METH ADDICTION PROGRAM ENLISTS ENTIRE FAMILY TO HELP IN TREATMENT

OCEANSIDE -- Lee Chapman drew two simple connecting circles on the blackboard.

From that imperfect illustration of the human brain, counselor Kim Brinson
explained to a group of methamphetamine abusers why they've taken illegal
drugs.

At this point in their treatment, the members of Brinson's group understood
the concept so well they could explain it on their own.

But perhaps their families were hearing it for the first time, at Family Night.

Families are an integral part of an experimental treatment program for
methamphetamine abusers being pioneered at the EYE Family Recovery Center
here and only four other places in the country.

The program focuses on a particular drug, unlike most other treatment
regimes, and provides the drug abusers with details upfront about what
they'll have to go through to get rid of their addiction. It also involves
family members in the treatment process.

Sitting around a table in a seminar-type setting, it's hard to tell who the
meth abusers are. All are well-groomed and responsive.

But they haven't always been that way.

When Georgianna Flowers came to the program, counselor Brinson said, "She
looked emaciated, dehydrated, malnourished."

Unemployed, she was about to be evicted by her landlord.

Still, it took a judge, Timothy Casserly, seeing Flowers before him for the
seventh time, to persuade her to try the EYE program. It was that or prison.

That was nine months ago.

Now, Flowers, 31, radiates good health while holding down two jobs. And
Chapman, her boyfriend, who also is 31 and employed, also helps counsel
those who still need a hand.

Said Flowers: "My purpose in being here is to strengthen my own recovery
and to try to help other addicts understand the different phases, because
I've gone through them myself.

"I live a relatively normal life, which I was not accustomed to, and deal
with stress without resorting to chemical substances. I'm doing things I
never dreamed I'd be doing. My life is real exciting today. I used to dread
getting up every morning, and I actually look forward to it now."

Chapman added, "I found something in this program that I was looking for.
It combines the good aspects of the (Alcoholics Anonymous) program and the
scientific aspect I wanted to know."

San Diego County has been called the nation's methamphetamine capital, due
in part to its proximity to border drug trade.

But Brian Bingham, project director, said that because of efforts of local
law enforcement, he doesn't think the region still holds that dubious
distinction.

The 16-week EYE program started as a treatment for women only. But recently
EYE started admitting men, too.

Bingham said it's a "family" recovery center, so it needs to include the
entire family in its program.

He said 90 percent of those in the program were sent there by court order.

The Oceanside program is being coordinated by EYE, the San Diego
Association of Governments, San Diego County Alcohol and Drug Services, and
the UCLA Drug Research Center, which will evaluate the accumulated data.

So far, 49 people have gone through the Oceanside program, with a like
number as a control group in a conventional drug-abuse treatment program
that's not geared specifically to meth users.

"No one fails," counselor Brinson said, "unless they quit coming to the group."

She knows there will be relapses among her clients.

But Brinson tells families that if an addict has a relapse, the first thing
family members should do is get them back into the program.

"We do not play the shame and blame game here," she said.

Brinson measures her success one addict at a time. She knows that the
drug's lure is strong.

Brinson said an evaluation form that Flowers and all other program
participants fill out gives a clue as to why women are attracted to meth:
They lose weight on the drug.

Back at the blackboard, Brinson explained why meth affects weight loss and
behavior.

The lower brain tries to get the upper hand on the upper brain, she said.
The lower brain wants liquor, drugs and sex, she said, and dulls the
appetite. The upper brain does all the reasoning. When addicts take meth,
the lower brain wins.

"This program works because it teaches them the stages, what to expect in
withdrawal and recovery," Brinson said. And it explains, she said, "how to
identify and deal with their triggers. It gives them the tools to deal with
their addiction."

Brinson tells it like it is.

"Four to six months out you hit the wall," she told the group. "You'll have
difficulty sleeping, difficulty concentrating."

Family Night is another tool to help get over the humps.

On his first such event, Danette Cullinan's 15-year-old son, Mike, said he
was reluctant to come, but after one session he was ready to try it again.

At his initial visit, Cullinan recited a poem, titled "Trust Is So
Precious," which she wrote:

For those that don't know us,

The concept of trust is a laugh.

They'd just as soon throw us

overboard and leave in the gaff.

But for those who have loved us

and we caused them great pain.

Trust is a difficult feeling to regain

But know this my friend if you say

what you mean and in saying so do

trust will come back, even for you

I need this (heart symbol) recovery program

like my lungs need oxygen

The meth abusers around the table at Brinson's seminar ranged from the rich
girl from Palm Springs to the young mother cuddling her infant son.

One-week-old Andrew Miguel was the sixth child for 24-year-old Tanya
Mendoza, but the only one she has at home. She's hoping to stay clean
enough to keep him.

"The program has helped explain what drugs do," she said.

"We know from research that support helps," Brinson said, and thus the
weekly Family Nights.

Even the addicts admit, however, that the program isn't for everyone.

Some need more intensive treatment than two hours a day, three times a week.

Celine and Roger Randall were at Family Night to support their son's
girlfriend. Their teen-age son, they were happy to say, had finally gotten
into a residential treatment program.

What happens when a meth addict finishes the 16-week program? No one is set
completely adrift. They can keep coming to Wednesday's Family Nights as
long as they want, Brinson said.

Addiction is isolating, she said, and "that's how it works -- when we reach
out and touch someone."