Recovery, though difficult, available to all
By Bobbi Mlynar
Originally published 01:40 p.m., December 20, 2007
Updated 01:40 p.m., December 20, 2007
Situation: A woman has been convicted for the fourth time for driving under the influence of alcohol. She’s been ordered to treatment for alcohol abuse.
Diagnosis:
A. Her drinking is a problem
B. Her drinking is not a problem
Jim Costello remembers a man who clearly saw that “B” was the correct response.
“It’s not my drinking that’s the problem, it’s that I drive when I’m drinking. That’s the problem,” Costello recalled the man telling him.
Costello is director of Recovery Road at Newman Regional Health.
“Rational thought does not enter into your world,” he said of the alcoholic. “By definition, it’s mentally ill thought.”
Protecting that perceived sanctity of an addict’s drug of choice is not unusual. Removing alcohol might not seem a viable option in an alcoholic’s mind.
“Addiction affects all aspects of a person’s life,” said Celeste Wempe, director of alcohol and drug services at the Mental Health Center of East Central Kansas. It affects the body itself, social interactions and psychological components of the addict. It is, she said, a “bio-social-psycho illness.”
Legal outcomes, however, might force an alcoholic to treatment.
“Unfortunately, people do not usually seek treatment until they’ve had a crisis of some sort,” she said.
Family and health issues can precipitate a crisis; however, incidents involving law enforcement -- and subsequent court orders -– send many alcoholics to treatment.
Services locally range from Alcohol and Drug Information School (ADIS) through long-term programs that last more than one year. Outpatient services are offered by Recovery Road, the Mental Health Center of East Central Kansas, and recently by Corner House, which for many years has provided residential treatment.
• ADIS is “for folks that have initially had a DUI and no real clinical record of substance abuse,” Costello said.
• Group, individual and sometimes family therapy sessions are available for varying lengths of time, as needed, at local treatment sites.
• In the long-term treatment program, running 56 weeks at Recovery Road, clients spend 15 hours a week for six weeks in treatment that includes education, some group therapy and “self-exploration kinds of efforts,” he said.
F After care also is available here when people have been incarcerated.
“Post-incarceration, we do an intake here, an assessment of their addiction, and then set up a treatment program lasting approximately a year,” Costello said of Recovery Road’s program.
Abstaining isn’t easy without coping tools and support from mental-health staffs, as well as friends and family. Sometimes the latter associations complicate recovery, even after clients have identified them as vulnerabilities that could cause relapse. If heavy drinking is part of the family’s or friends’ environment, returning to those can cause problems.
“The possibility of you abstaining is pretty slim,” Costello said. “However, this also is America, and we can’t say, ‘You can’t go live with your family.’”
Costs
There is no estimate available for the ongoing auxiliary costs to business and society caused by alcoholism. Those silent costs include days missed at work, expenses from law enforcement and courts, welfare assistance for families, accident and insurance costs, and the emotional costs to the alcoholic families and friends.
The basic costs for alcohol treatment are easier to define.
At the Mental Health Center, fees are based on a sliding sale that includes family income and size as guidelines; some receive treatment at no cost; others have insurance that pays a portion, Wempe said.
“Some people can come here free of charge because of the state funding,” she said. “If they don’t have a job, they don’t have to pay for treatment. The state has set aside that money to help people get well because (alcoholism) has such a devastating effect on families.”
No one is turned away because of inability to pay, she said.
The average cost of intensive outpatient treatment at Recovery Road is about $3,600, Costello said, calling it a “fair ballpark number.”
Recovery Road is the only treatment program in Emporia that is not financed with state or federal funds.
“We’re not part of that network yet. I don’t know if we will be,” Costello said.
Recovery Road clients who do not have insurance get a percentage deduction in overall cost and a non-interest payment plan for up to 18 months, although 6 months is the preferred payoff time.
“We do whatever we can to help them maintain responsibility for their own health care,” Costello said. “Those who participate in payment for their treatment tend to get better. If you’re going to pay for it, you’re going to respect it a little bit more. … That’s the rational side in the irrational world of addiction.”
Costello cautioned people who have insurance coverage to obtain referrals before beginning the program, and to check into the extent of the coverage. Some insurance companies cover approximately one-third of the cost of treatment, though the companies sometimes are late or reluctant to pay.
A mental health parity bill pending nationally would cause insurance companies to handle addictions and mental health conditions as they do other illnesses or disabilities. However, treatment centers and the professionals involved in the industry first must convince authorities to change their attitudes toward addiction.
“Still, there is a view or belief or a philosophy that substance abuse is a matter of no will power and choice, and mental illness is a message from God,” Costello said.
