OPIOID ADDICTIONS TREATMENT: ALL THREE INTERVIEWS

OPIATE ADDICTION TREATMENT: A Neuropsychoanalytic Approach - Brian Johnson, M.D.

Sobriety alone doesn't guarantee a good life. Medication may not be enough and the talking approach of AA and NA has never proven to be enough. Through addiction, the neurology, biology and psychology of the addict has been altered, maybe forever. A number of psychological treatments have developed to treat the addict, such as cognitive behavioral therapy. But the last treatment one would expect to be useful is psychoanalysis, or psychoanalytic psychotherapy. Now with the integration of neuroscience and psychoanalytically oriented approaches, therapists have a new weapon to understand and deeply help addicts. We can finally begin to understand that one aspect of the personality of the addict does not always know what the other is doing! We can understand why addicts would choose their drug dealer over their closest and dearest relatives and friends.

OPIATE ADDICTION TREATMENT: An Integrated Approach - Ishani Dalal, D.O.

Our current state of knowledge points to many hypotheses, explanations and corresponding treatment methods, and growing all the time. There are many effective biological treatments for addiction that can help decrease drug craving and reduce relapse. As well, many varieties of talk-therapy are effective, depending, of course, on who is using the treatment and who is providing it. Dr. Ishani Dalal describes her work at the Positive Sobriety Institute, which combines medication and talk therapy.

OPIATE ADDICTION TREATMENT: Science vs Ideology and the End of One-Size-Fits-All Treatment - Mark Willenbring, M.D.

In this interview,Dr. Mark Willenbring lists a number of currently accepted facts about addictions for the falsehoods they are, including: Myth #1) Rehab is necessary for most people to recover from addictions; Myth #2.) Highly trained professionals provide most of the treatment in addictions programs; Myth #3.) Drugs should not be used to treat a drug addict because total abstinence is required. And, most importantly, he states that there is an alarming discrepancy between the treatments employed at many rehab centers and the treatments recommended by leading experts and supported by scientific research! Moreover, he states that substance abuse treatment begins with research, which most rehab facilities and Twelve Step programs ignore!