Sober Living St. Louis Office Publishes Opinion On Treatment Policy

Bert Emmons (pictured, right) works with clients in our St. Louis (Kirkwood) facility and has been helping men and women get the help they need to start (and continue) a life of sobriety that is grounded in the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous (read more about our St.Louis treatment consultation office).

Bert recently had a letter published on the "stltoday.com" website which made some really good points.  Bert's letter (which is fourth down the page here) is in response to another (excellent) writing by Ned Presnall, MSW LCSW, who writes about the heroin epidemic affecting St. Louis here.

Here is Bert's published response:

Addicts need ongoing managed care, support

The commentary "Treatment for heroin addicts is essential" (Nov. 22) said, "... 30-, 60- or 90-day treatment programs [do not] adequately prepare [heroin addicts] to re-enter their natural environment and successfully manage the risk of relapse...." It said such treatment programs set "arbitrary limitations on the length of treatment" and implies that such programs do not support "continuous care."

The reality is that the great majority of those programs identify drug and alcohol addiction as incurable illnesses that can be mitigated only by adhering to time-tested techniques of life-long disease management. The best encourage patients to complete a prescribed course of treatment at an appropriate level of care and to continue recovery through appropriate medical interventions and "mutual support programs." Adherents to the principles of Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous and Al-Anon, which the commentary calls insufficient, continue to participate in such programs because they believe that they are the best route to a sustained recovery.

Medication-assisted treatment can be helpful to many addicts, but as determined years ago by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, no single treatment method is appropriate for every person. Those of us who are committed to helping people addicted to alcohol or other drugs should support the availability of more treatment options, not fewer.

Society will be better off when there is a better understanding that addictions to mood-altering chemicals are diseases that affect the entire family, that treating the addict and the family works and that investment in treatment pays huge dividends in returning people to healthy, productive lives. More treatment, not less, is essential.

Bert Emmons • Kirkwood

Consultant, Sober Living St. Louis