Treating Addiction Heroin Nicotine Treating Heroin addiction with

Treating Addiction Heroin Nicotine

Treating Heroin addiction with Methadone • What is Methadone? Methadone is a synthetic opiate which replaces heroin at the synapse, allowing the addict to function normally. • Why use Methadone? It avoids withdrawal symptoms, is less dangerous as it is given orally and it lasts longer – about 24 hours. It also blocks the opiate rush, making injection less desirable. • How do addicts get Methadone? Initially they have to go to a pharmacy to be given the required dose to drink under supervision. Once considered trustworthy they earn the right to take some advance doses home to self-administer. • How are levels of Methadone determined? The addict is assessed and the level of Methadone will be based on their past addiction and how often they have been injecting heroin.

Does Methadone work? ? ? http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=f. IRg 5 e 6 w. GVw This video describes how and why Methadone is used as a treatment for Heroin addiction.

Evaluation of the use of Methadone as a treatment for Heroin addiction. • Overdosing on Methadone is hard, so is safer then other sources of opiates. • As Methadone is taken orally, there is no of contracting diseases. • It enables addicts to break links with dealers so they are less pressurized to take Heroin and are less exposed to other drugs. Methadone withdrawal takes longer then Heroin – about a month. Adults using a cocktail of drugs with Methadone can still overdose. Some Methadone ends up in the illegal drugs market which defeats the object of the programme.

Treating Nicotine addiction with Hypnotherapy • What is hypnotherapy? Hypnotherapy is the ability of a therapist to induce the hypnotic state of a client. The hypnotic state is a very relaxed, vulnerable state when ideas can be implanted in the unconscious. • The principle of hypnotherapy is to implant the idea that the person no longer wants to smoke, that the thought of it is unpleasant. • Sessions normally last between 1 and 2 hours.

Video http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=u. P 8 j 2 Ow. Pw. Uc This video shows an actual version of hypnosis to quit smoking in a client.

Evaluation of treating Nicotine addiction with Hypnotherapy • Hasan et al. found that patients told they needed to quit smoking were four times more likely not to be smoking after 6 months if they had hypnotherapy. • It is a very cost effective method compared to other intervention programmes such as behaviour modification as just one treatment is needed. • There are no side effects from hypnotherapy. • Spiegal et al. showed that hypnosis was better then unsupported attempts to quit, with 23% of clients abstaining after 2 years. • There is a great deal of variability in how easy it is to do, if the client cannot relax completely it will not work. • It only works if the client believes it can change behaviour, people who go for treatment already believe it will work so the sample is biased. • A meta-analysis by Green and Lynn (2000) of 59 studies suggests that, while effective, hypnosis works no better than any otherapy.