Cocaine Addiction Treatment and Cocaine Drug Rehab Announced by …
Cocaine Addiction Treatment and Cocaine Drug Rehab Announced by Recovery Associates. Cocaine is a stimulant drug and very addictive. Recovery Associates understands how powerful this drug can be for people and delivers numerous treatment options …
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Dubai centre to fill gap in addiction recovery
DUBAI // A new government drug-rehabilitation centre will offer follow-up services to recovering addicts to help prevent relapses. The centre in Al Khawaneej, called Ownak, is to be run by the Community Development Authority (CDA) and will fill a gap …
Read more on The National

Crystal Meth Addiction Treatment and Crystal Meth Drug Rehab Announced by …
Crystal Meth Addiction Treatment and Crystal Meth Drug Rehab Announced by Recovery Associates. Crystal meth is a stimulant named for the structure that is formed while being made. Recovery Associates delivers multiple tracks of drug rehab treatment for …
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High School Dropouts More Likely to Have Drug and Alcohol Abuse Problems
Recovery Associates is a drug and alcohol treatment center that provides a variety of programs and services for men, women and teens struggling with chemical dependency issues. At the core of their philosophy is the belief that addiction is a treatable …
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Adderall Treatment Admissions Rise at Gulf Coast Addiction Treatment
Adderall Treatment Admissions Rise at Gulf Coast Addiction Treatment. Gulf Coast Addiction Treatment is an alcohol and drug recovery facility with a hands-on approach to recovery that offers assistance every step of the way. That assistance extends to …
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Cost of specialized addiction treatment of clients with fetal alcohol spectrum …
Individuals with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) constitute a special population that may be at particularly high risk for substance use. The purpose of the current study was to estimate the utilization of specialized addiction treatment …
Read more on 7thSpace Interactive (press release)

Desoxyn Addiction Treatment and Hydrochloride Drug Rehab Announced
Recovery Associates, through its multiple therapeutic tracks, is placing an emphasis upon desoxyn addiction treatment, helping men and women break free from abusing this rather potent stimulant drug. Desoxyn is a brand name for the methamphetamine …
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Xanax Addiction Treatment and Xanax Drug Rehab Announced by Recovery …
Recovery Associates, through its multiple therapeutic tracks, is placing an emphasis upon Xanax addiction treatment, helping men and women break free from the addictive traits of this powerful drug. Xanax is the trade name for alprazolam, a medication …
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SLU professor to study treatment services offered to young mothers and children
The project will build and assess a new approach for delivering treatment services to a high risk group of 144 pregnant and postpartum women who need substance abuse treatment, and to their infants and toddlers in order to enhance child well-being and …
Read more on News-Medical.net

Recovery Associates Drug Rehab Center Expands Services to Include …
Recovery Associates Drug Rehab Center Expands Services to Include Oxycodone Addiction Treatment. Oxycodone is mostly used as pain medication, yet it can become habit forming. Recovery Associates' therapists, counselors and programs help …
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The Addictions Coach Offers New Service to Assist Court Mandated Treatment …
Miami, FL, June 10, 2013 –(PR.com)– The Addictions Coach announced that they are offering a new mobile rehab service in addition to their individual private sessions that focuses specifically on court mandated DUI and DWI cases. The Addictions Coach …
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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!!!

What do you think? Answer below!

Chantix may also help curb alcohol addiction
The popular stop-smoking drug Chantix may also help treat alcohol addiction, a new study suggests. The study involved 200 people who reported drinking at least four to five drinks per day. Half of the participants were given Chantix to take every day …
Read more on Boston Globe

Cost of specialized addiction treatment of clients with fetal alcohol spectrum …
Individuals with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) constitute a special population that may be at particularly high risk for substance use. The purpose of the current study was to estimate the utilization of specialized addiction treatment …
Read more on 7thSpace Interactive (press release)