Open cardiac outpatient rehabilitation programs for stroke patients across …
"There should be a seamless referral of patients with mild to moderate effects of stroke to the network of established outpatient cardiac rehab programs in Canada," says lead researcher Dr. Susan Marzolini of Toronto Rehabilitation Institute/University …
Read more on News-Medical.net

Participation in Cardiac Rehab Program Improves Recovery in Stroke Patients
Although standardized outpatient rehabilitation programs have been in place for cardiac patients across Canada for more than 40 years – and are usually associated with a hospital or community facility – structured programs are not widely available or …
Read more on Science Daily (press release)

Steps Toward Recovery from Alcohol Addiction
Recovery from alcohol addiction is a process that involves several steps; you can't get into the next one without taking the first one. There are various treatment programs available and with help from a medical professional, it will be easier to work …
Read more on PsychCentral.com (blog)

New Men's Center to offer drug, alcohol recovery for homeless
Collum is the general manager of The Men's Center, a recovery program established in 1950 that follows the 12-step model of Alcoholics Anonymous. On Monday, The Men's Center celebrated the completion of one of two new planned facilities. The new $ 8 …
Read more on Houston Chronicle

Drug Rehab Center Cleveland Designs New Programs to Treat Alcohol Abuse
Many people do not think of alcohol when they think of other harmful and addicting drugs. Because alcohol is legal, it is widely socially acceptable and appears in many situations that are unavoidable even to people who have completed a rehab program.
Read more on PR Web (press release)

Substance abuse is the repeated use of drugs such as cocaine, heroin and prescription drugs. There are many reasons that contribute to such addictions, such as ineffective parenting, poor social coping skills, association with deviant peer group and peer pressure.

There are various symptoms too, such as forgetfulness, aggressiveness, irritability and getting drunk on a regular basis that can be seen frequently in an individual. If you notice any of the symptoms, it is imperative to approach a drug rehab center otherwise these can have deadly consequences if not treated at the right time. Treating the drug or alcohol abuse at an early stage is the best way to get rid of this habit.

Essentially treatment is a behavior modification therapy that helps drugs and alcohol addicts to come out of this habit and lead a healthy and stress free life. The drug prevention programs made available by the rehab center are offered after analyzing the person’s characteristics and knowing the type of substance being consumed.

The substance abuse treatment programs are carried out by specially trained staff members who are certified or licensed as substance abuse counselors. These substance abuse counselors or specialists identify the individual’s negative behavioral traits and take necessary steps with a positive approach.

Substance abuse counseling plays a crucial role in the psychological recovery of the patient. With this counseling session, addicts are motivated to develop basic problem-solving skills, achieve a balanced lifestyle, improve relationships, find a higher meaning in life and eventually lead a productive and happy life.

There are residential programs, outpatient programs and executive rehab programs also made available to patients by specialists helping in the recovery process. Partial hospitalization and methadone clinics are other amenities provided to individual suffering from alcohol or drug abuse. To ensure long time recovery, there are residential substance abuse programs made available by drug rehab centers. Get more information.

Question by eveofthefuture: How can we use anthropology in order to understand “substance abuse” and/or addiction?
Up until now, rehab programs have not been very successful. In your own words, give me some examples where anthropology and sociology can be applied and used in regards to developing a rehab program maybe more adapted to addicts.
xx machina: True, it was extremely important to anthropologists up until recently. Things have changed. With the emergence of what we call in France “Le devoir d’Ingerence,” post- post- modernist theories and more, the idea of objectivity and subjectivity have definitely transformed. New branches of anthropology are actually born with the desire to change the world, therefore, to judge and speak out (applied anthropology is a good example). You will find more and more applied anthropologists working in health organizations, developing health programs with just that “an anthropological approach.” Many medical, cultural, symbolic, urban anthropologists anthropologists have been writing on a social phenomenon called addiction. It would make sense to apply these findings in the benefit (not necessarily judge as you point out) of addicts.
Thank you Dek and Glo.

