Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, May 3, 1990 TAG: 9005030519
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: ROBERT RIVENBARK SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: RADFORD LENGTH: Long
The Virginia native had been drinking a case of beer a day and gobbling up amphetamines for years to ease the terrible blues that followed each drinking bout. Suicide was beginning to look like the only solution to his problems.
But Dave managed to get home to his family in Virginia, where he was persuaded to enroll in St. Albans Psychiatric Hospital's chemical dependency program. He agreed to tell his story, provided that his real name was not used.
The program helped Dave rid himself of his addiction and gave him the tools with which to rebuild his life. St. Albans physicians also diagnosed and treated a severe mental condition caused by his drug problem.
Dave, now 33, hasn't taken a drink or popped a pill in nine years. What's more, he recently completed a university bachelor's degree program and has enrolled as a graduate student in psychology. He plans to become a drug counselor.
Not every chemically dependent person is as lucky, or as determined to break free of drugs, as Dave was. Some lapse back into addiction. But programs like the one at St. Albans can significantly help the ones who have the will to break free, according to Jimmie Parish, director of St. Albans' chemical dependency program.
"You're never really cured of an addiction," she said, "but you can learn to manage it."
Parish said people like Dave come from every strata of society and every age group.
"There's probably a misperception that drug abusers are students because we've got so many colleges in the area, but students are probably the smallest percentage of our clientele," she said.
Parish said alcohol is still clearly the drug of choice for all age groups among her patients. More than half of the 500 patients that cycle through the program each year - 30 to 35 at a time - are alcoholics, many of whom also use other drugs in combination with alcohol.
"Alcohol is legal, it's readily available and, in terms of adolescents, they can get it at home," Parish said.
Cocaine and marijuana addicts comprise most of the rest of the patient population in the program, although methamphetamine, or speed, is beginning to make a comeback after more than a decade of decline, Parish said.
Parish said she hasn't seen much crack use in her patients. She attributes this to the fact that the New River Valley tends to run a couple of years behind such metropolitan areas as Washington, where crack is a major problem.
The chemical dependency program takes 21 days to complete. At $465 a day, that totals $9,765. Insurance usually covers some of the cost, a hospital spokesman said.
St. Albans psychiatrist Dr. Morgan Scott said treatment begins with a thorough psychological and medical evaluation, during which the admitting psychiatrist gets a detailed picture of the patient's family history. The psychiatrist interviews the patient's family and spouse, too.
"If you find out someone's father was an alcoholic and his grandfather was an alcoholic, the likelihood is that he'll be an alcoholic, too," Scott said.
The medical evaluation determines, among other things, drug-related conditions such as cirrhosis of the liver and ulcers.
If the preliminary evaluation identifies a drug problem, the psychiatrist refers the patient to the chemical dependency program and continues to work with the patient to treat medical consequences of addiction. The program has nine components, including daily classes, lectures on addiction as a disease, group therapy, weekly films on substance abuse, a family program and an aftercare program intended to keep patients off drugs after they leave the hospital.
Patients also attend Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous meetings, or both, at the hospital.
The program runs Monday through Friday, and also offers some weekend workshops and classes.
On a typical day, patients attend class beginning at 8 a.m. Class includes a half hour of meditation to get patients' minds focused for the tasks of the day. From 8:30 to 9:30, drug counselors lecture about drug abuse as a disease. Patients can return to their rooms for rest until 10, and then they meet for an hour with their psychiatrist for group therapy.
From 11:15 until 12:30, they attend another group therapy session with their drug counselor.
"Learning to face their addiction is the hardest task people have," Parish said. "That's why our counselors do a lot of confrontation. We call it holding up the mirror. It's done gently, but directly, to get people to really look at what they've lost as a result of drug or alcohol abuse."
After lunch, patients return to their groups from 1:15 p.m. until 2. During the afternoon, patients either rest or participate in adjunctive therapy until 6. Parish says adjunctive therapy is vitally important because it teaches patients skills they can use to help stay off drugs.
In adjunctive therapy, music therapist David Bryant teaches guitar, piano, voice, songwriting and drums, using music as a healing therapy.
"Drug abusers tend to be very creative," Bryant said, "and playing an instrument, singing or writing a song is very relaxing." Adjunctive therapy also includes an outdoor track program that teaches patients to trust one another and cooperate in group tasks - an important component in restoring the spiritual and emotional damage that drugs have done, Parish said.
From noon Thursday through noon Saturday, the program offers family therapy, which includes lectures on drug abuse and group therapy to help them cope with living with a drug abuser. They are encouraged to attend Al-Anon meetings, which are specifically for spouses and family members of drug abusers.
When patients complete the program, they are encouraged to sign up for aftercare, which requires a commitment to attend group therapy once a week for a year and attend Alocoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous meetings three times a week for at least a year.
"We don't have any statistics available to prove how many of our people successfully stay off drugs after they leave us," Parish said. "But I don't know anybody who's really made it, and stayed off drugs, who hasn't used a 12-step recovery program like AA and NA offer."
The chemical dependency program accepts most major insurance plans, and Parish said that those who don't have group or private insurance plans that cover substance abuse recovery can be referred to other recovery hospitals and clinics.
For more information about St. Albans' chemical dependency program, call 639-2481, extension 303, in Radford.
\ AGENCIES FOR OTHER NEEDS\ New River Community Action Call 382-6186\ Mental Health Services of the New River Valley Call 831-5900\ Substance Abuse Services of the New River Valley Call 382-5050\ Consultation, Education and Prevention Services of the New River Valley Call 831-5908\ Mental Retardation Services of the New River Valley Call 831-5175\ Juvenile & Domestic Relations Court Call 382-5745\ Guidance counselors Available at public schools throughout the New River Valley. Contact the appropriate school.\ New River Valley Community Services Board Call 831-5908.
by CNB