AA Degree Behavioral Science

The Defeat of Prop 5: California

The defeat of Proposition 5, in California, was a major blow to the entire area of Drug Addiction Rehabilitation. Whether they know it or not it was also a disastrous outcome for the people of California. It was nothing more than a rude awakening to the destructive power of a Union gone astray from the Society it serves. The California Correctional Peace Officers Association (Union) in California is the largest, wealthiest, most powerful lobby group in the State. Corrections is a cottage industry in the California economy. The CCPOA includes prison Corrections Officers and Parole Agents, and it numbers 30,000 or more members. These are well paid, highly compensated in benefits, and like minded people. They lobby against the professional drug treatment field, constantly. California has implemented Substance Abuse Programs or SAP’s into literally every prison in the State. Some sources say there are 33 prisons, some say 36, but regardless the number changes regularly because they build prisons, not colleges in California. There are in fact, more State Prisons than State Colleges, and these are not small endeavors. Several California prisons have more than 6,000 inmates. For example, San Quentin is one with over 6,000 inmates and it employs over 900 correctional officers and over 600 other staff. This is really big business. And by establishing these so-called “treatment programs” in every prison, they are now integral in the number of employees needed. This at the same time makes the CCPOA bigger and stronger. They have exceptional legal counsel and feed lots of dollars into HMO’s, local economies, and lobbying in Sacramento, the State Capitol. This is POWER! The frightening problem is their power to keep the SAP’s in business. Well, you might ask, why is that a problem? It’s simple! The SAP programs don’t work.

A report released Feb. 21, 2007, by the State of California, Office of the Inspector General, states emphatically, in bold print in the header, “The state’s substance abuse treatment programs for inmates do not reduce recidivism, yet cost the state 3 million per year.” In other words, as I previously stated, they don’t work. The following is a quote from that same study:

“Effective treatment for substance abuse offers one of the state’s best hopes of reducing the number of inmates who repeatedly cycle in and out of prisons,” said Inspector General Matthew

Cate. “Successful treatment programs could reduce the cost to society of criminal activity related

to drug abuse, change lives, and help relieve the state’s prison overcrowding crisis. But so far the

Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has squandered that opportunity,” Cate said.

The report goes even further in announcing that “One five-year University of California, Los Angeles, study of the state’s two largest in-prison programs found, in fact, that the 12-month recidivism rates for inmates who received in-prison treatment was slightly higher than that of a control group.”

Another recent study by the University of California estimated that 42 percent of California inmates have a “high need” for alcohol treatment and 56 percent have a high need for drug treatment, and recidivism rates for California inmates in general continue to be among the highest in the country.

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Yet another recent study showed that inmates who received in-prison treatment followed by at least “90 days of community-based aftercare” did have significantly lower recidivism rates than non-participants. This begs us to question why are we not sending these addicts and alcoholics straight to the Community Based Providers? This is what Proposition 5 of 2008 was designed to do. The facts I have just given did not make it into the public arena, in support of Prop 5. The supporters did not have the funds or I’m guessing the resources to get detailed info to the Voters! (You can find this document by doing an online search for the Office of the Inspector General, California, Government and looking for the Study released Feb. 21, 2007.)

But, the CCPOA accompanied by MADD (who I had supported prior to this year) did have the money to bombard the people with a systematic ration of disinformation. They convincingly made it sound like this proposition was going to “en mass” just release the Meth and Crack onto the streets and into the communities of California. Proposition 5 was in fact a proper, economically wise, safe solution to finding a way to fund the more effective community based “Treatment Providers” in the Substance Abuse Treatment field. As with the “deemed success”, Prop 36, violent offenders would have been excluded from participation, as well as people with felony “Sales” convictions. But the propaganda machine of the corrections union, CCPOA, made it sound like the prison gates were being opened, and whoever chose to would leave. The wording of their TV spots was actually ridiculous, but founded in the “fear” works philosophy so well implemented by the Bush Administration for over 7 years. Guess what, it worked. The people fell for it. I must say that having MADD on board probably legitimized the whole campaign of terror. Too bad!

On the average it costs over ,000 to keep an inmate incarcerated for a year. FORTY THOUSAND DOLLARS!!! They can participate in a community based treatment program for fees ranging from k to k for a year. What you really have to understand here is that it only take 90 days in these programs to reduce the rate of return to prison. If you put the inmates into treatment for a full year, these numbers are going to incrementally improve. It is actually accepted among drug treatment professionals that a full year in treatment, over briefer lengths of time, can improver their own effectiveness between 50 and 90 percent.

The “science of addiction” and its implementation into treatment programs over the past ten years has been a revolution in knowledge of the “disease concept” of addiction and alcoholism. This disease is recognized as a disease by the American Medical Association , the American Psychiatric Association and the World Health Organization, and has been for decades. The drug counseling certification agencies have moved into State Universities and are turning out highly capable professionals in the field of drug abuse counseling. But they are constantly challenged by the medical and psychiatry fields because they are effective and paid much less than a doctor or psychiatrist. It’s money again. As with the prison employees, the purse strings are pulled so the defense mode kicks in. CAADAC, the California Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors has very high standards for certification that can only be obtained by a combination of courses in State University Drug and Alcohol Certification, Extension Programs, and by passing both written and oral examinations through a testing board. These kind of agencies exist over the entire country. Many private, or community based treatment programs in California require CAADAC certification over a 4 year degree, and others require a combination CAADAC credentialing and job experience in place of the degree. But the most effective treatment, that of community based providers, who the overwhelming majority of these counselors work for has no significant government funding in place. Nearly all of it goes to the failed prison SAP’s.

