STUDYING HOW TO HELP ADDICTS

A Speaker At A Major Conference On Addiction Says Newer Treatment
Approaches Often Aren't Better For Patients.

WILLIAMSBURG -- Counselors need to get back to basics to help people
stop abusing drugs and alcohol, according to a speaker who kicked off
a national conference on addiction in Williamsburg on Monday.

While studies have shown programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous and
Narcotics Anonymous work, some therapists look to newer approaches
such as acupuncture, boot camps and long individual talk sessions,
said Delbert Boone, a New York-based consultant who also is a
recovering addict.

"It's amazing how complicated we've made things," Boone said. "Here
we are hunting, trying to hunt something new." By coddling abusers
and bickering over what services are most important, he added, "We've
done so many things to handcuff ourselves, it's incredible."

More than 900 counselors from programs across the country are at the
College of William and Mary this week for the 2006 Virginia Summer
Institute for Addiction Studies. The annual conference, in its fifth
year, is organized and sponsored by a number of state and private
organizations that work with addicts.

This year's featured topics are methamphetamine abuse, the growth of
gangs, drug use by teenagers and the challenges of re-entering
society after getting sober.

Locally, heroin, cocaine and marijuana remain the three most commonly
abused drugs, Pritchard said. But use of methamphetamine - a highly
addictive stimulant made in illegal laboratories - is growing, he said.

So is abuse of prescription drugs and over-the-counter cough syrups
and herbal supplements. On a positive note, more treatment programs
are reaching out to all members of a family, not just the addict.

Boone said the counselors who helped him get sober were successful
because they didn't pity him or let him reject their treatment plans.

That approach goes against the idea of waiting for people to be
"ready" to help themselves. Today's programs also tend to stress
individual counseling sessions that play into addicts' ability to
explain away their problems, he said.

"We nowadays try to talk a dope fiend into getting well," he said.
"We're working ourselves harder than the client."

Some of his tips:

Combine proven group programs - which involve plenty of listening,
reading assignments and homework for participants - with
detoxification, rehabilitation and outpatient therapy.

Make the public more aware of how often alcohol or drug abuse is to
blame for tragedies such as car crashes, violent crimes, suicide and
child abuse. Don't assume that the best counselors are recovering
addicts themselves. Once learned, the symptoms of a problem are easy
for anyone to spot. Look for positive traits in patients. The best
counselors know how to build people up after breaking them down.

The Williamsburg conference should keep growing in upcoming years,
Pritchard said. Many of the proceeds from this year's event will go
to defray costs for counselors who want to attend next year, he said.

"All we want to do is reach as many people as possible."