In life and in drug and alcohol rehab centers people come and go in your life.  I had to say goodbye to several people today.  It is always hard to say goodbye when you know you are not going to be seeing them very much in the future.  What was really interesting was that all four of the people I said goodbye to said I taught them a lot.

I never really set out to teach these people as they are all very competent and disciplined in their lives.  It caused me to stop and consider actually what learning really is.  What had I done to teach these people?  All I could really come up with is I asked them a lot of questions.  When they asked me something I'm sure 90% of the time I responded with a question.  That caused me to consider, is the process of learning simply asking good questions? 

Some of the best learning in drug rehab comes from good questions.  Ones like, "What do you ultimately want to do with you life?"  Or another good one is, "What has your lifestyle and behavior got you so far?"  Asking and answering good questions, doesn't sound like a too bad drug and alcohol rehab program, does it?

The cost of going to a drug or alcohol rehab center has been a significant factor in preventing many clients from seeking help.  Addiction tends to deplete all financial resources for many many people.  Finding the cash to attend a quality program once all the financial bridges have been burnt is always an interesting hurdle to say the least.

I think one of the biggest challeges in this feild is to hold the line on affordability while still giving all the tools required.  The price has to stay within the level that most families can afford.  There is lots of great rehabs out there in the $30,000 to $50,000 and higher range.  They all provide an amazing service and truly help their clients.  The problem is the vast majority of the middle class simply cannot afford this.

I think there is a lot of incredibly talented people in the drug and alcohol rehab field.  I know with this talent pool we can do amazing things for much less.  With combinations of home programs and books to control relapse, it will be possible to offer something of value to all clients.  We know we can help those with addiction move past their drug and alcohol abuse.  Now let's make sure everyone can benefit at a price they can afford.

In a drug and alcohol rehab program the value of random drug and alcohol testing is not to be underestimated.  It brings a degree of credibility and neutrality to everything.  By this I mean you don't need to convince anyone of your behavior.  You don't have to convince anyone you have changed.  Also counselors are not put in the place of judgement over their clients.  Often lawyers request assessments of a client's stay in a drug and alcohol rehab center.  Drug testing makes it much more easy to answer these requests.

Knowing that any drug or alcohol useage will very likely result in a positive test will also help a client refrain from attempting to bring drugs or alcohol into a rehab center.  This is great for everyone concerned.  The safer the rehab the better everyone will do.  Drug testing in a drug and alcohol rehab center is not intrusive.  It is a learning aide to everyone.  I think all drug rehabs should consider random drug testing.

Drug and alcohol rehab involves so many facets and options you can never have too much good information.  That is why I'm always pleased to pass on a good site.  The Women's Addiction Foundation has a really great site.  It is a site dedicated to the issues of women dependant on drugs and alcohol.  Go have a peek at THE WOMEN'S ADDICTION FOUNDATION.

When you own a drug and alcohol rehab center you obviously get approached by people for advice about drugs.  Yesterday was such an occasion.  It was a father, concerned about his son.   His son has been spending more and more time smoking marijuana.  He fears his son is slipping off the path of advancement and moving towards a much less bright future.

He asked for my recommendations.  I had two for him.  One was to talk to his son in terms of future focus.  Get to his son's dreams for his life.  His wants and his goals.  It may take some time.  Intially his son will resist.  Hw will talk in terms of hanging out and listening to music.  But with persistance kindness and love he will start to talk about what he really wants to do.  When he opens up listen with all your heart.  When you really know what your son wants, simply ask  WITHOUT JUDGEMENT how smoking so much marijuana will get him to his real dreams.  Work with him on some plans to help him with his dreams.  With future focus he will see there is less time drugs.  This will only be effective if you park your judgement at the door.

The dad told me he tried to talk to his son.  He asked him if he wanted to turn out to be one of the "good guys or one of the bad guys"?  While his heart was in the right place the question had a judgement built already into it.  People and kids will not open up and talk unless they feel safe to do so.  Creating safety talks time.  It is worth the effort.  By taking the time now maybe there will be less need of drug rehab centers later.

Drug and alcohol rehab programs can represent a real value and benefit to employers.  In todays competitive and cost cutting enviroment it might be easy to say that employee assistance programs covering drug and alcohol addiction might be considered for the axe.  I think it would be extremely short sighted to follow through with that consideration.  The costs of addiction are enormous. 

First of all is the lost productivity.  While employees are using and seeking their drug of choice they are not doing their work.  Again being hung over from drugs and alcohol decrease effectiveness at their job. Extra sick days are taken.   Then there is the increased liability to the company that may occur if an employee makes a mistake while under the influence.  Liability and liability insurance concerns run into millions of dollars for large companies.

Employees that are addicted are more likely to steal money and valuables from work.  Again this will be a large cost to the company.  Addiction affects the general health of the individual.  Again this will impact the bottom line of an organization in increased health insurance premiums.

Making help available through a good alcohol and drug rehab program is very cost effective when balanced against all the costs of addiction.  Let's hope more employers look at the big picture and make the right choice.

