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Addiction Treatment Curbs Crystal Methamphetamine Abuse Among Gay and Bisexual Men

Addiction Treatment Curbs Crystal Methamphetamine Abuse Among Gay and Bisexual Men

Behavioral therapy can help gay and bisexual men (GBM) reduce crystal methamphetamine abuse and risky sexual behaviors and sustain these gains for 1 year, NIDA-funded researchers report. By the end of a 16-week trial of four different behavioral therapies, study participants’ stimulant-positive urine samples fell 31 percent, and their number of past-month sexual partners fell more than 50 percent—outcomes that regressed little at the followup visits. Symptoms of depression also improved.

Dr. Steven Shoptaw and colleagues at the University of California, Los Angeles and the Friends Research Institute recruited 263 crystal methamphetamine-addicted Gay and Bisexual Men throughout Los Angeles County, particularly in Hollywood, where HIV prevalence is especially high. Of these, 162 completed the requirements for entering the addiction treatment phase of the study, which were to attend six assessments and participate in at least two of four group sessions on abstinence skills during a 2-week “baseline period.” Men who met the requirements reported less severity and shorter duration of methamphetamine abuse than those who did not, despite having abused methamphetamine for 5 years and having spent $293 on the drug in the past month, on average. Half had engaged in unprotected anal intercourse (UAI) with someone other than their primary partner in the past month, and 84 percent of these men linked the behavior to methamphetamine abuse. Most participants (73 percent) reported symptoms of depression, with about 30 percent describing these as moderate to severe.

Tags: addiction, addiction treatment, alcohol detox, amphetamine, behavioral treatment, crystal meth, crystal methamphetamine, depression, detox, detox program, drug abuse, drug rehab, inpatient drug rehab, intervention, interventions, meth addiction, methamphetamine, patient, recovery, rehab, relapse, symptoms, therapy, treatment

How Is Dual Diagnosis Treated?

Historically, addiction treatment programs, drug rehab programs and psychiatric hospitals, have treated dual diagnosis separately. This has not proved to be an effective addiction treatment approach and today most addiction treatment programs, drug rehabs and psychiatric hospitals treat both disorders concurrently.

• Ideally, drug addiction, alcoholism and psychiatric disorders should be treated simultaneously.
• The first step in addiction treatment for drug addiction or alcohol addiction must be detoxification or detox – a period of time during which the body is allowed to cleanse itself of alcohol and/or drugs and all withdrawal symptoms managed.
• Detox should be medically monitored as medical challenges do occur. Time in detox varies, depending on what substances the person is addicted to, the frequency of use and amount of usage.
• Once stable in detox, a psychiatrist will assess the person to determine the mental illness and how to best address it. Addiction treatment programs or drug rehab programs for this population should take a gradual approach. Those with a dual diagnosis have to proceed at their own pace.
• The goal of any quality drug addiction treatment program or drug rehab program should be abstinence and medication compliance.
• After completing drug addiction treatment or drug / alcohol rehab, the person should be involved in psychiatric follow up and aftercare in the drug rehab or addiction treatment program they have completed in order to prevent relapse.

Denial is an inherent part of the problem with dual diagnosis. The person with dual diagnosis often does not have insight as to the seriousness and the scope of their problem. In many cases, an intervention is required to get the person into addiction treatment or drug rehab so the recovery process can begin

Tags: addiction, addiction treatment, addiction treatment program, addiction treatment programs, alcohol addiction, alcohol rehab, alcoholism, detox, drug addiction, drug addiction treatment, drug rehab, drug rehab program, drug rehab programs, drug rehabs, dual diagnosis, intervention, mental illness, psychiatric disorder, recovery, rehab, rehab programs, rehabs, relapse, symptoms, treatment, treatment for drug addiction

Where Do I Find a Gay Drug Rehab?

I recently received a call from a man who was interested in locating a gay drug rehab. He and his partner were planning a wedding and thought it would be a good idea to get clean and sober before going any further with their lives. After a few weeks in a gay drug rehab and, they agreed that the work they accomplished benefited them as a couple and as individuals. They felt ready to begin the next chapter in their lives.

I offer this example because it is so different from what I usually see. In my intervention work I have found—whether they are lesbian, gay, or straight—that very few people in a relationship with a drug addiction or alcohol addiction seek addiction treatment prior to getting married. Most continue with their drug addiction and alcoholism in denial and hoping things will get better. Needless to say, things rarely get better as the drug addiction or alcoholism becomes more progressive.