The opponents of Proposition 5, in California, would have a big pat on the back coming for their highly effective campaigning, if wasn’t for the fact that all that they actually did was just out spend the dedicated, under paid professionals in the drug treatment field! This is a true shame for the misinformed and the old “crime and punishment” advocates of California… the taxpayers. California Corrections has squandered over a Billion Dollars, since 1989, on prison programs that don’t work, and the public remains in the dark about the truth. But the real losers here, are the countless Addicts and Alcoholics, and their families, who are imprisoned rather than treated for a Disease that can effectively be arrested, allowing them to become “productive, taxpaying members of Society. The effect of not rehabilitating human beings afflicted with this dread disease is so far reaching that it is truly heartbreaking. Families remain broken and dysfunctional when it need not be so. The problem then extends into welfare costs and overcrowded publicly financed mental clinics, too. Financially failing county hospitals have their emergency wards overflowing with children and spouses from these families who inevitably wind up being medically indigent, using the emergency room as their clinic. As it is they remain a “burden on society” rather than an asset, because incarceration does not change the Addict. They re-offend and go back to prison where the career criminals teach them how to become more of a criminal than they ever would have been if not subjected to the prison environment and population. “Genetically prone to Addiction” children witness all of the behaviors and follow right in the footsteps of their addicted parent because the combination of genetics and environment almost assuredly doom them to do so.

Proposition 5 could have been the beginning of a turn-around for California, and may have helped the rest of the country follow suit, eventually. But, an organization desiring overtime and government perks for it’s members, that is also the largest, most powerful, union in the State, lobbied, bought and sold out the citizens of California, in the dark spirit of greed overwhelming true justice and hope, by running a campaign of propaganda that misinformed and misled the people into a very serious mistake. On top of all the human suffering and loss, we’ll waste over 0,000,000 every year until we stop doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result!!!

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Obsessive?Compulsive Disorder

It has been noted by some of the counselors from our Cyber Counselor service that there seems to be a growing number of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) cases surfacing amongst the Muslim communities around the world. This article is intended to provide some information about OCD to those who are suffering from this disorder. As such, the symptoms of this disorder, some contributing factors, and some treatment alternatives will be discussed. Both the Western and Islamic perspectives will be presented.

Definition and Description

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is characterized by unabated recurrent thoughts and images that are invariably distressing because they are violent, loathsome, threatening, or obscene in nature. They are recognized as the individual’s own thoughts, even though they are involuntary and often repugnant. They are largely out of the person’s control and often, the more the person tries to resist them, the worse they become. These unwanted thoughts generally produce a very high amount of anxiety. This is the obsessive component of the disorder.These thoughts lead a person to engage in behaviors that will relieve the anxiety or threat. Since the thoughts are recurrent, the resultant defensive behavior is also repetitive. For example, if the obsessions are about catching germs or becoming unclean, the person frequently washes himself/herself. If the obsessions are about personal safety and security, the person engages in repeatedly checking the doors and locks his/her house. These repetitive behaviors take up so much time from their daily life that they become unable to live normally. Paradoxically, the more they engage in these defensive behaviors, the more they are attacked by these obsessions. Thus, the obsession, followed by the compulsion, becomes such a vicious cycle that one cannot easily break out of it.Here is a case example that illustrates the nature of this disorder and how it renders a person totally helpless and dysfunctional. The person states:

I always feel that there is urine on my clothes so I feel unclean (napak) and keep checking my clothes to see if they are wet. I keep changing my clothes. I always feel that if I step on something wet and my feet get wet, then it is urine. If I burp, cough, then throw up, I think that my clothes are now dirty and I feel unclean; so I change my clothes and keep washing my mouth. When I make wudu’ (ablutions), I keep thinking it is not done right. When I do salah (ritual Prayer), I keep thinking that my hands are dirty because my mind keeps telling me that I have touched my private parts and so I am unclean; so I keep washing my hands. The same thing happens when I recite Qur’an. When I drive, I keep wiping my hands with damp tissues because I feel my hands are dirty. When I cook, I keep washing my hands because, again, I keep thinking that I have touched my private parts and have become unclean. I always carry tissues in my hands so I know I did not touch my private parts. I put safety pins on my dress to hold my dress down to ensure that I don’t touch my private parts. Because of the fear of throwing up, I have started putting tissues in my mouth, so I don’t throw up. I know all of these things are weird, but if I don’t do it, I feel scared and unclean and very anxious. I feel that I am crazy, my husband and kids think so too. I try to stop thinking about these feelings, but they keep getting stronger, so I give in to the washing so the feelings will go away, but they keep coming back.

From an Islamic perspective, these unwanted thoughts are called wasawis (plural of waswasah), which are whispered into the minds and hearts of people by Ash-Shaytan (Satan). We find evidence of this in the holy Qur’an and hadith. Allah says,

[Then Shaytan whispered suggestions to them both, in order to uncover that which was hidden from them of their private parts"] (Al-A`raf 7:20).

[Then Shaytan whispered to him saying, 'O Adam! Shall I lead you to the tree of eternity and to a kingdom that will never waste away?](Ta-Ha 20:120).

[Say: 'I seek refuge with Allah, the Lord of mankind, the King of mankind the God of mankind, from the evil of the whispers of the Devil, who whispers in the hearts of men](An-Nas 114:1-4).

And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said,Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that Allah’s Apostle said, “Shaytan comes to one of you and says, ‘Who created so-and-so and so-and-so?’ till he says, ‘Who has created your Lord?’ So, when he inspires such a question, one should seek refuge with Allah and give up such thoughts” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim).These waswawis play a significant role in many mental disorders that involve anxiety and cognitive distortions.

To a lesser degree, these obsessions and compulsions result in what is known as Obsessive Personality Disorder. A person suffering from this disorder shows peculiar idiosyncrasies. For example, he/she might be quite particular about a specific way of maintaining cleanliness, or washing dishes, or wearing clothes, or making their beds, or doing their work. If things are not done exactly in that way, they become quite annoyed and frustrated. Some end up being perfectionists; they are hard to satisfy. They have very high expectations of themselves and others, and become very disappointed, frustrated, and annoyed if those high expectations are not met.

