared with 50 years ago, today's heroin user is whiter, more suburban and had prescription opioids for a gateway. Dina Fine Maron reports

In the last half century, heroin contributed to thousands of deaths, from Janis Joplin to Philip Seymour Hoffman to legions of people now remembered only by their friends and families. But compared with 50 years ago, the drug’s consumers look strikingly different now. Back then, a typical user was often an inner-city minority male whose first drug experience was with heroin, at about the age of 17. Today’s users are mostly non-urban white men and women in their late twenties whose gateway drug was a prescription opioid. The findings come from surveys of some 2,800 heroin users who self-reported demographic information and other data when they entered treatment centers. The results are in the journal JAMA Psychiatry. [Theodore J. Cicero et al, The Changing Face of Heroin Use in the United States: A Retrospective Analysis of the Past 50 Years] Up until 1980, whites and non-white sought treatment in equal numbers. But in the last decade, nearly 90 percent of treatment center patients were white. Recent users said that heroin became their drug of choice because it was both cheaper and easier to get than prescription drugs. Half of today’s users said that if they could they’d prefer prescription drugs because those opioids are “cleaner.” The researchers note that their study is limited because it includes only users who sought treatment. But the data seem to confirm the growing suspicion that heroin has left the city and is now comfortably ensconced in the suburbs.
—Dina Fine Maron
Heroin Has Expanded Its User Base