It is difficult to move forward in any relationship when drug addiction or alcoholism are present as communication begins to break down, drug use becomes the priority and depression, anger and resentment are all common place.

Tags: addiction, addiction treatment, addiction treatment program, alcohol addiction, alcohol rehab, alcoholism, depression, drug addiction, drug rehab, drug rehab program, drug rehabs, family recovery, family recovery program, family therapist, gay addiction treatment, gay drug rehab, gay rehab, intervention, recovery, rehab, rehabs, therapy, treatment

Major Study To Examine Effects Of Alcohol On Gay Community

(Buffalo, New York) The University of Buffalo’s Research Institute on Addictions is preparing to embark on what is generally regarded as the biggest study ever undertaken on the role of gender and sexual identity in alcohol use and victimization.

The five-year study will involve 400 gay and bi men and women. The research will include alcohol use and interpersonal violence, “including childhood sexual abuse, sexual assault, and intimate partner violence” said Dr. Amy Hequembourg who will lead the study.

There are a range of risk and protective factors associated with alcohol abuse and victimization among individuals who face stress associated with social stigmatization of their sexual identities, according to Hequembourg.

She will investigate social support systems, involvement in GLBT community activities, and relationships with family, friends, and coworkers.

Tags: addiction, alcohol abuse, alcohol rehab, alcohol treatment, alcohol treatment program, alcoholism, effects, intervention, rehab, relationships, treatment

Dual Diagnosis and Families

Dual diagnosis and families
The lack of professional knowledge about dual diagnosis can be frustrating for those affected and their families. Common experiences may include:

• Health care providers may blame the client for being difficult and unresponsive to treatment, rather than questioning whether the health care system is failing to provide effective dual diagnosis treatment and support for people with dual diagnosis.
• If a dual diagnosis client first seeks addiction treatment for drug abuse, the drug and alcohol workers may consider their mental illness as a secondary issue or side effect. Similarly, if they first seek treatment for their mental illness, then the mental health professionals may also consider their drug abuse as a secondary issue or side effect. The two problems are often not seen as interdependent and equally important.
• Specialist and early intervention treatments are often not available for dual diagnosis.
• Health care professionals may not involve the family in dual diagnosis treatment, even though the family is frequently much more familiar with the problems and experiences of the person with dual diagnosis.

The future of dual diagnosis treatment
Alcohol rehab and drug rehab services and mental health services are developing ways in which to respond to people with a dual diagnosis. Integrated service delivery and collaborative treatment is becoming core business for most services.

Tags: addiction, addiction treatment, alcohol rehab, alcohol rehab program, drug abuse, drug rehab, dual diagnosis, dual diagnosis treatment, dual diagnosis treatment program, intervention, mental health, mental illness, rehab, rehab programs, treatment

Gay Addiction Treatment, HIV and Crystal Meth

Health experts and policymakers are searching for ways to release crystal meth’s stranglehold on Long Beach and urban and rural communities across the map.Some say the solution requires more collaboration among addiction treatment providers of substance abuse and HIV prevention. Some contend it lies in addiction treatment designed specifically to serve gay men.

One of the first legislative targets: expanding a California law that prohibits any retailer from selling a customer more than three packages of products, like many common cold medicines, containing pseudoephedrine, a main ingredient in crystal meth.

The bill, which cleared the Senate judiciary committee July 28, would put cold pills containing pseudoephedrine behind the pharmacy counter and restrict the amount a person can buy to 7.5 grams a month.

Various health agencies in Long Beach have programs to tackle crystal meth addiction and its link to HIV and other STDs. The Comprehensive AIDS Resource Education (CARE) program at St. Mary Medical Center and the Gay and Lesbian Center have gay addiction treatment counseling services for addicts.

Merrill L. Irving, director of addiction treatment programs at the Long Beach Gay and Lesbian Center, has teamed up with city activist John Kirby and HIV specialist Todd Stevens to design a task force that he hopes will do just that. The group would address the problem of gay crystal meth addiction in Long Beach’s gay community.

“I know the statistics and know how closely tied (crystal meth) is to HIV and the gay community” Irving said. “There’s a gap within our own programs.

