Technology Aids Substance Abusers Stay Sober

Technology may help drug and alcohol users stay sober, according to new research, which was published in the May 1, 2008 on-line issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry.

Seventy-seven participants who desired treatment for alcohol and drug abuse were divided randomly into two groups - one group received traditional substance abuse counseling while the other group received traditional substance abuse counseling and six training sessions with a computer program.

The computer program, developed by Kathleen M. Carroll and her colleagues at Yale University's School of Medicine contained six lessons. In each of the six lessons, the program contained videos of different situations a person recovering from drug and/or alcohol abuse might encounter, such as being offered drugs. The training program also teaches recovering individuals strategies for dealing with and avoiding substance abuse as well as video showing how to use each skill or strategy being taught.

At the conclusion of the study, significantly less individuals who underwent traditional counseling in combination with the computer training program had positive drug tests than people who had traditional substance abuse counseling alone.

Personally, I believe this kind of combination therapy may be very effective for individuals who learn best by seeing a skill or strategy being used. Others might benefit from additional role-plays in therapy whereby they can test their new skills in a safe environment before being confronted with a situation in real life.

Source: http://www.forbes.com/health/feeds/hscout/2008/05/08/hscout615106.html

Dr. Phil Shows This Week - Relationships, Addiction, and Valentine's Day

I promise a more substantial entry is on its way! Thank you for continuing to check out this blog!

I found this week's Dr. Phil shows to be interesting and pertinent to the discussion of verbal abuse and relationships in this blog, as of late.

Here's this week's Dr. Phil show schedule:
Monday - Dirty Little Secrets - This show is about how secrets can affect marriages in deep, lasting ways.

Tuesday - The Dr. Phil House - Rules of Engagement - Dr. Phil works with four couples who are engaged and plan on getting married. Each couple has many issues they need to work out. Issues these couples have include verbal, emotional, and physical abuse, intimidation, and commitment.

Wednesday - Pill Popping Twins - This show is part 1 of a 2-part series. Dr. Phil talks with two twin sisters who have a pill-popping addiction. These sisters have managed to ruin many aspects of their lives.

Thursday - Pill Popping Twins Part 2 - Dr. Phil continues to talk to these sisters about how their addiction has affected their lives, encourages them to face their problem and seek help for it, and talks with the twins' parents about their involvement in the problem.

Friday - My Worst Valentine - Dr. Phil and Robin give tips to men on how to be romantic to their wives on Valentine's Day. Robin also works with two people who want makeovers for Valentine's Day. Robin also discusses how to treat yourself well on Valentine's Day if you will be spending it alone.

Please let me know if you like this kind of post, and I'll do more of them if you do!