14th March 2012 - Addiction Guru's Focus is on Cause of Life's Problems

Drug and rehab counsellor, Dale Conlon is the senior admissions counsellor for Trust the Process in Bedfordshire. Here, he takes us through a day in his life helping people overcome drug problems.

This year has seen the Government question decrimalisation and legalisation of drugs, community sentences for people coerced in smuggling and a minimum cost per unit of alcohol.

At Trust the Process we only believe in treating the problem not the symptom.

6.30am – I spend some time with our clinical lead reviewing two complex pharmaceutical detoxes that we have arriving in the next 24 hours.

In recent history these have become more common and this type of client is certainly on the rise, the saddest part being that most people don’t see it coming and are surprised when they realise they are addicted.

Next on the agenda is ‘legal highs’ – these have caused us lots of problems, they are the unknown and there are no guidelines.

8.30am – Therapeutic meeting with the counselling team – currently we have 30 clients engaged in treatment at our Luton centre from across Bedfordshire.

Each of our clients has a slightly different need and presents a different challenge so the meeting is about careful design of each individual care plan and structuring of their treatment.

Process groups, emotional diaries, one-to-ones, art therapy and a community meeting are decided. There is a slight conflict as to who should be awarded the peer of the week.

9.30am to noon – I have four assessments to be completed, as ever I know these will be varied in time and detail.

Assessing clients’ needs for placement is the most important part of my role as an incorrect placement can be dangerous, with the potential for alcoholic withdrawal and possible seizure taking priority.

The first are straightforward and a very common story, ‘started using drugs socially as a teenager progressed and now I’ve been addicted for 10 years’.

If there are no complications, these are relatively simple, a minimum of three months in rehab with high tempo of psychodynamic intervention.

On to the next, a 54-year-old professional lady, high levels of diazepam and alcohol, mixed with long term abuse of anti-depressants and a history of seizures.

She is highly anxious (typical of a client fitting this profile) and I explain that anxiety and depression are ‘addiction family’, they walk hand-in-hand, that we will help her to resolve and understand that these are linked.

The only safe intervention for this client is a fully managed medical detox with 24-hour nursing supervision.

2pm – I arrive at The Clifton Clinic, my first admission is running late and my second of the afternoon is running early, so it looks like both clients and their families will be arriving around the same time.

Families arriving with loved ones is always an emotional affair, which needs a comfortable balance of professionalism and compassion.

A mother being admitted by their children always seems to choke that little bit more.

Both admissions go very well, but both have had a lot of background work and input prior to arrival. It is the part of my job I do like, the trust we create within the family and the relief on their faces when they realise that they can hand over the responsibility of care to us.

5pm – I arrive at the Gym for some Dale time. As ever 15 minutes into the cross trainer my phone rings - being on call is being on call...

8pm – My phone rings again, a very lost mother trying to find a solution to her 30-year-old son who is a heroin addict.

Her story is so similar to my own that I cannot help, but feel involved.

As I’ve told hundreds of parents, he has to want to change and she can’t do it for him.

After roughly 45 minutes I arrange for them both to come and see me tomorrow for an 8am family meeting followed by an assessment and hopefully a 30 year old lost soul in a mist of addiction ready for change.

Bedfordshire on Sunday