The first thing I notice when I walk in to the center on an early Monday afternoon is the smell, that acute smell of spray-on cleaning solution used in hospitals. Everything is completely static clean, and the entrance lobby reminds me off my dentists’ office. Tasteful blue chairs and maroon couches surround a large waiting area in full view of a receptionists’ desk on the side. The magazines on the coffee table are of the inconsequential type, stuff like “Parenthood” and “Popular Mechanic.” A couple people are casually waiting; pleasant, normal looking people. The whole effect is of a pleasant doctor’s practice, and on first look you would never be able to tell that this is the waiting room for a chemical dependence treatment center. A rehab center.
I talk to the receptionist, Anne, and she tells me about the clinic. This one is fairly small, fifteen rooms or so. Outpatient only, this clinic is mainly a place for people to have some quick community support for their addictions and to place people into programs that they need or find them support groups. Anne tells me that almost everyone who comes there had asked for help that day.
About twenty people work full or part-time at the clinic, mostly as counselors and as group leaders. Most of the clientele are white collar workers, people whose health insurance cover the cost of the clinic. She tells me that the majority of people who come in for treatment come for alcohol addiction, though in last five years crystal meth has quietly become more popular in Oregon. They usually don’t deal with the meth users as extensively here, though, because the neighborhood is fairly upper-class and crystal meth isn’t very popular here as it is in other areas of Portland, particularly in the outlying areas beyond the suburbs. She tells me it was getting pretty bad for a while because it’s ridiculously easy to make crystal meth with common supermarket items, at least until tighter restrictions were put on some of the main ingredients, particularly pseudoephedrines like Sudafed.
I talk to her for little while and she gets a hold of one of the group leaders to give me a breakdown of what the typical session is like. A tiny hispanic woman in a smart looking navy blue pant suit approaches me and introduces herself as Lora Hanson, and begin...
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...hat they go through various exercises, like role-playing in which you play the role of a family member or friend confronting you about your addiction, or guided meditation. Sometimes they use acupuncture during guided meditation, putting needles in people’s ears to help them fight of their cravings.
In the end I found that Lora found her job deeply satisfying, though she was the first to admit that she wasn’t always successful in helping people.” Some people just don’t want to be helped.” She told me that it wasn’t always easy to tell which people were going to make it all the way to recovery, the ones who seem like they will never make it out of the hole that life put them in miraculously make it out while those who have everything going for them sometimes just fall apart and disappear.
In the end I found my trip to the clinic to be a great learning experience, though I do hope to never have to go to one ever again for as long as I live. The biggest thought that I came out with is that the difference between the person behind the desk and the person in front of the desk, the counselor and the counseled, is very small.
Prescription and pharmaceutical drug abuse is beginning to expand as a social issue within the United States because of the variety of drugs, their growing availability, and the social acceptance and peer pressure to uses them. Many in the workforce are suffering and failing at getting better due to the desperation driving their addiction.
The center combines a safe housing environment with structured educational programs that incorporate the philosophies of Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous. Alcoholics Anonymous is the original self help group founded on principles that provide support and encouragement for recovering alcoholics. New members are encouraged to work with a spon...
...tistical data put forth that the phenomenon of using and manufacturing methamphetamine is rising in our country. The state of Kentucky, particularly the rural areas, is being taken over by the use and manufacturing of meth. This phenomenon is largely costing the tax payers, as well as, putting our future generation in jeopardy. This author feels it is important for the Kentucky Legislative to look at the numbers, the cost and proper treatment in order to deal with this large problem correctly. Passing one law to decrease the manufacturing by less than ten percent isn’t enough.
Upon arriving at the facility, I learned that The Beacon does much more than provide a meal to clients. The Beacon’s motto, “restoring hope, dignity, and self-respect,” is visible throughout the building, and they have incorporated simple services such as providing toiletries and laundry services, to more multifaceted services with the assistance of case managers to meet those goals. All of the services The Beacon offers are basic essentials that most people take for granted, but I can see and hear the relief on the faces of the clients after they shower, change into clean clothing, and receive their meal. Some clients take advantage of services more often than others, especially when transportation i...
