The Jonathan O. Cole Mental Health Consumer Resource Center is a consumer to consumer mental health organization. It was named for Jonathan O. Cole, M.D., a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, and a senior consultant in psychopharmacology at McLean Hospital, and the founder of the Manic-Depressive & Depressive Association (MDDA)-Boston. It is located
A mental health professional is a health care practitioner who offers services for the purpose of improving an individual’s mental health or to treat mental illness. This broad category includes psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, clinical social workers, psychiatric nurses, mental health counselors as well as many other professionals. These professionals often deal with the same illnesses
Rehabilitation psychology is a specialty area in psychology. Rehabilitation psychology takes all the studies and applications of psychology and focuses it on people who have disabilities and/or health conditions, usually chronic. This is a way to make sure that an individual’s health and welfare, independence and choice, functional abilities, and social roles are at the
Drug rehabilitation (often drug rehab or just rehab) is a term for the processes of medical and/or psychotherapeutic treatment, for dependency on psychoactive substances such as alcohol, prescription drugs, and so-called street drugs such as cocaine, heroin or amphetamines. The general intent is to enable the patient to cease substance abuse, in order to avoid
Detoxification (detox for short) is the physiological or medicinal removal of toxic substances from a living organism, including, but not limited to, the human body and additionally can refer to the period of withdrawal during which an organism returns to homeostasis after long-term use of an addictive substance. In conventional medicine, detoxification can be achieved
A Twelve-Step Program is a set of guiding principles outlining a course of action for recovery from addiction, compulsion, or other behavioral problems. Originally proposed by Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) as a method of recovery from alcoholism, the Twelve Steps were first published in the book, Alcoholics Anonymous: The Story of How More Than One Hundred
The Twelve Traditions of twelve-step programs provide guidelines for relationships between the twelve-step groups, members, other groups, the global fellowship, and society at large. Questions of finance, public relations, donations, and purpose are addressed in the Traditions. They were originally written by Bill Wilson after the founding of the first twelve-step group, Alcoholics Anonymous.
Narcotics Anonymous (NA) is a twelve-step program modeled after Alcoholics Anonymous describing itself as a “fellowship or society of men and women for whom drugs had become a major problem.” and it is the second-largest 12-step organization. The program is group-oriented, and is based on the Twelve Steps and the Twelve Traditions, adapted from Alcoholics
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is an international mutual aid movement declaring its “primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety.” Now claiming more than 2 million members, AA was founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith (Bill W. and Dr. Bob) in Akron, Ohio. With other early members Wilson
Rational Recovery and Rational Recovery Systems, Inc. is a commercial vendor of material related to counseling, guidance, and direct instruction for addiction designed as a direct counterpoint to Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and twelve-step programs. Rational Recovery Systems, Inc. was founded in 1986 by Jack Trimpey, a California-licensed clinical social worker. Trimpey is a recovered alcoholic
LifeRing Secular Recovery (LifeRing or LSR) is a secular, non-profit organization providing peer-run addiction recovery groups for anyone with a desire to recover from alcohol and drug addiction or who are in a relationship with an addict or alcoholic. LifeRing split from Secular Organizations for Sobriety in 1997, and incorporated officially in 1999. LifeRing has
The purpose of a halfway house, also called a recovery house or sober house, is generally to allow people to begin the process of reintegration with society, while still providing monitoring and support; this is generally believed to reduce the risk of recidivism or relapse when compared to a release directly into society. Some halfway
Harm reduction (or more commonly known as harm minimisation) refers to a range of public health policies designed to reduce the harmful consequences associated with recreational drug use and other high risk activities. Harm reduction is put forward as a useful perspective alongside the more conventional approaches of demand and supply reduction. Many advocates argue
Opioid replacement therapy (ORT) is the medical procedure of replacing an illegal opioid drug such as heroin with a longer acting but less euphoric opioid, usually methadone or buprenorphine, that is taken under medical supervision. In some countries (e.g. Switzerland, Austria) patients may be treated with slow-release morphine where methadone is deemed inappropriate in the
A sober companion or sober coach is an addiction treatment professional who provides one-on-one assistance to newly recovering drug addicts and alcoholics. The therapeutic goal is to help the patient maintain sufficient abstinence from alcohol and drugs to establish healthy routines outside of a residential treatment facility. The sober coach is a direct descendant of
Community reinforcement approach (CRA) and community reinforcement and family training approach (CRAFT) are behavior therapy approaches to treating substance abuse. Research The community reinforcement approach has considerable research supporting it as effective. Community reinforcement has both efficacy and effectiveness data. Started in the 1970s, community reinforcement approach is a comprehensive operant program built on
Coerced abstinence is a drug rehabilitation strategy which uses frequent monitoring and immediate punishment to reduce drug use among participants. This strategy can dramatically reduce recidivism rates among chronic drug users, especially those on probation and parole. Most probation agreements mandate drug treatment, but a coerced abstinence program mandates only abstinence which is enforced through
Sober living environments (SLEs) are facilities used by addicts recovering from substance abuse, which serve as an interim environment between rehab and a return to their former lives. SLEs grew out of a need to have safe and supportive place for people to live while they were in recovery. They are primarily meant to provide
A temperance movement is a social movement urging reduced use of alcoholic beverages. Temperance movements may criticize excessive alcohol use, promote complete abstinence, or pressure the government to enact anti-alcohol legislation. Temperance movement by country Australia In Australia, the temperance movement began in the mid-1830s promoting moderation rather than abstinence. By the late 19th
Psychiatric rehabilitation, also known as psychosocial rehabilitation, and usually simplified to psych rehab, is the process of restoration of community functioning and well-being of an individual who has a psychiatric disability (been diagnosed with a mental disorder). Rehabilitation work undertaken by psychiatrists, social workers and other mental health professionals (psychologists and occupational therapists, for example)
Rehabilitation of sensory and cognitive function typically involves methods for retraining neural pathways or training new neural pathways to regain or improve neurocognitive functioning that has been diminished by disease or traumatic injury. Three common neuropsychological problems treatable with rehabilitation are attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), concussion, and spinal cord injury. Methods Speech therapy, occupational
Self-help groups for mental health are voluntary associations of people who share a common desire to overcome mental illness or otherwise increase their level of cognitive or emotional wellbeing. There are several international mental health self-help organizations including Emotions Anonymous, the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA), GROW, and Recovery International. Mental Health America (MHA)
Supportive housing is a combination of housing and services intended as a cost-effective way to help people live more stable, productive lives. Supportive housing is widely believed to work well for those who face the most complex challenges—individuals and families confronted with homelessness and who also have very low incomes and/or serious, persistent issues that
Assertive community treatment, or ACT, is an intensive and highly integrated approach for community mental health service delivery. ACT programs serve people whose symptoms of mental illness result in severe functional difficulties that interfere with their ability to achieve personally meaningful recovery goals in several major areas of life: working, having friends, living independently, and