Addiction is a widespread problem among members of the transgender community, but addiction treatment often fails to meet their needs. Despite the fact that an estimated 30 percent of transgender people—quite possibly more—suffer from some form of addiction, many treatment providers are inadequately prepared, or not prepared at all, to successfully treat transgender patients. There …
Addiction Treatment Failing Transgender Community Read More »
Thanks to a growing body of research, addiction is now understood as an acquired disease of the brain. But it’s a finding that many still have trouble wrapping their minds around. To those on the outside of the illness, addiction seems pretty straightforward: A person indulges too much in a substance that boosts their mood and …
The Recovery-Minded Church provides practical, clinically informed tips from a Christian addiction specialist to guide church leaders and congregations as they love and minister to people with addictions.
Each year, an estimated one in four U.S. adults deals with a mental health issue, and at last count, close to 22 million people met the criteria for a substance use disorder. That’s the bad news. The good news is that fewer of us have to go it alone when facing such problems thanks to …
4 Tips for Making the Most of Your Mental Health and Addiction Treatment Benefits Read More »
Gloucester Police Chief Lenny Campanello recently announced that any addict surrendering drugs and paraphernalia to a police officer and requesting help would not be charged with a drug crime. The move is controversial and provocative and, the chief hopes, will start a conversation about drug addiction as a disease and the need for treatment. He …
These Massachusetts Police Will Not Charge Addicts Seeking Help Read More »
After decades of a mindset that treated incarceration as the most fitting response to drug use, signs are adding up that the nation is getting serious about giving treatment a chance. Among indications of this attitude change is the recent White House announcement of a Heroin Response Strategy that pairs health and law enforcement officials …
From the White House to Your House: A Different Approach to Heroin Addiction Read More »
It might seem like an odd concept: using drugs to gain control over drug use. But especially for people addicted to opioids such as heroin or prescription painkillers, medication-assisted treatment with drugs such as Suboxone (a mix of buprenorphine and naloxone) or methadone can save lives.
It’s billed as “the day the silence ends.” On Oct. 4, top-name performers, political leaders, and tens of thousands of people who care about resolving a public health crisis that kills 350 daily will converge on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., for the UNITE to Face Addiction rally. Staged by the nonprofit group Facing …
Promises Behavioral Health announces the opening of Bel CantoSM drug detoxification center, located just outside West Palm Beach, Fla.
The “lock ’em up and throw away the key” mindset that took hold in the 1980s in response to rising crime and drug use is showing increasing signs of waning with new calls for judicial change and the commutation of 46 nonviolent drug offenders’ sentences.