Best way to help an addict? Unconventional ideas for new/better recovery approaches?

[beena]

SWIM was thinking about her own experiences of drug counselling and the various kinds of support networks out there for users: none of which she has found paticularly helpful. SWIM was also talking to her boyfriend about his experiences (he has been in at least four different rehabs, and has tried day programmes and counselling): nothing so far has worked for him either. SWIM was trying to think about what would be the ideal rehab/support programme for a user(s) who really wanted to kick the habit or habits. SWIM is addicted to crack-cocaine, heroin and various other opiates....this is what she came up with:
1) A rehab that is for couples....In SWIM's experience nearly all rehabs are for single people and encourage a person in a relationship to end that relationship in order to work on their own problems. SWIM was once told 'it's hard enough for one person to get clean....it's virtually impossible for two'. SWIM knows only too well the logic behind this but if two people have addictions and want to stay together/kick the habit together then they should be allowed to make that decision and be given help/support both individually and as a couple. SWIM and her partner have been together eight years and they both want to get clean but nowhere will help them as a couple.
2) SWIM came up with this idea: a programme where you signed over your income (most addicts are on income support/incapacity benefit), so an individual would sign over their benefit to a key-worker...the keyworker would the give them back their money each day (so you would be getting your money in small sums)...this way a person would not have a large cheque at the beginning of the week....so less chanve of them blowing it....also if they did blow it at least they would have more money to come (so they wouldn't have to turn to crime, etc).....another idea would be to go through and work out a payment scheme for any bills/debts the addict had and the keyworker could then deduct a reasonable amount from their income (signed over to the keyworker remember) and help them pay their bills/clear their debt.......along the same lines SWIM thought it would be a good idea to have a key-worker acting as a sort of mentor: perhaps the keyworker could arrange to meet with the addict when giving them their money/allowance and go with them to do the food shopping and other day to day tasks that 'normal' people have no difficulty with....this would enable the addict to get back to living a normal life and doing normal things routinely without the risk/worry of blowing their money on drugs (SWIM has lost count of how many times her and her partner have made it half way round the supermarket with a trolley stacked high with groceries only to walk out and leave it there in preference of getting high instead).....

Those are a couple of ideas SWIM had about what would make for a better support system for people who really want to get clean.....now tell me yours.....

Have SWIY's got any bright ideas to improve our flawed system to support addicts/beat addiction? What would make rehabs better? What would really work to help addicts get clean and then stay clean???

Please tell............

Reputation Comments on this post:

great thoughts and topic, hope to add some thoughts when i get a chance :) thanks for contributing.

[mickenator]

One of swims councillors many moons ago told swim that some of there clients were being perscribed heroin and that there clients whilst being perscribed heroin where all able to work and function normally with no-one suspecting anything. So swim thinks that this would be a good idea if you know that you will never be able to leave this stuff behind then being legally perscribed itwould help many fishes sort there lives out. The only trouble is in this country ( England ) it is so difficult to get on. I know this is not a new approach but if no matter what detox or rehab program you go on you still crave the stuff then this would seem logical.

Reputation Comments on this post:

I agree with what you have to say - its a common sense approach to addiction

[beena]

yeah, I totally agree...I heard also that a scheme that prescribed pharmeuceutical heroin instead of methadone had a far better success rate of actually getting addicts off it altogether (in a planned and safe way of course). A lot of addicts just don't like methadone and will use heroin instead which means they just can't stabilise themselves on it to be able to (eventually) reduce it and get clean. The clinic SWIM goes too offers the choice of a methadone maitenance programme so as addicts can decide in their own time if and when they feel ready to stop (be it ten months or ten years). SWIM takes opiates and heroin to relieve her depression (well, that's one reason), so she feels she may be on the methadone a while although as today was only her second day (lol) it is really a bit early to say. I know a lot of clinics are now offering methadone maitenance though and can't help thinking this is a step in the right direction.