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Causes and Contributing Factors

Recurring thoughts about catching germs, being unclean, and questioning one’s faith appear to be the most common forms amongst Muslim men and women. The fear of catching germs and being unclean are most often found among women. Although globally the incidence of OCD appears to be about equal between men and women, in my practice with Muslim clients, I see more women seeking help than men; or it could be that Muslim women suffer from OCD more than men.The definite causes of OCD remain elusive. Genetics, some physical disorders, and environmental factors have been presumed to contribute to this disorder. Although there is no clear genetic evidence, OCD tends to run in families. A person with OCD has a 25 percent chance of having a blood relative who has it. In my practice, I have found that a person’s sexual and interpersonal history may also be contributing factors.Often, people suffering from OCD also end up suffering from depression, a lack of self-esteem and self confidence, very weak willpower, relationship problems, and social withdrawal.Before a treatment plan can be devised, a thorough clinical assessment is required to determine the nature and severity of the symptoms and the possible causes and contributing factors.Let’s look at a case example that exemplifies the influence of environmental factors in OCD.

I remember that after my son died, I decided that I will be a better Muslim. I looked at the most religious person that I knew. It was my mother-in-law. This person is on the prayer mat all the time—always praying, always fasting. So, I thought that she was a good example. I started thinking about the ways in which she does things and that’s because she was so religious, so I thought she must be right. I started to see the behavior that she had towards things. She would not let anyone touch her things, which made me think we were not clean enough. If I washed something like a spoon or pots, then she would wash that item again three times. So I started thinking that everything had to be washed three times to be clean. So I started doing the same thing. Even before my son had died, I was “normal.” My mother-in-law does not put her clothes in the washing machine with ours, hers had to be washed separately. My husband even got her a separate basket for her clothes. Looking at her behavior, I thought that I was not clean enough. So, I began to be like her so that I would go to Jannah and see my son again.

From an Islamic perspective, these wasawis are meant to weaken the will and beliefs of a person. Let us look at some of the verses from the holy Qur’an in this respect.

[O Adam! Dwell you and your wife in Paradise and eat thereof as you both wish, but approach not this tree, otherwise you both would be of the transgressors. Then Shaytan whispered suggestions to them both in order to uncover that which was hidden from them of their private parts before. He said, 'Your Lord did not forbid you this tree save you should become angels or become of the immortals.' And he swore by Allah to them both saying, 'Verily, I am one of the sincere well-wishers for you both](Al-A`raf 7:19-21).

Let us also look at a couple of hadith.`Uthman ibn Abu Al-`Aas reported that he went to Allah’s Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and said, “Allah’s Messenger, A shaytan intervenes between me and my prayer and my reciting of the Qur’an and he confounds me.” Thereof, Allah’s Messenger said, “That is (the doing of shaytan) who is known as Khinzab, and when you perceive its effect, seek refuge with Allah from it ands pit three times to your left.” “I did that, and Allah dispelled him from me.” (Muslim).`Urwah ibn Zubair narrated from `A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that one night the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) left her during the night and went out. `A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said that she felt envious. When he returned, he found her in deep thought. He asked, “What happened to you O `A’ishah? Did your shaytan overpower you?” `A’ishah said, “O Prophet of Allah! Why would a woman like me be envious over a man like you? Is there a shaytan with me, O Prophet of Allah?” He responded, “Yes.” She asked, “Is there a shaytan with everyone?” He replied, “Yes.” She said, “Even with you, O Prophet of Allah?” He responded, “Yes, with me also, but Allah has made him obedient to me” (Muslim).

All human beings suffer from the wasawis, regardless of age, sex, faith, or creed. However, the nature, content, severity, and influence of these wasawis varies from one person to the other. For some, they only cause mild anxiety and worry, while others are more severely affected to the point of becoming spiritually, mentally, emotionally, psychologically, and socially paralyzed. In my experience, age, faith, family, sexual and religious history all play a significant role in determining the nature and content of these wasawis; while the severity and impact are determined by the pre-morbid spiritual, emotional, and psychological maturity of a person.

Treatment

Obsessive Compulsive Disorders are treatable. Several treatment modalities have been traditionally used in the treatment of OCD, including drug therapy, cognitive behavior therapy, and relaxation exercises in various combinations, depending upon the nature, the severity, and the history.Most of the drugs used to treat OCD are antidepressants. These drugs have variable effectiveness in the control of the symptoms of OCD and depression. Apparently, these drugs do not completely stop the obsessive thoughts or the compulsive behavior, but reduce the related anxiety and depression, so reducing the felt severity of the disorder. So, they manage the severity of the symptoms, but do not seem to get rid of them. This is why drug treatment is generally used in conjunction with psychological therapies.Psychological therapies, on the other hand, attempt to help the client understand the root, the dynamics, and the possible contributing factors. The stress and anxiety are treated with relaxation exercises. Faulty beliefs arising out of the obsessions and leading to compulsions are examined. Here is a case example.

In the Qur’an, there is a verse that says, “And Allah loves those who purify themselves.” Also, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Purity is half the iman.” So I keep thinking that I must keep myself clean or I am not good enough.

With relaxation, education, and cognitive behavior therapy, the person is gradually guided in correcting the faulty beliefs. Past traumas (like sexual/physical abuse) and unsavory conduct and lifestyles of the past that may be responsible for severe guilt leading to OCD, are dealt with. Appropriate home assignments are given to promote new and healthy thought process and beliefs. And, over a period of time, the obsessive thoughts and the compulsive behaviors begin to decrease.In cases where the symptoms of OCD are so severe that they render the person completely dysfunctional and lacking control over the thought processes, psychological therapies by themselves are not often very effective. In such cases, drug therapy is combined with psychological therapies to initially reduce the anxiety and depression and then followed by counseling and therapy.

From an Islamic perspective, where Allah Most High has given Ash-Shaytan the power to inject his poisonous whispers into the minds and hearts of the people, He has also guided mankind to defend themselves from these whispers. We find in the holy Qur’an

[So when you intend to recite the Qur'an, seek refuge with Allah from Shaytan, the outcast. Verily! He has no power over those who believe and put their trust only in their Lord (Allah). His power is over those who obey and follow him (Shaytan) and those who join partners with Allah](An-Nahl 16:99-100).

