Experts praise 'historic' mental health, addiction parity rule
Mental health and addiction treatment experts praised what they described as a “historic” expansion Friday of insurance coverage for millions of Americans suffering from psychological or substance abuse problems, five years after a law requiring the … Read more on NBCNews.com (blog)

N.J. addicts suffer from shortage of drug treatment facilities
Three months after fleeing a Florida rehabilitation center, Amanda, a 24-year-old from Woodcliff Lake, was using heroin again. She stole her grandmother's credit card, bought thousands of dollars worth of electronics and sold them in Paterson for drugs. Read more on NorthJersey.com

No One Brings Dinner When Your Daughter Is an Addict
She was admitted to a psychiatric hospital, diagnosed, released. She began years of counseling, recovery meetings, and intensive outpatient rehabilitation. She lived in a recovery house, relapsed, then spent seven weeks in a drug and alcohol addiction … Read more on Slate Magazine

Question by denveryay: How is it possible to absolutely categorize Alcoholim as a disease and not an illness?
“Disease” is a very loosely defined term in many respects. There are multiple disorders, infenctions, and symptoms that can be typical of a definable disease. Also, a disease must have specific and constant cause(s), which in the case of Alcoholism is the CHOICE to drink ethyl-alcohol. The cause of the “disease” is the recurring and disregarding CHOICE to drink. A choice, however pathological or illogical, doesn’t seem to be appropriate as a cause or a condition of any disease. Despite the negative psychological, physiological, and other results of long-term alcohol abuse, it seems that it shouldn’t be classified as anything more than a treatable mental disorder.

“Illness, although often used to mean disease, can also refer to a person’s perception of their health, regardless of whether they in fact have a disease. A person without any disease may feel unhealthy and believe he has an illness. Another person may feel healthy and believe he does not have an illness even though he may have a disease” – Wikipedia on ‘Disease’

It is true that if some Alcoholics didn’t have a disease to blame for their disorder, they would not be able to stop drinking. It is also true that because of Alcholism-as-a-disease, many people who ABUSE alcohol are led into misperceptions about their drinking habits. In fact, it is only alcohol DEPENDENCE that could possibly even begin to be categorized as a disease.

An individual who is alcohol-dependent exhibits behavior indicitive of addiction. Drink-seeking, withdrawal and tolerance, and psychological malfunction among others are the results and symptoms of addiction. My father and friends have struggled with alchohol and drug addictions and I have seen the both successful and unsuccessful treatments implemented in their lives.

It seems that Alcoholism and drug addictions are psychological disorders that in a vast majority of instances could be cured by a conscious choice (however difficult) to STOP using the cause of the addiction. It has been proven in many instances that an addict can stop using the object of their addiction without any complications, as long as they are commited to quitting.

It seems that diseases should only be those such as Cancer, Diabetes, Hepatitis and the like. People who have these diseases cannot make a choice to simply stop a behavior to ease their pains. Whereas, although undoubtedly difficult, an addict can ease his or her addiction by making a powerful choice to stop using.

By allowing alcoholism to be categorized as a disease, it seems that negative stigma is removed from addicts’ behaviors and people who drink are given an excuse to justify their behavior. Instead of feeling like they’ve let themselves and their families down, they are able to blam their behavior on a cause outside of their control, which is simply not true.

“Neither the U.S. Veterans Administration nor the Social Security Administration makes payments to individuals, whose disabilities stem from substance abuse, including alcoholism.” – From Shoutwire

I am NOT pro- or anti- any of this I am looking for factual objective evidence and ideas that could lead to helping me understand why Alchoholism is given reprieve by its disease classification.

Best answer:

Answer by kentuckyredhead5353
Well about half way through I had a problem and I developed this question. What is the difference with what you were saying in comparison to a cigarette smoker for some it’s the habit and the motion and some get physically sick for the lack of nicotine is it not similar. emotional vs physical and different for different personality types? 🙂 Guess I could read on have a good one:-)
OK I’m finally done now i get it, it’s all in there head so all they have to do is get it out of their head and it will all go away. They just will it away. Take 2 aspirins have a sucker and call me in the morning:-)
oh excuse me revision: update-read the last part. it was taken out as a disease because social security was being drained by leagal alcoholics that the government makes good taxes off of. The only help and recourse for a recovering alcoholic, drug user, vet, is a mental health clinic because why did they drink in the first place. Now uncle sam pays for their drugs and kills them off with a lousy health plan. looks who is on all the class action suits that will never collect anything. Trust me I have done my homework on this subject. I know many vets and low income disabled people. Nothing has changed but the name of the disease.

What do you think? Answer below!

Question by Chris: My 16-year-old friend was sent to intensive outpatient drug rehab & foster care for 3 months & wont see me?
He says his foster mom is very anal and wont let him hang out or call me since im in my late 20’s.