Sometimes it is easy to believe people have thrown in the towel and don't care much about their fellow man.  The news about Iraq seems to be all bad.  Drugs appear to be getting more available and potent by the day.  What is worse is the price is going down so it is available to more and more individuals.  The good news is I got stuck in a traffic jam today.  Nomally on the way to work this would not be a good thing.  It is what caused the traffic jam that was exciting.   All the lanes were blocked because so very many people were trying to get into a hotel.  The lot and the parkade were full.  All the available parking on the street was taken up for several blocks.

All these people were going to a one day conference.  It was on addiction and the brain.  It was open to everyone.  Doctors, nurses, lawyers, social workers, moms, dads and anyone else.  It was heartening to see all these people willing to take a day out of their busy schedules to start to learn something about addiction.  People are not surrendering to all the drug abuse in our society.  Today was a great day.

In drug and alcohol rehab programs there is often a conflict.  It is a simple one.  It is the conflict between what a client may want and what they may really need.  The most common one that we run across is the private room issue.  Obviously most clients want a private room.  However most of the research shows this is not in the best interest of the client.  Drug and alcohol addiction is an isolating condition.  Clients with roomates are forced to interact more, and in the long run do better.  There is also an issue of safety.  It is easier to prevent any self-harm issues with a roomate.  So here it is clear that what someone wants is not what they need.

Often there are multiple types of activities in a drug rehab center.  Things like yoga, hiking basketball, weight training, art and music therapies.  Some that may be attractive to someone and some that are not.  Again a client might want to try only those that are attractive to them.  However lack of structure is one of the biggest reasons for failure during the initial period at a rehab.  So again what someone wants is not really what they need.

I guess the simple way to put this is most clients have been doing what they want for the last few years and it hasn't got the results they wished for.  So when you are at a drug and alcohol rehab center you might want to think about what you really need, not what you want.  You'll be further ahead for it.

Drug and alcohol rehab centers sometimes feel like they are treating two groups of people.  The clients in the rehab program and the family at home outside the rehab program.  In reality a family unit is something that is non-divisible so to a certain extent this is to be expected.  Families stick together and families protect one another.  These are good things.  In a rehab program lots of time this leads to some miscommunication and some frustration.

Families just want to help their loved one in a drug rehab program get better.  They worry, they care.  When they talk to their loved one in rehab they ar constantly trying to read between the lines.  Are they O.K.?  Are the changing?  Is the program a good one?  So phone calls take on a greater importance that before.  This always leads to phone calls of concern back to the rehab staff about anything they think is not right.  Again this is fine.  However maybe I can save you some worry.  Almost 99% of the time if you hear about a rule, or a situation that doesn't make total sense, it is about safety.  For everyone to be safe requires a lot of work and a lot of carefully thought out policies.  It doesn't happen by accident.

Most rules are for the one time in a hundread somebody does something quite unwise.  For the other 99 situations the rules may look quite absurd.  So try to look over some of the quirky parts of some rules.  Do you want you family member safe and removed from the temptation from drugs and alcohol 100% of the time?  Of course you do.  So do the people in the drug rehab. They want everyone safe 100% of the time.   

Learning better communication skills is a cornerstone of any alcohol and drug rehab program.  Clear and concise methods of intereacting with others are a large component of relapse prevention.  Being able to openly communicate to understand and be understood will decrease many of the stressful moments in your life.  Decreasing and controlling stress is the bedrock of drug and alcohol rehab.  The more methods you have to decrease stress other than alcohol and drug abuse the safer and happier you will be.

Being clear in your communications means you have to be assertive.  A lot of individuals have trouble with this concept.  They feel being assertive is being rude, or aggressive.  It is not.  The person whom you are talking too needs to know exactly what you are requesting, and is still at choice, they just know the facts.  Let me explain.  You are at work.  A surprise happens and you have to report to your boss the situation in 2 days.  For you report to be complete you need the production numbers by tommorrow so you can finish your report.  If you go to production with a request like this, "I know you are swamped, and I'm not giving you any notice, but if it is at all possible would you mind getting my the production numbers for the last 3 months?  As soon as possible please?"  Because you feel this is an imposition on this person you are overly polite and soft in your approach.  If they say yes and give you the report in 3 days, they feel they have done a good job, and yet you feel stressed and will be late with your report.

Assertive and clear requests would look like this.  "I have just been given the task of reporting all our activities to Mr Boss in 2 days.  For this report to be complete and useful, I need your production number for the last 3 months by tommorrow at 5 pm.  Can you deliver this or do we need to find a different avenue to get me these numbers by 5 pm?"  Here the individual know exactly what they are agreeing to.  They are at choice.  They know the facts.  There is nothing wrong with being polite and asking, "Please may I have a moment of your time?",  and then thanking them for their time afterward.  Adding polite softeners in the actaul request just muddles the message and sometimes comes accross as begging. 

Again the beautiful part about drug rehab is it is such a great opportunity to practice communication without danger of offending someone.  Role play and practise with others.  Leave rehab with the ability to be assertive.