Some of the local and nearby drug rehab programs include Drug and Alcohol Treatment, Detoxification, Buprenorphine Used in Treatment, Naltrexone (oral), Vivitrol (injectable Naltrexone), Community Mental Health Center, Hospital Inpatient, and Partial Hospitalization/Day Treatment. Drug and alcohol rehab programs in the area provide residents with treatment methods ranging from “traditional” recovery options to those that offer alternative styles (e.g. holistic medicine). While the decision to get help with drug or alcohol addiction problems is often a personal choice, many people include their loved ones in the process in order to obtain insight and a different perspective. Ultimately, it is up to the addicted individual to make the effort and changes necessary to overcome their addiction
Last month, I shadowed a physician for four days. When I arrived at her office on the first day, she said to me, "Prepare yourself, we are going to the Provident." The Provident is a nursing home for the severely mentally ill. Many of the patients living there are under fifty years old, some are as young as thirty. None of the residents have any money. All are receiving welfare and are on Medicare.
Why do you think this technique is often used with clients struggling with addiction issues?
Although the lives of so many of these patients are not easy, they still find a way to keep going and not give up on their loved ones or themselves. That in itself gives me hope. “The Waiting Room” reveals how difficult a day in the emergency room can be, but in the midst of all the stress still lies a lot of hope. I respect every person in this documentary for sharing their story and perspective because in turn, it has widened mine. No story is the same, but at the end of the day, everyone is just fighting to stay
A combination of overcrowding, state budget cuts, and indifference resulted in inhumane conditions. Geraldo recounts the shocking smell upon first entering the institutions, it “smelled of disease, death, filth, urine and feces” he calls it ''the defining moment of ...
Berger, Lisa and Alexander Vuckovic. Under Observation: Life Inside a Psychiatric Hospital. New York: Ticknor and Fields, 1994.
Drug addiction is more complicated than medicine thought in previous years. It’s not because someone is weak or unable to control themselves. They are chemical such a dopamine in the human body that makes the process difficult. The brain works in a neuropath way and drug interrupt the normal process which stops the frontal lobe to work as it should. Treatment isn’t done right and patients tend to repeat their habit after they get out of rehab. Psychological treatment is not as effective as chemical injection for dopamine to reward the brain. However, even after the treatment is complete, it will be a life struggle to stay away from drugs since the brain will always look for a simpler way to reward itself.
After visiting my grandparents several times I began to explore the hospital floor. Although shy at first, I began to talk with the patients and better understand their situations and difficulties. Each patient had his or her unique experiences. This diversity sparked an interest to know each patients individualized story. Some transcended the normal capacity to live by surviving the Holocaust. Others lived through the Second World War and the explosive 1960’s. It was at this time I had begun to service the community. Whenever a patient needed a beverage like a soda from the machine or an extra applesauce from the cafeteria, I would retrieve it. If a patient needed a nurse I would go to the reception desk and ask for one. Sometimes I played checkers or chess with them during lunch break. I also helped by mashing their food to make it easier to swallow. Soon, however, I realized that the one thing they devoured most and had an unquenchable thirst for was attention and the desire to express their thoughts and feelings. Through conversing and evoking profoundly emotional memories, I bel...
In today’s health care, the primary focus is not just helping the patient get better or curing diseases; many health care organizations are starting to recognize the benefits and importance of providing patients a healing type of environment. A healing physical environment is one that provides patients’ safety and comfort. It also reminds the health care staff why they chose health care as their career (Eberst, 2008). A healing hospital is a healing culture that respects people’s traditions and values. A healing environment is comprised of providing patients’ a loving, safe, comfortable and compassionate environment that promotes healing. As stated by Laura Eberst, “True healing environments are constructed in ways that help patients and their families cope of the stresses of illness.”
One thing I have learned is that no road to recovery is wrong, and because I found recovery in the rooms does not mean that is going to be everyone’s path. I encourage every one of my clients to find that path themselves, I am armed with resources to help them but I would never push my views onto them.
There are many addictions in the world, and drug addiction is the biggest. People may experiment with the drug for many reasons. “If your drug use is causing problems in your life, then you likely have a drug abuse or addiction problem”.(Lawrence Robinson pg.1) Many people start out using drugs by peer pressure or out of their own curiosity. Stress, anxiety, lows self-esteem and depression could be another factor to start using drugs. The drug takes over your body and gives you a good feeling that many people tend to enjoy. The urge to use the drug can keep increasing rapidly after the first use. The urge can become so severe that your mind can find many other ways to deny the factor of addiction. Very few drug addicts can feel and realize when they have crossed the line with drugs. A drug addicts mind can build up a very large tolerance for the drug that they start to abandon the activities they used to do on a daily basis like showering, hobbies, socializing and even being associated with family members. The person with the addiction will continue to use the drug knowing that it is harming there body, but they don’t have any remorse. A drug addict will often try to hide their problem, so they can continue to use without anyone’s input. Family and friends may try to use preaching methods or tell the user that they need to stop using the drug. This method is not ...