Plus, he started dating a 23-year-old ‘recovering’ crystal-meth addict he found from his group therapy. His foster mom allows that relationship but not ours. I’ve always been clean and sober.

Anyway, my friend is bi-polar, ADD, anxiety, h.s. dropout, parents never married and split, and he now works at micky dees full time.

I went to see him at his work and he basically acknowldged my presence for 5 seconds, but he wouldnt come out to talk to me. He went in the back hiding.

My question is: do you think he will contact me when he “gets out of foster care” next month or is he blowing me off because he has a new bf or some other reason?
He was only addicted to weed by the way.

Best answer:

Answer by vert.grimble
The thing is he has to get healthy before he should have any relationship. I know it hurts but if you like or love him he needs to spend 100% of his time working on himself. He needs learn to love himself first.

As for the “woman in recovery” she might help him – Addicts helping addicts – but if she knows anything about recovery she should not be leading him into a relationship.

12 step programs (AA, NA, Ca) discourage sponsors of the opposite sex and suggest having at least 1 year clean before getting in to a love relation.

Sometimes clean friends enable the addict. Try a Al-Anon meeting to better understand this and yourself. Then you can be his friend and help him. It is a baffling disease and it effects everyone around the addict.

Best of luck – I’ll say a little prayer for the two of you.

ps pot is not as dangerous as a lot of the other addictions but it can still mess a person up big time – especially if there are other mental health issues.

Add your own answer in the comments!

Question by Noa Bach: What is the difference between a mental health counselor, social worker, or psychologist?
I’m not sure what I want to do. But I know I want to provide counseling to all types of people (children, teens, adults, elderly) my main goal is to help heal them so this can end up healing the Planet 🙂
Don’t want to do any type of testing. I want to help children dealing with bullying, childhood trauma, etc. Adults that need healing from abuse, self-esteem, depression, family problems, sexuality issues etc.

Best answer:

Answer by Weird.
Mental health counselor (clinical psychologist) works with people who have schizophrenia and OCD
and much more

Social Worker works with kids, teens, and adults dealing with troubled living situations and such

Psychologists go in to depth with the patient and can work in a variety of environments, they also prescribe patients when needed.

You sound like you want to be a counseling psychologist which is different from a clinical psychologist. You should look into it more.

Give your answer to this question below!

Question by Noa Bach: What is the difference between a mental health counselor, social worker, or psychologist?
I’m not sure what I want to do. But I know I want to provide counseling to all types of people (children, teens, adults, elderly) my main goal is to help heal them so this can end up healing the Planet 🙂
Don’t want to do any type of testing. I want to help children dealing with bullying, childhood trauma, etc. Adults that need healing from abuse, self-esteem, depression, family problems, sexuality issues etc.

Best answer:

Answer by Weird.
Mental health counselor (clinical psychologist) works with people who have schizophrenia and OCD
and much more

Social Worker works with kids, teens, and adults dealing with troubled living situations and such

Psychologists go in to depth with the patient and can work in a variety of environments, they also prescribe patients when needed.

You sound like you want to be a counseling psychologist which is different from a clinical psychologist. You should look into it more.

Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!

Question by nunya: Does anyone know at least 4 to 7 places where someone can get long term treatment for drug addiction?
This is for D.A.R.E

Best answer:

Answer by cintchick
The link I included below will take you to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) treatment center locator. SAMHSA is a division of the US Department of Health and Human Services

Enter a city and state, then select “Continue”. You will then be offered options to target your search. In your case, under “Services Provided” you would select “Substance Abuse” and under “Type of Care” you would select “Residential Long-Term Treatment” and/or “Hospital Inpatient”. Again, select “Continue”. You will then see a list of centers with their contact information, as well as a summary of the services they offer and forms of payment accepted.

Add your own answer in the comments!

Company building two drug rehab centers in south St. Louis
Preferred Family Healthcare is building two residential drug treatment centers in south St. Louis — one in the Dutchtown neighborhood, the other in Tower Grove South. The Dutchtown center, at 4066 Dunnica Avenue, will be for adults while the Tower … Read more on STLtoday.com

Odyssey House calls for residential drug rehabilitation beds in country Victoria
A leading Victorian drug rehabilitation provider is calling for extra residential rehabilitation centres in country Victoria, to combat a 100 per cent increase amphetamine-related problems in the last two years. Most of the increase in amphetamine use … Read more on ABC Online

After rehab, houses help addicts learn to live sober
In reality, though, the residential or in-patient settings known as “rehab” are far from the end of an addict's path toward recovery, and it's easy to slip up the moment you leave that clinic. “It's not a 30-day fix,” Rudolph said. That's where places … Read more on Janesville Gazette