“The economics of providing treatment, particularly when it is a relapsing disease complicated by people viewing it as a poor ability to maintain control (makes) it difficult to hold companies accountable to pay for treatment.”
The companies’ refusal to pay complicates the clients’ recovery.
“Right around the time they’re finishing the most intense portion of their treatment, they hear from their insurance company that it isn’t covered, and now they have this $4,000 bill hanging over their heads, where they thought they had good health insurance.”
Outpatient vs. inpatient
Outpatient treatment remains less expensive than inpatient treatment and, as research is proving, outpatient treatment is “at least as successful” as inpatient, Costello said.
“There’s always going to be those (celebrity treatment centers) where people walk in the door with a big wad of money in their hand and say, ‘Here, treat me for a month and get me off heroin,’” he said. “ … They’re going to get the exact same service that they see here.”
Costello said that in addition to environment, genetics and other factors that long have been thought to affect addition, researchers now are using brain scans to study how addiction operates within the brain and how people in the recovery phase respond to stimuli.
He mentioned beer commercials during the Super Bowl as an example of something that can evoke visible reactions in the brain.
“What happens in your desire to drink compared to the nonalcoholic who sees the same commercial?” he asked.
The differences observed may provide clues that can help alcoholics working toward recovery. The path to that goal is something that lasts a lifetime.
“Recovery is a lifestyle; it’s not an event,” Wempe said. “It’s not something that happens overnight. That’s something that people need to remember. It’s about total change in lifestyle.
“It’s a tough thing, but it’s do-able. People do it every day.”
Signs and Symptoms
• Drinking alone or in secret
• Being unable to limit the amount of alcohol you drink
• Not remembering conversations or commitments (sometimes referred to as “blacking out”)
• Drinking rituals, such as before, with, or after dinner, and becoming annoyed when the ritual is disturbed or questioned
• Losing interest in activities or hobbies that once brought pleasure
• Feeling a need or compulsion to drink
• Irritability when your usual drinking time nears, especially if alcohol isn’t available
• Keeping alcohol in unlikely places at home, at work, or in the car
• Gulping drinks, ordering doubles, becoming intoxicated intentionally to feel good or to feel “normal”
• Having legal problems or problems with relationships, employment, or finances
• Building a tolerance to alcohol so you need an increasing amount to feel the effect
• Experiencing physical withdrawal symptoms — like nausea, sweating, or shaking — if you don’t drink
Support Groups
The following local groups and agencies may be useful in helping individuals and families deal with alcohol or substance abuse:
• Emporia Al-Anon, 7 p.m. Tuesdays at west campus of Emporia Presbyterian Church, 1702 W. 15th Ave. More information: 343-2011, 343-3999, and 343-3709.
• The Hardcore Group of Narcotics Anonymous, 7 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, 828 Commercial St.
• Alateen, 5:45 p.m. Tuesdays at west campus of Emporia Presbyterian Church. Call 343-3999 or 757-1191.
• The Emporia Group of Alcoholics Anonymous, 325 1/2 Commercial St. For meeting times, call 343-3455.
• New Beginnings Alcoholics Anonymous Group, 325 1/2 Commercial St. For meeting times, call 343-1474.
• Friends of Bill W. AA Group, Presbyterian west campus, 1702 W. 15th Ave. For meeting times, call 342-1908.
• Life and Hope Hispanic Group AA, 6 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays; 5 to 7 p.m. Saturdays; and 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sundays, 22 Commercial Street.
• Campus AA Group Didde Catholic Campus Center, 1415 Merchant St. A light lunch is furnished. For meeting times, call 343-6765.
• Narcotics Anonymous Pioneer Group, 882 W. Fifth Ave. For meeting times, call 866-802-6262.
• Celebrate Recovery, 12-step Christ-centered program, 6 p.m. Fridays, with meal, worship and gender-specific small groups, First Church of the Nazarene, 2931 W. 24th Ave. For information, call 342-2858.
• Mental Health Center of East Central Kansas, 343-2211
• Recovery Road of Newman Regional Health, 342-6678.
• Corner House, 342-3015.
tallicamantw01 (anonymous) says...
Thanks for running this article. I was one of those people who had to have tragic events in my life to see that "I" had the problem, not everything or everyone else. I now get the help and support I need to function normally without having to drink or drug. I hope that others may benefit from recovery as I and many others, from all walks of life, have.
December 21, 2007 at 10:33 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Pollyanna (anonymous) says...
What meetings above would be good for family members of addicts?
December 21, 2007 at 11:55 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )