How hard is it to get help for addictions in Canberra?

Kudos to you for continuing to support your son, regardless of his issues. Your continuing love and wider family support will end up being the part of his rehab that he will remember and draw on for the rest of his life. Best of luck to you all.

nomes707 said :

Diggety said :

If it was legal, I’d set up my own business treating issues such as these.

The service? A good arse kicking. About $100 a go.

It would be quicker, cheaper and more efficacious than the bureaucratic options.

Real witty. Really helpful. As a woman, wife, mother and productive member of society suffering with addiction I can tell you that anyone having admit to and ask for help is really hard; for themselves or someone they love. I hope you or your loved ones never need help for anything Diggity.quote]

nomes707, I wasn’t trying to be witty, I was very serious.

I, like anyone else who lived in Canberra would likely know someone with an addiction, be it alcoholism or other drugs.

Available treatments work for some, but there is no one cure- patients respond so differently.

I outlined a (albeit very raw and brief) business model- one which has a niche market and provides a service complimentary to ones currently available, which I believe also has individual specific efficacy.

It’s ethics, however encounter similar problems to shock therapy, and their like.

But yes, it is illegal and that is a pity.

Inappropriate said :

Get him to see a GP at least: there a meds like naltrexone that when taken stop you feeling any of the pleasurable effects of alcohol, or there’s disulfiram that makes you feel sick when drinking alcohol.

Of course this only works if you voluntarily swallow the pills.

But it sounds like the kid is self medicating a bigger problem and probably should see a counsellor/psychologist/psychiatrist to sort them out.

Building a team of helpers is good. GP, counsellor/psychologist/psychiatrist are great ideas. Naltrexone is a little more controversial and is really only a solution for people that have tried every thing else and failed. If you can work through the mental dependacies at a young age then you will get a better out come later in life.

Scorpio63 hit the nail on the head. “In summary, the key to any successful detox program is to change the whole environment for the person detoxing.” That also includes stepping back into a different community that is drug free and supportive. Probably the hardest thing to organize.

Get him to see a GP at least: there a meds like naltrexone that when taken stop you feeling any of the pleasurable effects of alcohol, or there’s disulfiram that makes you feel sick when drinking alcohol.

Of course this only works if you voluntarily swallow the pills.

But it sounds like the kid is self medicating a bigger problem and probably should see a counsellor/psychologist/psychiatrist to sort them out.

There isn’t enough support for people with addictions here in Canberra, Canberra has a hugh drug problem, and it’s not getting any better, worse in fact.

Hi Just Thinking, I have a background working in drug and alcohol detox [short term] years ago.
Also, our family ‘saved’ my brother 25 years ago from a pot addiction coupled with some alcohol dependency in his 20’s.

Other posters have given A1 advice and would try those first before trying my advice,

. Try enlisting your son with Father Reilly’s coastal detox program as it has a high success rate over past years. Look he and his large staff up on the internet – the number one successful step is to encourage your son to move away from his local haunts and mates in order to detox, similar to smokers initially not sitting around with smokers and drinkers.
. Offer encouragement and a reward [financially] for down the track if your son agrees to join the army reserves or work interstate, matching dollar for dollar with what he earns. He may have his sights set on a newer vehicle or some other device he wishes to purchase later. If the Detox program starts to work for your son, sieze upon the time and you could perhaps suggest he apply for his work safety tickets, mining tickets and machinery licences to work away in the mines for 6 months. That way your son wont fall victim to anyone preying or counting on his pot purchases. Accommodation and Meals are provided at the Mines in WA and QLD.
. If you have a relative interstate that could take your son for 6 months and find him work while detoxing that would be fantastic. Solid hearty meals with gym attendance of a night after work will make the detoxification process easier. Mountain bike riding and swimming are other excellent detox aids.

In summary, the key to any successful detox program is to change the whole environment for the person detoxing.

I wish you both well.
.

Diggety said :

If it was legal, I’d set up my own business treating issues such as these.

The service? A good arse kicking. About $100 a go.

It would be quicker, cheaper and more efficacious than the bureaucratic options.

Real witty. Really helpful. As a woman, wife, mother and productive member of society suffering with addiction I can tell you that anyone having admit to and ask for help is really hard; for themselves or someone they love. I hope you or your loved ones never need help for anything Diggity. Addiction in whatever form it takes is debilitating. + 1 for Arcadia and give AA a go too. And get yourself to alanon Justthinking. Sometimes all you can do is be there.

Kick them out of home, let him get into some crime, he’ll go to gaol the legal system loves an easy kill, they’ll all be throwing rehab at him.
Really, I know a lot of drunks, that I would love to see stabbed, sadly, it hasn’t happened to them, yet. I don’t think it will help much though, one moron I know copped a baseball bat to the knee if memory serves, his stupider than ever.
You have a very strong criminal culture in Canberra. The streets are at times owned by the numbers of junkies. That is, A lot people who exist for the next shot, that offer nothing but lies and standover tactics. I would have hated growing up here. Don’t get me wrong I love the place and the people. But I have met some real trash here (Gary Humphreys and the Plutocro-cat Scumm and junkies inc) Kids need hope, and unless labour realises it is standing still, not working together with the community the libs will get in again, And I will be turning to drink, no, no actually I will be very angry.

Give Ted Noffs a call:

1800 151 045

http://www.noffs.org.au/TED/client/GeneralContent/c_singleDynamicPage.jsp?pageName=Youths

If it was legal, I’d set up my own business treating issues such as these.

The service? A good arse kicking. About $100 a go.

It would be quicker, cheaper and more efficacious than the bureaucratic options.