[And deceive among them those whom you can with your voice. Verily! On my true servants, you would have no authority. Sufficient is your Lord as a guardian](An-Nahl 17:64–65).

[And whosoever turns away (blinds himself) from the remembrance of the Most Beneficent (Allah), We appoint for him Shaytan to be his intimate companion] (Az-Zukhruf 43:36).

And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said

“Allah Most High has forgiven the wasawis that arises in the hearts of the people of my nation until one acts upon them or talks about them” (Al-Bukhari, Muslim).

In summary then, if one lives by his faith according to the guidance provided by the Creator, seeks Allah’s protection from devils, does not keep talking about or give into these obsessions, and protects one’s mind and heart from the evil effects of these offensive, threatening, or obsessive thoughts, one will gain the strength to keep them under control.

While treating a believing client, combining these teachings of Islam with modern treatments of OCD has been found to be extremely valuable, effective, and efficient. However, it loses its effect if the therapist and/or the client does not believe in these teachings or is unwilling to live by his faith.

Allah Knows Best.

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Substance Problems is it a Disease?

This question, as divisive as it is, need to be inspected and settled, understanding the problem allows for better treatments.

To understand the problem we first have to define what is known about substance problems and the concepts that surround “recovery.”

In order, the concepts are:

An allergy concept a doctors opinion formulated for Alcoholics Anonymous
A medical disease concept formulated by Dr Jellinek and approved by the American Medical Association (AMA) in 1966
A mental disorder concept defined by the American Psychiatric Association (APA)
“The” brain disease (neurotransmitter dysregulation) Positron Emission Tomography PET/ Magnetic Resonance Imaging MRI scans evidence based neuroscience.

So recovery, the industry, has four concepts, models currently taught in the treatment of substance problems.

Before starting we also need to understand “treatment” the term has many meanings, treatment to a MD doctor would mean a prescription, or medical treatment, like a breathing treatment for an asthmatic perhaps. Treatment to a PH.D or psychotherapist, dealing in substance problems, would include a ‘plan’ and depending on the doctor’s or therapist’s training or area of expertise, would vary in methods or school of thought.

Then there is thing called treatment, where people envision a place, an inpatient treatment facility, or outpatient facility. And to clarify Medical Detoxification or Detox is not treatment in the general use of the word. Detox is a period to evaluate the health, physical and mental of a person that has a toxin or multiple toxins, in their body and it’s detoxified from the body. “Getting the toxins out” creates a potential need for “recovery,” life after detox, which is the evaluation time.  Typically this is what most considers “recovery” the time after detox.

The use of the word makes sense, if you have been abusing a substance, misusing a substance or become substance dependent, then a period of time is “recovery time” a time period to readjust to life absent of substance or substances.

Before we can discuss treatments, we need to understand the problem. And we need to point out “aftercare” is different than mutual self help groups. Aftercare is part of a medical treatment plan sponsored by treatment facilities and attended by licensed therapists, with attendees being former clients of an inpatient or outpatient treatment plan.  Mutual self help groups are not treatment; it is as it states, mutual self help, without the aid of a professional present, typically called “going to meetings” associated and created by the self help group beliefs or practices.  Both are addressing the life after detox.

Most all agree, there is “no” one treatment that works, for all people. This is possibly the only point of agreement in the treatment industry, and that is subjective, since most treatment offered in the United States, uses one model of treatment, making for a biased start while most will agree the “one” treatment is not working for all people, most all people are offered only one treatment.   And the word integrated treatment, now more than ever will be needed. Integrated treatment is a combination of treatment therapies, shown to or taught, based on an individual’s needs. An integrated treatment makes proper diagnosis the key to unlocking recovery and offering successful plans, the goal is to improve upon the overall mental health of the individual.

One example is properly diagnosing, mental disorders with substance problems, as separate issues that may share clusters of similar symptoms, but making sure each is treated, this rarely happens. There are reasons this does not happen. However, common sense tells us if a person has multiple problems, they need multiple solutions. Integrated Treatment is the hope and future of substance recovery, if we are to make it better. This is the hope of most involved in research in the treatment industry. For the industry to improve, instead of blaming the clients as not ready or not willing, the “recovery industry” must adjust to the needs of the client, not the client adjusting to the methods.

To understand the reasons it doesn’t happen, you have to understand what does happen.

The four models medical and one nonmedical medical model need to be inspected and described so that people seeking help understand the differences, is it current or not?  Most have never been given a choice, since so few choices are available. Due to the absence of integrated treatment, one can only produce a, “take what you get” as the only choice, which is minus any choice. We start in the negative or wrong side of helping someone, if they are forced to accept the unacceptable diagnosis or improper diagnosis.

Stigma is ever present in the diagnosis, a person typically is given one of two designations upon arrival, mostly using an all or nothing thinking, all drinking problems turn into alcoholics and all illicit drugs are drug addicts are traditional schools of thought,  however false statements. Obviously not true, but typically “the” treatment received by most seeking help with substance problems. This happens in outpatient treatment, inpatient treatment and a requirement in the self help or mutual self help groups, to be a “member” one has to announce their status, as one or the other.

The biggest and longest “influence” in treatment is the twelve step model. It is taught in 90% of treatment centers in the United States it is called the Minnesota model. The steps have been creating “anonymous” sub groups, mutual self help groups, for 75 years. All promote the “powerless model” calling for a faith power, required recovery. That separates it from all other models. “Religion and science, the medical models” typically are like mixing oil and water.  This oil and water analogy is another of the reasons integrated treatment is being developed. There is not a system that allows for each to exist. Domain or loyalty to a system creates a feeling of being disloyal if a person practices two or three different models. Choice is missing; if someone is convinced or taught, this is an “outside issue.” Creating feelings of “disloyalty” are felt or enforced or implied. This has a lot to do with “memberships,” can you feel a part of something, if others point their suspicions at other existing methods? Or that since it was not the groups “focus” or purpose or idea, it was not allowed as a topic or relative to the group’s core beliefs.

Peer pressure in mutual self help groups does produce a feeling superiority or certainty, even if it is wrong or uninformed by other’s standards, when it compares itself, to the other offers, but if you are one of the “others” and wanted to belong to more than one offer, it turns ‘underground’ since peer pressures may see that as being disloyal or impure to the core, absolute, pure, ideals of the original group. What happens most often, someone is forced to “pick sides.” While the other “side” may have something you need, it becomes a matter of pride, or taboo, “stick with the winners” is a losing proposition for anyone that is not allowed to partake in multiple solutions.

The problem of matching treatments and medical or non medical concepts needs answers, the main question for decades is, “Is substance dependence a disease? Yes, but the answer took many years of technical advances to show what “dependence” is, in layman’s terms it is a brain disease, neurotransmitter dysregulation proven by the science community.

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Prior to this discovery, three concepts exist and dominate the thinking in the recovery industry, until the science discovery becomes accepted as the medical fact, people will remain subject to “opinions”.

The Moral (spiritual) Disease Model:

Since all step models start with Alcoholics Anonymous the wording of “allergy” is the only medical opine offered in it, solely based on one doctor’s opinion, observation based.

The oldest model (non disease model, in current use) describes alcoholism as a physical allergy to alcohol in a book titled Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). The author of Alcoholics Anonymous, Bill Wilson, however, described alcoholism as a fatal malady, an illness and spiritual malady,  of which only a spiritual experience will conquer (thus the moral disease).What few know is the “term” disease only appears once in Bill’s writing describing the  ”number one problem” as a spiritual disease, “Resentment is the “number one” offender. It destroys more alcoholics than anything else. From it stem all forms of spiritual disease, for we have been not only mentally and physically ill, we have been spiritually sick. When the spiritual malady is overcome, we straighten out mentally and physically.” Bill Wilson codified the Twelve Steps in 1938 from its origin, a Christian Evangelical movement called the Oxford Groups. He intentionally avoided the concept of alcoholism as a disease, since he did not have any medical evidence to support it, and that would remove the needed spiritual experience which is its core, the substance alcohol is not the problem, and the “malady” is spiritual.  In 1938, the position of the text has never changed, since its first printing. While the current “members” of Alcoholics Anonymous speak openly of a disease concept its origins is not from Bill Wilson or his works, Alcoholics Anonymous, the book is not the current membership and the membership is not the book. Most of the “membership” currently active is influenced by the treatment industry, with parts of treatment education being repeated amongst the members. A hybrid of more modern information leaks into the membership, but is not supported by the outdated texts.

The Medical Disease Model:

In 1960 Dr. Jellinek’s alcohol disease model (in current use)  was accepted by the American Medical Association (AMA) in 1966; Jellinek described alcoholism as dependence, with two stages preceding “alcoholism” in five different stages, alpha, beta, were used to describe “heavy use” therefore not alcoholic, Delta, Gamma and Epsilon were different stages or symptoms of  dependence thus creating  his disease symptoms, basically built on two conditions being met simultaneously or separately, loss of control, or increase tolerance to alcohol exposure, the controversy remains, surrounding   Dr. Jellinek’s research since it was based solely from  Alcoholics Anonymous volunteers, selected and funded by Marty Mann, the first female to achieve abstinence via Alcoholics Anonymous in 1940, with intermittent lapses until her death, with strong ties to Bill Wilson, she  founded  the National Council on Alcoholism (NCA)  which is now the National Council of Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD). What happens here is a national bias, and the argument of disease, has only recently been proven, scientifically in the past ten or fifteen years.

The good news bad news, depending on who is telling the story, that came from the AMA disease recognition was the creation of a “payer system,” government funding, research, and insurance policies could then pay the doctors for their time and energy, and treatment to alcohol and later, drug problems giving birth to a new recovery industry, the drug and alcohol treatment facility. Since the step model was the only formal treatment in that era and the Jellinek research funded by an AA member (Marty Mann), the Minnesota model was adopted in 90% of the treatment facilities. By forming this national treatment alliance, treatment facilities had AA meetings to send their clients to, after they completed their inpatient or outpatient treatment. This alliance created the largest sector called the self help group, run by non professionals called AA meetings. Now, some treatment facilities offer “after care” programs where professionals are present, but this may not be the case, untrained clinicians are often hired to run aftercare meetings, with the criterion of having a substance problem also, making them, sound or feel similar to the mutual self help groups. Most cannot tell the difference from one to the other.

The Behavioral Model(s)

In the same time period 50′s and 60′s, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) using the terms mental disorders to describe maladaptive behaviors produced the criterion adopted in most medical treatments for substance abuse versus substance dependence. Two controversies start to develop, is substance dependence a mental disorder or a disease? This was also controversial since some saw insurance as the reason to classify substance problems as medical problems, the same issue the AMA continues to battle. The difference being the AMA is a physical disease, the APA sees it as a mental disorder. During this same time period two forms of behavioral therapy were being developed and introduced one being Rational Emotive Therapy (REBT) by Albert Ellis Ph.D., the other Cognitive Behavioral Therapy by Aaron Beck M.D.

We start to see the confusion; we have three very different “medical” opinions base on symptoms, without evidence to prove the opinion. And terminology shifts depending on the group. One is a moral matter, one is a disease and the next is a behavioral problem.

As time goes by, we learn more and know more. Until now, we have spanned seventy five years of medical opinions.

The Neuroscience Model Cracks the Code

Neuroscience: a scientific study of the nerve system, at a molecular and cellular level the nervous system within the brain, behaviors produced by the brain.

In the past ten to fifteen years, neuroscience has produced “the” disease model, the difference here; it is actually based on scientific research, which has not possible with all the preexisting methods. By using Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scans and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) neurotransmitter dysregulation (brain damage) is being seen, in substance dependence. Where neuroplasticity or neuroadaptive states are being discovered or proven which opens research into genetics or predisposed conditions or long term exposure to a substance. The same progress made with uptake inhibitor drugs with Federal Drug Administration (FDA) approvals, such as Naltrexone, Suboxone (buprenorphine), and acamprosate.  Studies are conducted at all stages of development, with research looking at the effects of early substance exposure to adolescents and the damage caused to cognitive (thought/memory) areas of a the brain.

