Millions for Western Cape Substance Abuse Programmes
Siphokazi Dada, a Scientist in the Medical Research Council's Alcohol and Drug Abuse Research, said: "I believe that treatment centres in the Western Cape are sufficient to deal with substance abuse. Long waiting lists and unspecialized units at …
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Problem gambling and substance abuse, and lack of treatment options linked
Problem gamblers are a hidden population among people with mental health or substance abuse issues who often don't get the treatment they need, a new study shows. Anywhere from 10 to 20 per cent of people with substance abuse problems also have …
Read more on The Virtual Medical Centre

Review: problem gambling and substance abuse linked, says sociologist
Dr. Flora Matheson, sociologist at St. Michael's Hospital's Centre for Research on Inner City Health, says problem gamblers are a hidden population among people with mental health or substance abuse issues who often don't get the treatment they need.
Read more on Science Codex

Nerd, interrupted: Inside a smartphone addiction treatment center
Interacting with our phones stimulates the release of dopamine in our brains, and addicts anticipate the pleasure of the next tweet, text, or quick search on their phone in the same way a drug addict anticipates the next fix. If the device is taken …
Read more on TechHive

California Lawmakers Order Audit of Taxpayer-Funded Drug Rehab Program
The review was spurred by Rehab Racket, a yearlong investigation by The Center for Investigative Reporting and CNN that found widespread forgery and fabrication at alcohol and drug counseling clinics, as well as wide gaps in state and county oversight.
Read more on NBC Bay Area

Port St. Lucie zoning board approves site plan, denies zoning change for …
Torino Campus would house existing clients of New Life Addiction Treatment Center. The 21 clients currently live in six rehab institutional homes throughout the city and during the day receive treatment at New Life's office at Prima Vista Boulevard and …
Read more on TCPalm

Review: problem gambling and substance abuse linked, says sociologist
Dr. Flora Matheson, sociologist at St. Michael's Hospital's Centre for Research on Inner City Health, says problem gamblers are a hidden population among people with mental health or substance abuse issues who often don't get the treatment they need.
Read more on Science Codex

Florida Drug Rehab Uses Social Media to Connect With Alumni
Treatment for addiction does not stop when a client completes rehab, and Florida drug rehab facility Destination Hope has tapped into a new way to provide around the clock aftercare support. This nationally recognized substance abuse and mental health …
Read more on PR Web (press release)

Fish Oil Can Block Dementia From Alcohol Abusers, Study Says
It is best treated by a professional, certified 24/7 medically supervised detox center such as Harbor Village. Located in sunny South Florida, Harbor Village, an alcoholism treatment center, has a trained staff including physicians and nurses who …
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Question by MacCheese: How to help a HSP in depression?
hi, my gf is a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP). She is going through i believe a deep depression now after she’s undergone the removal of a growth. Since the operation she has been feeling that she is at the junction of her life where she’s lost and not knowing what she wants. Family matters and work are also causing her plenty of stress, and relationship has become a luxury that she couldn’t afford or handle..she often tells me that she’s at the edge of breaking down, and feels that she has got no more energy to put any effort into our relationship. I keep telling her it’s ok, i’m here to support her and i’m not expecting anything from her. Being a HSP, she needs a lot of solutitude time and she hasn’t been getting enough of that..She is feeling not right about her body and the fear of going through the operation is affecting her tremendously…she loves me yet touching her has become a torture for her as if i’m just some guys out there..those are her words..I’ve tried supporting h

Best answer:

Answer by Sacha R
It’s a fairly common effect of depression, in females. My standard post follows: See depression treatments, at http://www.ezy-build.net.nz/~shaneris in section 2, and consult a doctor, to eliminate thyroid problems, etc. as possible contributing factors: also seek a referral to a therapist using Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, or Rational Emotive Behavioural Therapy. It is your decision, and yours alone, as to whether to take any antidepressants offered, but, before you do, read section 1, and check medications out at www.drugs.com so you will be on the lookout for side effects, like sexual dysfunction. My strong recommendation, however, is to follow the advice of my doctor, his partner, and also Marcelle Pick, OB/GYN NP, and Dr. Mercola, as well, at http://www.mercola.com and avoid antidepressants (page 2V refers, & antidepressant websites: page 2). All of their advice, (except prayer, because many people are not religious) I have incorporated into the “core treatments”, including others as options, such as herbal remedies. If you are diagnosed with clinical (major) depression, antidepressants may be necessary for a while, which will give the treatments time to become effective. The antidepressants themselves need at least several days, or even many weeks to become effective. It’s a good idea to taper off them slowly, with medical advice, after several months, say, to a couple of years, at most, because they are only effective in the long term for about 30% of people. Because of this, you would be well advised to begin the treatments immediately, and maintain them. I’d just thank your mental health care provider, and pocket the prescription, trying the treatments for a few months, to see if they are sufficient for you, before considering filling it (unless clinically depressed, and having great difficulty functioning, in which case I’d take them). Stress is addressed on page 42. Print/refer her. Talk to her family, telling them that she really needs their support right now, or big problems lie ahead for both her, and them. Can you contact her workplace, and ask that they ease off with her for a several weeks, if they value her, and want to keep her, as she recovers, or would she not want that, and consider it inappropriate?