Tags: addiction, addiction treatment, addiction treatment center, addiction treatment program, addiction treatment programs, alcohol rehab, alcohol treatment, counseling, crystal meth, drug addiction, drug rehab, drug rehab program, drug rehab programs, gay addiction treatment, gay rehab, intervention, interventions, mental health, meth addiction, recovery, rehab, rehab programs, substance abuse, treatment, treatment center

Perceived Need for Addiction Treatment vs. Actual Need

A SAMHSA study showed that of the estimated 21.1 million individuals who need addiction treatment for drugs or alcohol abuse in 2004 did not receive addiction treatment (Department of Health and Human Services, 2005). 94.2% of these individuals felt that they did not need addiction treatment. This is an interesting phenomenon. Is this demonstrative of the power of denial involved with addiction? It seems important to ask how much our society contributes to this denial. How much education have these individuals had on when addiction treatment is necessary? While we value treating medical problems from birth, we are not encouraged to get any sort of mental health “check up” unless major symptoms begin to surface. 3.7% felt they needed addiction treatment but did not make an effort. There could be many reasons for this, but the one that instantly comes to mind is the utter hopelessness and despair that result from addiction, especially in its late stages. Interventions would be most useful in such circumstances. 2.1% of these untreated substance abusers actually made an effort but were not able to receive addiction treatment for a variety of reasons. Almost half of this group named cost and insurance barriers as the block to addiction treatment. A quarter said they had decided they were not ready to stop using. Other major factors cited were the stigma of entering an addiction treatment program, lack of knowledge on where to go for drug addiction treatment, feeling that they could handle the problems in ways other than addiction treatment, lack of time and lack of faith in the addiction treatment process. These result show the reality of how difficult it is to access individuals who could benefit from help. The managed care system continues to discourage the use of mental health benefits through discrimination against those who have been in addiction treatment as well as through the continual decrease in coverage for mental health treatment. This contributes to the stigma around mental health.If you are looking for an addiction treatment program, go to www.lakeviewhealth.com or call the national addiction treatment helpline at 1-800-511-9225.

Tags: addiction, addiction treatment, addiction treatment program, alcohol abuse, drug addiction, health treatment, intervention, interventions, mental health, recovery, substance abuse, symptoms, treatment

Crystal Meth and Gay Men

Treatment Curbs Methamphetamine Abuse Among Gay and Bisexual Men Research Findings
Vol. 20, No. 4 (March 2006)

By Lori Whitten, NIDA NOTES Staff Writer

Behavioral therapy can help gay and bisexual men (GBM) reduce methamphetamine abuse and risky sexual behaviors and sustain these gains for 1 year, NIDA-funded researchers report. By the end of a 16-week trial of four different behavioral therapies, study participants’ stimulant-positive urine samples fell 31 percent, and their number of past-month sexual partners fell more than 50 percent—outcomes that regressed little at the followup visits. Symptoms of depression also improved.

Tags: Amphetamine, Depression, Drug Abuse, Intervention, Interventions, Methamphetamine, Patient, Relapse, Symptoms, Therapy, Treatment

Alcohol Rehab Facts

Alcohol Rehab: Treatment:
3.1 million Americans–approximately 1.4% of the population ages 12 and older–received treatment for alcoholism and alcohol-related problems in 1997; treatment peaked among people between the ages 26-34 (SAMHSA, National Household Survey on Drug Abuse: Main Findings 1997, 4/99, p. 169, 172).

A study examining the relative cost effectiveness of 33 specific alcohol rehab modalities for alcoholism suggested that more costly treatments are not necessarily more effective; of the six treatment modalities classified as having “good evidence of effect,” all appear in the minimal-, low-, or medium-low-cost categories (NIAAA, Eighth Special Report, op. cit., p. 261).

Tags: Alcohol Rehab, Alcoholism, Drug Abuse, Intervention, Rehab, Treatment

Alcohol Rehab and Intervention

If an alcoholic is unwilling to get help, what can you do about it?

This can be a challenge. An alcoholic can’t be forced to get help except under certain circumstances, such as a violent incident that results in court-ordered treatment or medical emergency. But you don’t have to wait for someone to “hit rock bottom” to act. Many alcoholism treatment specialists suggest the following steps to help an alcoholic get treatment:

Stop all “cover ups.” Family members often make excuses to others or try to protect the alcoholic from the results of his or her drinking. It is important to stop covering for the alcoholic so that he or she experiences the full consequences of drinking.

Tags: Alcohol Rehab, Alcoholic, Alcoholism, Alcoholism Treatment, Intervention, Recovery, Rehab, Support Groups, Treatment