Addiction Intervention
Brief Intervention Found Effective for Repeat Drunk Drivers
Driving while impaired (DWI) contributes significantly to traffic crashes, and is involved in more than one-third of all fatalities. Many DWI recidivists (drinking drivers who re-offend) do not participate in mandated alcohol-evaluation and intervention programs, or they continue to drink problematically after their licenses have been re-issued.
Lindsay Lohan Reportedly Walks Out of Attempted Intervention
In the newest twist to the highly publicized debate over actress Lindsay Lohan’s alleged addiction to prescription drugs, Lohan reportedly bolted from a planned intervention by concerned friends.
Family Wants to Stage Intervention to Help Addicted Lindsay Lohan
Days after Lindsay Lohan’s father Michael spoke out about her addiction to prescription drugs, the media learned that the entire Lohan family wants to stage an intervention for the troubled star.
DJ AM’s Addiction Intervention Show Premieres on MTV
DJ AM’s reality television show, “Gone Too Far,” premiered on MTV on Monday. Although he lost his own battle with drugs a few months ago, AM (born Adam Golstein) set out to help others overcome their addictions with the show, and he succeeded with Amy, who is featured in the series premiere.
Gambling Intervention
When gambling has progressed from purely social to problem gambling and on to pathological or compulsive gambling, there’s only one thing certain: the individual has a gambling addiction and needs help in order to overcome it. Addiction to gambling is similar in many respects to any other type of addiction – to alcohol, illicit drugs or prescription drugs used for nonmedical purposes for multiple co-occurring addictions – the addict continues with the addictive behavior despite all the negative physical, psychological, social and financial consequences. At the extreme, he or she gets to a point where they cannot stop gambling, they need to gamble, and they will risk everything in order to continue gambling. This process occurs over and over again until the addicted gambler ends up in jail, insane, or dead.
But there is hope for the compulsive gambler. The process is called gambling intervention. Full Story
Forced into an Intervention – What Are Your Choices Now?
It all begins as a day just like any other. You get up, still a little hung over from the night before, but haven’t yet opened a beer, smoked a joint, popped a pill or shot up. Or, you come home from work all ready to get high in the quiet of your own place. Next thing you know, your family, a few friends, maybe even your boss are sitting in your living room along with some guy or gal you’ve never seen before. What the heck is everybody doing here, you wonder aloud? Somebody die? Full Story
Sticky: The Field Model of Intervention for Complex Clients: An Interview with Jane Mintz, Addiction Intervention Specialist
When Jane Mintz tells you that her 17 years as an LPGA golf professional helped prepare her for a career as an interventionist, you might smile when you imagine what she means. The truth is, Jane approaches addiction intervention the same way she approached golf: as a consummate professional who hones her craft through hard work, tenacity, and dedication. Full Story
Addiction Therapists to Intervene via Online Multiplayer Games
Addiction therapists plan to sign up for the popular multiplayer online game World of Warcraft in an attempt to help young people who are in danger of becoming addicted to such Internet activities. Experts have said that some of these types of games, in which players battle enemies for weapons and reward, can be as addictive as crack cocaine.
The Telegraph UK reports that Dr. Richard Graham, a consultant psychiatrist at the Tavistock Centre in London, plans to provide online therapy for young people who are spending so much time playing these games that they have lost touch with the real world.
World of Warcraft, which attracts almost 12 million players every month, is set in a fantasy environment, with players taking on the characters of elves, dwarves, and wizards, interacting with other players throughout the virtual world.
Dr. Graham said that some players are so addicted to these games that they will play them for up to 16 hours a day, leading them to neglect their education and social lives. He has called on Blizzard Entertainment, the company that makes World of Warcraft, to waive or discount the costs associated with joining the game so that therapists can more easily communicate with at-risk users in their preferred environment.
“We will be launching this project by the end of the year. I think it’s already clear that psychiatrists will have to stay within the parameters of the game. They certainly wouldn’t be wandering around the game in white coats and would have to use the same characters available to other players,” said Dr. Graham.
“Of course, one problem we’re going to have to overcome is that while a psychiatrist may excel in what they do in the real world, they’re probably not going to be very good at playing World of Warcraft. We may have to work at that if we are going to get through to those who play this game for hours at end.”
One solution Dr. Graham proposed is recruiting existing players to act as “peer mentors” for other users of the game. He said that Internet addiction is very difficult to identify, as the isolation means sufferers are often out of sight and out of mind.
“Those affected don’t exhibit the same outward warning signs as most teenage anti-social behavior issues do because they’re in their bedrooms most of the time, seemingly out of trouble. Because of this we can’t get through to them in the traditional educational environment or intrude on their actual bedrooms, we need to turn to the internet itself to tackle these problems.”
Interventions: What You Need to Know
When a loved one seems to have lost control of their life or has become a danger to himself or others due to substance abuse or other harmful behaviors, family and friends often try to intervene.
Singer Janet Jackson reportedly tried to stage an intervention for her brother Michael in 2007, two sources close to the Jackson family told CNN. Britney Spears’ family intervened in 2008 through the court after a judge in her custody case cited her for “habitual, frequent, and continuous use of controlled substances and alcohol.” Her father, Jamie Spears, was granted temporary conservatorship over her. Full Story
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The Addiction Primer: Everything You Need to Know to Get Help for a Loved One
A very inexpensive yet indispensable guide for anyone struggling with a loved one's addiction. Chapters on intervention, what to expect from rehab, and information on how addiction impacts the family.
