A couple more videos…
A few months ago, I ventured into the world of video, posting some clips from a presentation I did about addiction and treatment. The initial clips were focused on understanding addiction, and since then, I have been meaning to get back to the lecture and do the same for treatment. Recently, I did go back and review the lecture and realized that I can speak much more clearly about the nature of addiction than I can about how to deal with it as a problem. I think this is because there is not one way to help someone with addiction. We have multiple treatments, methods, medicines, and programs that can all contribute to good outcomes. At the same time, I believe the number of choices also can become paralyzing and unhelpful when all that someone really wants is to be given clear direction on what to do. Sometimes 12 steps, 7 habits, and even 5 actions can be overwhelming. Enough said. I did find a couple of clips that pertain to treatment, but they don’t discuss the overarching 5 Actions framework that I am now evolving as a way to think about intervention. But soon. Check these out and let me know your thoughts.
I appreciate information in your video blog. As an owner of a drug testing lab in Kansas City, the more information and articles I come across that I can share with my staff the better off I am in helping the community we serve. I have an associate who has a sister that is an alcoholic. I will share this site with her and them.
Thanks for the feedback and passing it on to others, much appreciated!
J
I found these videos very useful in understanding addiction and treatment better! I think the most important thing I learned from your video posts is that every individual and their process with addiction and treatment is different. Knowing what works best for certain individuals is key and knowing more about their background allows the ability to be able to connect the dots! Thank you for the information!
Thanks for the feedback! Yes, people are very different and thus our approaches and interventions need to be as well.
J
I agree that there is not a specific way to help someone with addiction; there are many methods available and each patient of addiction will respond differently to these treatments. Some patients respond better when they are put in a treatment program that uses group therapy where they are able to share stories with other recovering addicts and lean on one another for support. The video gives a different method of treatment of using individual therapy and how it helped your methamphetamine patient who had only been in group therapy programs. A question that I have is why would those previous drug therapy programs keep on using the same treatment plan of abstinence and group therapy on this patient even though clearly it has not been working? I think that upon using a treatment method more than two times with a patient and it does not work, a different approach should be used. There is no point of having them go through the same type of method over and over hoping that they will somehow respond to it. With the many treatment methods that are available, why not try them to see which one that specific patient responds best to?
Old habits die hard…but let me clarify one thing. While he was “in” treatment he always did really well, the mistake was discharging him. His addiction was a chronic condition, and treatment continued to fail because it was acute-based.
J
Everyone is different and every addiction case is different to treat. The key is to listen carefully to the problems and think critically about the situation and hiding causes behind it.
^Azdehr is right. For the fact that so many different types of addiction exist, there are many different reasons for why people start using drugs/alcohol in the first place. But again, by evaluating people’s life story – and how they got to where they are is important for successful treatment (in my opinion). I’d like to beleive that just by listening to someone and showing that you care can predict how they do in treatment.
But… I’ve always heard this saying, and I don’t know if it’s true or not. “You can’t help someone who doesn’t want to help themselves”.
I really enjoyed watching the videos; it reinforced the information given by you in Debbie’s class. One of many points you touch on that was really interesting is how a lot of therapies only work in groups. I think being in a group doesn’t really help a person express their true feelings and thoughts about what they are going through. It’s always more beneficial to be one on one/face to face in order to understand a person better. Another important point I think always helps is being available whenever they need you because you never know if a particular stressor right at that moment is going to make them relapse. I think people with addictions want to be heard, they need patience, support and motivation to get better.
Empathy can go a long ways in helping others. Your final statement has some truth, but motivational interviewing was developed as an antidote to this problem.
J
I’m a student from Debbie’s drug education class at Portland State University. I remembered when you talked about Action 2: Evaluation and quizzed about which one leverage point is the main a difference in treatment, sleep apnea was indeed the last answer chosen. I liked how you mentioned about how people tend to usually start out and focus with the big issues/problems like depression or trauma and thinks its the leverage point for change. However, evaluating small issues will probably be more beneficial because those are the ones that lead and create to bigger issues. Every doctor tries to find a way to successful treat their patients and I’m glad you found out it all started out with the problem sleep apnea. I agree that being a doctor and treating their patients, you have to be creative (switching ideas) because every patient will response differently.
Great videos! Enjoyed them a lot. Keep it up!
I enjoyed the videos very much and they are very similar what Debbies class where you came to speak. I think that your thoughts are very insightful and correct. Addiction is very personal and we need to deal with it on a personal basis. Treatment is the cure but we need to set up special treatment plans for every individual. Old habits die hard but with the right support and addict can get help. I think it is very important for a person trying to recover from addiction to have a support system like you said. They need that one person that they can call at any time of the day to help them get them through whatever is going on. I also think you make a good point that we need to focus on the bigger picture when treating addiction. The small factors are just as important as the big factors.
I thought this part of the presentation was particularly interesting. It really comes down to “can we treat the root problem?” and then when the initial problem is identified, whether it be sexual abuse, anxiety, physical abuse, ect. Only then can you start to work on the drug addiction part of the persons life.