Four beds ready to treat Internet addicts
(CNN) — High above the frozen Potomac River in the nation's capitol, Ryan Van Cleave stood on the Arlington Memorial Bridge, contemplating his life. It was New Year's Eve 2007, and the married father of two asked himself, "Is this really something I'm …
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Addicted to the Internet? There's a Hospital-based Treatment for That
Does internet addiction warrant full-fledged in-patient rehab— or are there better ways to manage your Angry Birds and email-checking obsessions? America's first hospital-based “internet addiction” rehab program opened over Labor Day weekend at …
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Hospital-based Internet addiction center to open
As growing numbers of us check our email compulsively, play computer games obsessively and have more friends on Facebook than in real life, the first hospital-based Internet addiction treatment center is preparing to open. An inpatient program at the …
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Breakthrough New Alcohol Addiction Treatments at Alcohol Treatment Jersey City
Breakthrough New Alcohol Addiction Treatments at Alcohol Treatment Jersey City. State of the art new programs offered at Alcohol Treatment Jersey City focus on preparing people suffering from alcohol addiction to reenter the world. Share on Twitter …
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'Addicted man of Europe': Study says drug, alcohol addiction a crisis in UK
“The government has backed away from an alcohol pricing strategy; there should be an additional tax for alcohol, which could then be used for treatment for alcoholics. Our intervention is rubbish; the number of alcoholics in treatment is considerably …
Read more on RT (blog)

New Treatments Concentrate on Prescription Addiction at Alcohol Treatment …
A certified addiction specialist at Alcohol Trenton, Erin T., explains why the new treatment programs are so effective. “Reentering the world as a recovering addict is difficult enough, but when you suffer from other medical issues soothed by your …
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Pennsylvania hospital to open country's first inpatient treatment program for …
The story of Roberts, who came to grips with his addiction through years of therapy and spiritual retreats, is not unique. Treatment facilities have sprung up in recent years, but a psychiatric hospital in central Pennsylvania is now set to become the …
Read more on Fox News

Port St. Lucie zoning board approves site plan, denies zoning change for …
Torino Campus would house existing clients of New Life Addiction Treatment Center. The 21 clients currently live in six rehab institutional homes throughout the city and during the day receive treatment at New Life's office at Prima Vista Boulevard and …
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Malibu, California-based Adolescent Drug Rehab Treatment Center, Paradigm …
This third entry highlights the many accomplishments of Lisa Fischer-Carr, HHC, AADP- Nutrition, Health and Wellness Counselor for Paradigm Malibu. Malibu, California (PRWEB) September 02, 2013. Lisa is a Board Certified Health & Nutrition Coach.
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http://www.holisticdrugrehab.com/ Prozac Addiction & Prozac Abuse – We can help you discover the best addiction treatment options for you – call our 24-hour …

http://treatmentcentersdirectory.com/drug-treatment/ Viagra Addiction & Viagra Abuse – We can help you discover the best substance abuse & addiction treatmen…
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Pennsylvania hospital to open country's first inpatient treatment program for …
The story of Roberts, who came to grips with his addiction through years of therapy and spiritual retreats, is not unique. Treatment facilities have sprung up in recent years, but a psychiatric hospital in central Pennsylvania is now set to become the …
Read more on Fox News

Full-Service Gambling: Addiction Treatment On The House
The Coalition would leave it to Australia's cashed-up gambling industry to treat problem gamblers, AKA their number one customers. In NSW, this is already happening. Welcome to Fairfield, suburban Australia's pokies capital.
Read more on The Global Mail

Question by Danyel: What type of education would I need to become an RN at a substance abuse detox facility?
I am currently going to school for pre-health with a nursing concentration, until I have the requirements to apply for nursing. I would like to be able to work as an RN in a substance abuse facility. I was wondering if anyone could give me any advise as to how to go about doing this? I do not know if I will need to specialize in a certain area in order to do so or not? If anyone could help me out in regards to what to do education wise I would really appreciate it! Thanks!

Best answer:

Answer by MeMeMe
Hi,

First off, good for you for wanting to work in addiction treatment! I’m an addictions counselor and have been working in mental health (mostly suicide prevention) for 7 years and we certainly need more qualified RNs in the field. So I think you will have an easy time finding work once you’re finished with school.

As for your question… To become an RN, you need to go to nursing school. Although I’m sure you already know this. As for specializing in addiction treatment, I don’t believe there are any additional requirements, but it would be good if you have experience working with addicts or at least a greater knowledge of treating clients with addiction. So I would suggest trying to get an internship of some sort with a treatment center in your area. They may not let you do much while you’re in school, but you will be able to put it on your resume. You can learn a lot from observing how things work in treatment. The other suggestion I have would be to take some extra classes that focus on substance abuse. Drug addicts and alcoholics face a variety of special issues separate from the “normal” population you would be working with in a hospital. Most community colleges and some universities now offer programs where you can learn more about these issues. I don’t know where you live, but you may want to start looking for college programs titled “Addictions Counseling” or “Addictions Studies.” Classes you may want to take would be any type of pharmacology, a bloodborne pathogens/infectious disease class, and even alternative treatments to addiction classes. It could also help to take a few classes for addictions counselors like group therapy, individual therapy, or something similar. These will definitely help you in the future in terms of communicating with your clients.

The most important thing I would think an RN working in addiction should have to be educated about is prescription drugs of abuse. Normally when I do an intake on a client coming into treatment, they have been medically prescribed multiple addictive drugs that only contribute to and exacerbate their disease (addiction). Usually these include opiate painkillers, benzodiazepines, and other sedatives and tranquilizers. I had a client once who was on NINE different benzos which she had been on for years, all prescribed by doctors for things like insomnia, anxiety, and even hypothyroidism. This is so egregious and disgusting to me! They were killing her. She obviously had to be medically detoxed for risk of seizures and death from her meds. And needless to say, after being evaluated by our MD, she didn’t NEED any of the pills.

Anyway, I’m rambling. Just excited to see someone wanting to help in the field of addiction treatment. It is rare these days, it seems. But what a satisfying and rewarding job. Good luck to you!!!

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