What does all this mean to you? First, not all models are addressing one “type,” being the substance dependent person. The moral model was created for what is called the “real” alcoholic, meaning an alcohol dependent person, the Medical model, is only addressing three stages of dependence, the behavioral model actually address a broader range of problems, which expanded on substance misuse and substance abuse.  The biggest gap in understanding “treatment” is a lack of understanding in the differences, or the “disease/non disease models” which is, not all people develop dependency while most have co-occurring problems or disorders.

The smallest groups create the labels, it is an established fact that ten percent of substance problems reach “dependence” where the active user, would be properly called “alcoholic” since they became “alcohol dependent or drug dependent.” Drug addict, is subjective, since nothing delineates the difference between misuses, abuse, or dependence, the street slang for a substance dependent person typically is incorrect.  However these terms only address “active” status. Alcoholism, is the “active state of using alcohol” having formed an alcohol dependence, there not a term to describe the same “status” for a person with a illicit drug “ism” people do not use the term drugism, it is subject to a different term called “addiction”. Neither term describes the status of a person in remission, partial remission or any state of abuse, or misuse of a substance.

So, what this means, 90% of the people seeking help with substance problems, are not dependent, but clearly abusing a substance and in some, not all, that can lead to true dependence, and the amounts taken at early ages produces loss of cognitive skills as they reach adulthood, here we see terms such as permanent brain damage appearing proven in cognition testing and seen in medical PET/MRI scans. Meanwhile the medical disease or concepts are all addressing a 10% audience, of the substance problem population, those that actually reach “the criterion of dependence.”  Most that seek help are not in active “alcoholism or dependence”. That status is reached 10% of the time. So we have a 90% “using” population, best described as “Substance Use” or Alcohol Use Disorder, Cocaine Use Disorder, Opioid use disorders et cetera. That makes “treatment” equal, in nature and allows for an end to “how bad are you” conversations to “qualify” as needing help.

If we revisit each model and apply it is a disease, now how to treat it would depend on the stage of misuse, abuse, or dependence a person has reached or showing signs of reaching. Up to 75% of dependence problems quit on their own, without the help of a professional therapy or mutual self help groups, however that statistic can be misleading since public perception of “dependence” is so often misunderstood, the person misusing or abusing a substance is often mislabeled “alcoholic/ addict.” Most that have substance problems, up to 90% have co-occurring disorders. With integrated treatment, the co-occurring disorders are treated, perhaps more aggressively than the substance problem, which is harms reduction. Reducing the harms a person experiences becomes the focus of treatment rather than, labeling or mislabeling. This would immediately increase “recovery rates” since all problems would be treated. Proper diagnosis, instead of opinion, treats the issues, where substance problems are seen as a self medication practice, a person’s attempt to treat a symptom of a disorder that is often confused with the symptoms associated with substance withdrawals. This false positive, would and often does mislead diagnosis, since deeper set disorders, or preexisting conditions,  typically are designated with the same symptoms seen in substance dependence such as depression, anxiety, or manias.

Notice what happens to the “disease” the symptoms occur as behavioral problems, not physical problems once the substance is removed via medically safe detoxification processes. The “symptoms” of craving, sadness, depression, loneliness, anger, fears, boredom, complacency,  et cetera often are ignored, since the focus is myopic, “don’t use, No matter what” is often “repeated” but the issues of depression, anxiety, anger, fear, boredom, complacency, stress, are not seen as mental disorders, but merely something that will “pass” in the “this too shall pass” mentality. This places people in harm’s way, if they have mental conditions, but are told “It will pass on its own”.  This type of “treatment” actually is in denial of the underlying issues. This can help explain why so many return to substance use, early on in their treatments, since integrated treatment is often, not available.

What does all this mean as far as “older concepts,” to some degree, they were and are correct, human observation is a valid research, but it lacks “evidence” to prove to the opposing concepts. To quote SaulRosenzweigthe dodo bird classic analogy of therapies, he proposed Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carol, seeing all therapy through one simple statement “they all win, they all deserve prizes”.

The “disease” while doing damage, is not progressive while dormant or absent of the change agent, the drug of use it is not a rouge gene such as cancer.   Brain damage (neurotransmitter dysregulation)  occurred or becomes permanently mapped in memory while active over different periods of time, based on the substance, alcohol being a much slower agent than something injected, or taken directly into the circulatory system, where the term neuroadaptive, or Neuroplasticity comes into play, is the brains ability to adapt or try to adapt to whatever levels of a change agent is administered, how it is administered the amounts administered leads to or can lead to true dependence.

Who does this? Psychosomatic problem solving skill set, “self medicating” leads to the false positives, and often a misdiagnosis occurs, “I am depressed” so I treat myself with a substance to fend off my depression.   If an untrained person, saw or hears “the substance” as the main problem and not the depression a person could easily be labeled “alcoholic or drug addict” while the cause of the depression goes untreated.

Now, take the person depressed at age 12, and binge “uses” a substance for ten years? It would look like “progression” while what we really have is a brain developing with a foreign chemical causing the brain to adapt, “plasticity” adapts now we see neuroplasticity our body is not the problem, the brain’s ability to self regulate becomes the main problem. Now we have a brain damaged from long term exposure to a substance. Did it treat the depression? And do we have two problems that both need serious attention. Where does a person go to treat depression, where is the disease? And now add “anxiety” the fear of not using the substance to treat the depression. Here we see a thought, a disease and behavioral problem, the perfect storm, which gets treated? will, not using the substance, treat the depression? Will treating the depression treat the brain disorder, will the behavior “readjust” by its self?

Now we see the problems of not using the correct “medical model” depending on the severity of the problem will determine the proper treatment or miss it by a country mile.