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Question by Emma: what are some ways to reduce homelessness?
i am writing a proposal on homelessness in richmond va. I am looking for some ways in which we could reduce or eliminate the homeless.

So far i can only think of 2 which are affordable housing and increase in employment rate.

i need two more ways of which we could potentially reduce the amount of homeless or eliminate it altogether

any suggestions would be helpful

Best answer:

Answer by rec4lms
I think that the first issue for you to tackle is to determine why they are homeless.

The issues that I deal with find that a significant percent of the homeless have mental health issues. The second issue (not as large as mental health issues in my experience) is that many people have issues with alcohol or drug abuse. (Many people can function while abusing alcohol/drugs but many can not.) The third issue is that people have no jobs, no money, no credit, and no resources to turn to when they are down and out.

The USA does a horrible job in dealing with mental health issues, with most of the mental health hospitals being defunded or closed. Unfortunately the response the government has taken is to wait for them to commit a crime and then incarcerate them. Thus, determine how many mental health facilities are in the Richmond area that help those who can not afford treatment. (The only place we use is Central State in Petersburg.) Also note that those with mental illness can not be compelled to take their medications without a court order. And I’ve never seen the court order someone to take medication unless they are incarcerated and need to be up for trial.

Alchohol and drug abuse is a completely different problem to deal with. It may be recreational, it may be escapist, or it may be addiction. Some will respond to treatment, especially if they want treatment. However, they have to want to improve. To paraphrase one person that I worked with, when they were taking drugs they felt that everything was perfect.

Lack of job/money/resources is both one of the worst situations but also one of the easiest one’s to directly handle. Note that I listed “resources.” A resource is anything that one person can use. This can include friends and family. Religion is also important in this because even though it is often bad mouthed in TV and movies however in reality church members stick together. Affordable housing is a good idea but often politics gets involved in a situation. Several years ago I was earning $ 19,000 a year, which is not very much. My roommates and I got kicked out of an apartment because a new company bought it and made it Section 8. The reasoning we were given was that we earned too much money. A lot of the rules and laws are kind of idiotic and often geared to the lowest common denominator. Try to improve yourself and you don’t get help, but don’t try and you get supported. (There are many who truly do need help because they have hit rock bottom but unfortunately a lot of people take advantage of that safety net.) My neighbor is a great example of this. Her husband passed away and she works three jobs to keep her kids and house. However, she could quit all three jobs and get federal money. There is no tapering off of assistance, either you get assistance or you get nothing and this makes it difficult because the money for assistance is often more than the money you can earn on your own.

So, I give you the following: 1) Improve Psychiatric Care for those who need it.
2) Increase alcohol and drug treatment options.
3) Rework the Section 8, Unemployment Benefits, and the Food Stamp/WIC programs. We can probably go for Medicaid also but I don’t deal with that all that much.

I know, Too Long Didn’t Read. I used to be positive and felt that I could help those that are less fortunate than I am, and that lead to a career into such. However, a lot of troubles have been brought on by their own problems. Sadly, trying to save the world may have made me jaded but I also feel that it has made me realistic: Some people can only help themselves and the current system works against those who are trying to improve their lot in life.

I hope that this helped.

Good luck.

Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!

First US Internet addiction treatment centre to open next week
A psychiatric hospital in Pennsylvania in the US is the first in the country to provide inpatient treatment for people with Internet addiction. However, as it can accommodate no more than four patients at a time, it's going to be a while before the …
Read more on TelecomTV (registration)

Review: problem gambling and substance abuse linked, says sociologist
Dr. Flora Matheson, sociologist at St. Michael's Hospital's Centre for Research on Inner City Health, says problem gamblers are a hidden population among people with mental health or substance abuse issues who often don't get the treatment they need.
Read more on Science Codex

Tehran Allows Test Run Of Alcohol Addiction Treatment Center
Tehran has issued a licence for the establishment of the city's first alcohol rehabilitation centre. ISNA reports that the head of the Public Health Department's Addiction Prevention Centre announced that the licence is for a pilot project for the …
Read more on Payvand