Treatment Process
Treatment enables people to counteract addiction’s powerful disruptive effects on brain and behavior and regain control of their lives. Treatment and recovery for drug and alcohol addiction is a process, and not an event. Having transformed his life while serving prison time, Peter Ninemire believes that it all begins with accountability that leads to acceptance and empowerment once a person has the courage and support to overcome the shame and guilt of his past. This is often interpreted as denial rather than one of many defense mechanisms to minimize the vulnerability of a person with addiction wanting to preserve some vestige of human dignity and self-respect.
Peter outlines treatment as a process that requires accountability leading to acceptance and realization of a problem that requires a passionate desire to do something about it. The desire translates into commitment and proper action in the family and community where the symptoms of the disease occur (people, places and things). A 2006 NIDA study found that 95% of those in prison for drug related offenses who do not receive treatment in or outside of prison upon their release, end up relapsing into drugs, and 70% return to prison. (NIDA, 2006) This is in larger part due to the fact that for the most part, symptoms are not present or viable in a confined environment. They must be treated in the environments where they occur. Continuity of care translates into consistently attending treatment because it is extremely difficult to make changes on ourselves doing it sporadically. It takes waking up every day realizing and admitting the problem, having a desire to do something about, and a commitment to taking action on that desire; and most importantly, maintaining focus on all of the above. The loss of focus on any of these often leads to relapse.