Lean more about treatment and recovery “life after detox” at

www.recovery2day.org

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Scholars file challenges to NIST reports on 9/11

Scholars file challenges to NIST reports on 9/11

Madison, WI (PRWEB) March 30, 2007 – Some members of Scholars for 9/11 Truth, a non-

partisan organization of students, experts and scholars dedicated to exposing falsehoods and revealing truths about 9/11, have filed complaints against the National Institute of Standards and Technology for legal defects in its studies of events of 9/11 involving the Twin Towers and Building 7. James H. Fetzer, the society’s founder, believes these actions have the potential to break the back of the cover-up that has enveloped these events.

“It would be nice if the government would tell us the truth about our own history,” Fetzer said. “But all we get from the President, the Vice President, the Secretary of State and former Secretary of Defense is a ‘song and dance’ that keeps the American people in ignorance.” The complaints have been filed by Ed Hass, who edits The Muckraker Report; Morgan Reynolds, past Chief Economist in the Department of Labor in the Bush administration; and Judy Wood, former professor of mechanical engineering at Clemson University. Reynolds and Wood are both members of the society.

The complaints, which are archived and available to the public at http://www.ocio.os.doc.gov/ITPolicyandPrograms/Information_Quality/PROD01_002619, fall into three categories. The complaint by Ed Haas concerns claims that NIST has advanced asserting that it has found “no evidence of a blast or controlled demolition event” in relation to Building 7. Haas alleges that this is false and misleading insofar as NIST has never looked for evidence of this kind. Moreover, NIST denies having found any “corroborating evidence” supporting the hypothesis that the building was brought down by controlled demolition, which is inconsistent with evidence it acknowledges.

Indeed, in his complaint, Haas observes that the gross features of the collapse of Building 7 — a 6.6 second, complete, symmetrical, and total collapse — qualify as evidence of controlled demolition of that building, which contradicts NIST’s affirmations. In a second complaint, Haas observes that conflicts of interest affect using many of the same scientists, experts, subcontractors, and others who were responsible for research on the Twin Towers to conduct research on Building 7 as well, which tends to taint their objectivity.

“Building 7 has been of special interest lately,” Fetzer remarked, “since archival footage from the BBC has been discovered, where a female reporter is explaining that Building 7 has also collapsed.” The problem is that the building only collapsed at 5:20 PM, while and she is reporting it at 4:57 PM, which is 23 minutes too soon. “You can find a dozen articles about it on 911scholars.org, which is the society’s web site. You can even see Building 7 clearly standing in the background over her left shoulder in these news video clips, which raises disturbing questions about the media in all of this.”

The second complaint, which has been filed by Morgan Reynolds, disputes NIST’s explanations of the jetliner-shaped holes in the Twin Towers. According to NIST, the North Tower (WTC-1) was hit by Flight AA 11, a Boeing 767, traveling at an estimated 443 mph, yet its tail section disappears within 0.25 seconds. And it claims that the South Tower (WTC-2) was hit by Flight UA 175, another Boeing 767, flying at an estimated speed of 542 mph, where its tail section disappears into the building in approximately 0.20 seconds.

Reynolds observes that the planes are 159 feet in length, which means that, on the NIST account, Flight AA 11 lost only 2% of its speed in despite massive resistance from a steel/concrete building. Similarly for Flight UA 175, the airspeed of which did not decline in spite of its impact with steel walls and concrete floors, as well as the dense steel core consisting of 47 columns. The complaint contends that real jetliners would have been dramatically slowed by the impact, which implies that the NIST report is not only factually wrong but also physically impossible in violating physical laws.

“Morgan poses a substantial number of anomalies that NIST will be hard pressed to explain,” Fetzer said. “But the greatest challenge to its scientific integrity is posed by the complaint filed by Judy Wood, which is a veritable tour de force.” While the documents filed by Haas and Reynolds run less than ten pages in length, the one filed by Wood runs forty-three pages, including photographs and other supporting evidence. “It is a powerful critique that demonstrates the government has completely and utterly failed to explain what happened to the World Trade Center on that tragic and fateful day.”

Fetzer characterizes Dr. Wood, who has degrees in civil engineering, engineering mechanics, and materials engineering science, as the leading expert on technical aspects of the destruction of the World Trade Center. “There are experts in many areas of science and of engineering studying 9/11,” he explained, “but she has degrees that are centrally focused on critical areas in which competence is required to begin to understand what happened on 9/11. No one else in the 9/11 community comes close to her level of expertise.”

Her complaint, technically, Request for Correction, like the others, asserts that the basic integrity of NIST’s report, called NCSTAR 1, is lacking because, by its own admission, NIST did not investigate the actual destruction of the World Trade Center Towers: “The focus of the investigation was on the sequence of events from the instance of aircraft impact to the initiation of collapse for each tower.” This means that the NIST report does not actually include the collapse behavior of the towers after the conditions for their initiation were realized, which NIST refers to as “the probable collapse sequence.”

“NIST, of course, claims that it was the impact of the aircraft and the jet-fuel based fires, which caused the steel to weaken and bring about a collapse,” Fetzer said. “But the buildings were designed to withstand such occurrences and the steel had been certified by UL to 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit for several hours without weakening. The fires only burned around 500 degrees for less than an hour (in the case of WTC-2) and an hour-and-a-half (in the case of WTC-2), so NIST really doesn’t even reach the point at which a ‘collapse’ of any kind would be ‘initiated.’ The situation is quite remarkable.”

Thus, to this day, Americans have not been given any explanation whatsoever for the destruction of the WTC complex that comports with information and quality standards. In contrast, Dr. Wood’s RFC contains a stunning array of visual evidence that confirms highly unusual energy effects seen by all as the Twin Towers were almost instantaneously destroyed in less time than it would take a billiard ball to hit the ground if dropped from the height of 110 stories, a result she demonstrates in relation to the law of falling bodies.

Wood also points out other compelling evidence that NIST ignored, including visual evidence of unusual and unexplained devastation to vehicles parked blocks away from the WTC complex, including some with disintegrated engine blocks but unexploded gas tanks. And she notes the peculiar damage of perpendicular gouges in WTC-3, WTC-4, WTC-5, and WTC-6, as well as other distinctive effects, such as cylindrical holes in these buildings and even in the street, which remain unexplained by NIST to this day. “These outcomes appear to be inexplicable if only conventional explosives, much less fires, were involved,” Fetzer said. “Cars burned, paper did not.”

