Addiction Abington Virginia Dennis Lee

                            Doctors For Equal Rights For Physical And Mental Pain

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       Founding members Siobhan Reynolds Kevin Byers Vanessa Mullin Alen J Salerian

How To Help People With Addiction In Abington Virginia Or Anywhere Else

Alen J Salerian MD

March 6, 2015

   Our treatment success in addictions is not a proud chapter for  modern psychiatry .

  In general there seems to be a very high relapse rate with equally high noncompliance with  treatment.  Evidence shows people with addictions are more likely to die prematurely with a significantly shortened life span.

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  Two observations  stare at us and deserve further discussion. God and DSM.

  God and moral values are important but they don't lead our battles against diabetes or cancer.

  Our treatment of addictive disorders are God centric with morality and law guiding treatment rather than science.

  AA, and NA are frequently prescribed by judges and local social agencies. Often that's where the triage of initial therapeutic planning takes place.

   This seems  odd . We don't take the  same approach with victims of cancer or diabetes.

  There are no mandatory group sessions recommended for people with diabetes or cancer. No clinic or doctor would deny insulin or if a patient fails to fully comply with her or his prescribed diet. It would be rare for a cancer patient to give regular urine samples to ensure full compliance with treatment .And  face  instant discharge upon positive results.

  The second problem is DSM which fails to differentiate a disease from a disease complication.

  99% of addictions are complications of various brain disorders. This means successful treatment of any addiction demands proper diagnosis of a primary psychiatric disorder.

I Most good clinicians realize this and take special measures to incorporate an effective treatment that addresses the underlying condition. Many excellent centers do the same.

   It is true however that in general many addiction centers are clueless about DSM's secret error. Especially in socioeconomically challenged areas such as Southwest Virginia and West Virginia where millions are victimized by public officials, often demonized in their own communities. The approach in Southwest Virginia is  once you are an addict you are always an addict and you must act like an addict and follow  strict standard guidelines of treatment. Or face imprisonment or loss of your children. These are two stories from Abingdon Virginia where a prosecutor Dennis Lee has been winning elections by his let us kick ass approach.

  The reality does not change: 99%  of people with addictions  often receive treatment that may be counter therapeutic for their underlying psychiatric condition.

 People with Early Alzheimer's, concussional syndromes,  brain injuries, attention deficit disorder or social phobia get  often victimized. What's worse the victims get the blame for our collective failures.

 These are simple and fixable problems. We can solve them quickly if we have the courage to talk about them.