Best answer:

Answer by Glo*
Taking examples from Native Americans, they used many intoxicants such as plants and herbs and drugs that are now considered to be psychoactive. However, they have/had a strict set of rules and guidelines for usage. For many years they did not have a addiction/abuse issue. However, now they do and have for sometime. The conditions of use, times, places, rules and guidelines changed. They have developed a program called the “wellbriety movement” you may find it quite interesting. go to http://www.whitebison.org and you can find further information regarding this program. Going with the norms of their cultures they include family and community in the abstinence process. Unlike mainstream society with clients in treatment being kept away from family and friends. Getting direct support from therapists, counselors and fellow addicts only. They are given the tools and sent out into society and expected to use these tools and remain clean in the same environment with a family that really has no knowledge of what their loved one is dealing with. I actually just composed a research paper and posted it on my 360 blog the other day…. You are more than welcome to go there an read it if you would like. You can use your own words to show examples. God bless****

Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!

TV Recap: 'The Walking Dead' Episode 401 – '30 Days Without an Accident'
Out in the woods he encounters a young Irish woman who begs for the meat, claiming she and her husband haven't eaten in days. The woman is caked with dirt and looks almost feral. He offers her a pouch of supplies, for which she is grateful, but she …
Read more on FEARnet.com

SHUTDOWN IMPACT: 13 Days after the federal government closed, affects are …
Vocational rehabilitation programs helping adults with disabilities could begin to feel a pinch because these agencies receive 80 percent of their funding from the federal government. LABOR ISSUES. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission will not …
Read more on New York Daily News

To understand what a non 12 step rehab program is, it is first important to understand the 12 step rehab program. The traditional 12 step rehabilitation program was pioneered by Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) in the 1930’s. Narcotics Anonymous (NA) and other similar 12 step programs followed later. The foundation of these programs is that addiction is a disease that the individual must struggle with for the rest of his or her life. These social treatment programs rely on counseling, peer support, and mentorship to treat addiction. Unfortunately, these programs do not address both the physical and mental dependencies to get at the root cause of a person’s addictive behavior.

How is non 12 step rehab different?
Fortunately, non 12 step rehabilitation programs can and do address both the physical and mental dependency components of addiction. In a non 12 step rehab program, medical and rehabilitative specialists are able to determine the underlying cause of a person’s dependency. This enables a person struggling with addiction to make a complete and sustainable recovery. Unlike the traditional 12 step program which labels an individual as an addict with a disease they must fight against for the rest of his or her life, the non 12 step program provides the tools for a complete recovery, making addiction a thing of the past. Non 12 step programs identify drug and alcohol addiction not as diseases but rather as resolvable situations. A non 12 step program allows an individual to move forward in life without the shadows of alcoholism always looming in the background.

A holistic and integrated approach
Non 12 step rehab programs use new advances in medical technology to determine the root cause or causes of an individual’s addiction. New medical techniques used by non 12 step programs may include brain scans, brain mapping, neuro and biofeedback, biophysical rehabilitation, and other advanced technologies. Medical and rehabilitative specialists combine medical treatment and therapeutic counseling to address the body’s systems and functions to determine and treat a patient’s unique underlying cause or causes of addiction.

If detoxification is necessary (a detoxification process is not necessary for all patients), medically managed biophysical detoxification can help remove toxins stored in the fatty tissues of the body and reduce withdrawal symptoms. Once detoxification is complete, biophysical rehabilitation and neuroscience technology become an important part of the non 12 step rehab program. Addressing the body as a whole and with an integrated approach to treat the physical, emotional, and neurological systems, helps to provide an individual with the tools necessary for a complete and sustainable recovery. A traditional 12 step program does not address all of these issues; thus, the threat of relapse remains constant in a person’s life.

The holistic approach used in non 12 step programs ensures that the individual gains a comprehensive view of how he or she fell victim to addiction and exactly how the addiction has impacted the quality of his or her life.