Indeed, Wood goes further and points out that the huge quantity of dust resulting from the visible process of steel disintegration, some of which was captured on film, combined with these other effects suggest the probable use of high-tech, directed energy weapons. Another element of Wood’s proof is the almost complete lack of even a rubble pile at the WTC complex. “Where did it go?”, she asks. Whatever the source of energy and heat may have been, it had no effect upon massive quantities of paper floating around the city.

Jerry Leaphart, a Connecticut-based trial lawyer, who is also a member of Scholars, represents the complainants in this effort. Leaphart states that NIST now has 60 days to respond to the RFC. After that, an appeal can be taken or other legal action could be pursued. “Anyone with a serious interest in what happened at the World Trade Center has to read Wood’s complaint,” Fetzer added. “It is a stunning indictment of the NIST’s failure to come to grips with the problem. In my opinion, these submissions have the potential to shatter the cover-up in one of the greatest murder mysteries in history. We are all indebted to them for doing this.”

###

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AntiMatterRadio-Quantum, PHI At The Quantum Level = Absolute Proof of Intellligent Design 2 of 7

Please Read, Share, & Upload To Your Channel. The time has come to turn off MTV, tune out Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, Lindsey Lohan, LeBron James, TIger Woods, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Rappers, Singers, Dancers, Actors/Actresses, even most politicians. This series of videos was uploaded from YOUTUBE Channel ANTIMATTERRADIO www.youtube.com Jeffrey Grupp is the owner and administrator of antimatterradio.com and author of 3 books that are available on both his website & www.amazon.com 1. CORPORATISM The Secret Government of the New World Order 2. Telementation: Cosmic Feeling and the Law of Attraction 3. The Telescreen: The Empirical Study of the Destruction of Consciousness On Anti-Matter Radio Broadcast he discusses many different topics including: Telementation (The Creation-Manifestation of Physical Phenomena By Way of Thought, Emotion, & Intention) Precognition, Psychology, Behavioral Sciences, Physical Sciences, Mathematics, Physics, Quantum Physics, Quantum Mechanics, Sociology, Economics, Politics, Religion, Mysticism, Occultism, Spirituality, Christianity, Buddhism, Nirvana, God, Consciousness, The Divine Energy Matrix, Holograms, DNA, The Double Helix, Nihilism, Nephilim, NOW, New World Order, Illuminati, An-nu-naki, Aliens, Demons, Fallen Angles, Dragons, Serpents, Giants, Healing, Health, Wealth, Wellness, Happiness, Meditation, Ego, Nirvana, Heaven, Hell, Liberation, Corporatism, Fascism, Socialism, Communism, Democracy, PHI, PI, The Golden Ratio, The Divine …
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A short intro to the Rehabilitation Counseling program at Utah State University. For more information, visit www.rehab.usu.edu
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Anthropology – Online Studies Available

A degree in anthropology is available from a variety of online schools and colleges. There are a number of benefits to obtaining a degree from an online educational program including the ability to study when, where, and how long you want. Online anthropology schools and colleges in provide students with the training necessary to obtain various skills and knowledge for a career in the field. With degrees available from a number of online educational programs students can obtain an associate’s, bachelors, masters, or doctorates degree depending on their specific career goals.

Obtaining an Associate of Arts (AA) or Associate of Science (AS) degree in the field can take up to two years to complete. Coursework involved at this level may include behavioral science, cultural anthropology, human development, statistical analysis, and more. Online training from an accredited school or college will allow graduates to find employment as human resource managers, market researchers, museum employees, and other exciting careers. This level of degree will provide students with a foundation for furthering their education by preparing them to obtain a bachelors degree.

An online Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree program typically takes up to four years to complete. A Bachelor of Science (BS) is also available with an online education in anthropology. Accredited online schools and colleges provide students with the studies necessary to obtain their degree. Areas of study may include subjects like:

biological anthropology
history of anthropology
anthropological linguistics

…and more. With a bachelors degree from an online educational program students can graduate with the opportunity for careers like archaeological field worker, policy analyst, assistant museum curator, or other profession. With a bachelors degree students will have the knowledge and skills needed to further their education and enroll with a master’s degree program.

There are a variety of online educational programs that offer training for a Master of Art in anthropology, and some provide the opportunity to obtain a Master of Science as well. Students should expect to take up one year to complete their master studies. With an accredited online education students can study course programs that include:

economic anthropology
forensic pathology
osteology
contemporary anthropological theory

…and other related studies. There are a number of career paths for graduates with a master’s degree including museum curation or management, forensic investigation, college teaching, social services counseling, and many more. A degree of this level will allow students to further their studies by preparing them for a doctorates degree if they desire.

A doctorates degree can take one year to complete depending on how much time the individual spends on their studies. A number of online schools and colleges offer the necessary training for a career in this field. With an accredited online program students will learn about biology, primate behavior, ethnographic analysis, paleoanthropology, artifact conservation, and more. These courses will provide students with a better understanding of the field and prepare them for numerous careers. Graduates who hold a masters degree can look forward to employment such as academic research, cultural archaeological fieldwork, university teaching, and many other exciting opportunities.

A degree from an accredited online school will allow students to prepare for a future and career that meets their educational and personal goals. Agencies like the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC) provide full accreditation to programs that offer quality training and meet all criteria. With an accredited degree in anthropology graduates will find themselves able to pursue a career in a number of areas and fields. The best part of an online education is the ability to study at your own convenience, and there are numerous online studies available in anthropology.

DISCLAIMER: Above is a GENERIC OUTLINE and may or may not depict precise methods, courses and/or focuses related to ANY ONE specific school(s) that may or may not be advertised at PETAP.org.

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Assessment Scores and the Basic Skills Sequence Plan A Programs of Study
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