Jennifer Hansen cycled in and out of rehab two decades ago to treat a $300-a-day heroin addiction before detoxing at Seabrook House in Bridgeton.

Seabrook, at the time, was one of the few facilities of its kind in the region. Insurance covered 30 days of Hansen’s treatment there, before her parents paid for a California clinic to help the 24-year-old work toward sobriety.

Hansen, now 40, says things have changed since then, but not necessarily for the better. Today, she said, most patients leave primary treatment after about a week, barely enough time to detox from the substance they were abusing.

“It’s really hard to access treatment,” said Hansen, who founded the Galloway sober living facility Hansen House in 2003. “Especially if you’re out there on drugs and you don’t have anyone in your corner — many of them die.”

Recovering addicts have more treatment options today, but addiction experts say deficient insurance coverage means some patients will never recover. Moreover, the state doesn’t release performance data, so patients have limited information with which to choose a treatment facility.

Click here to read more: http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/top_three/keeping-up-with-cost-of-treatment-is-a-struggle-for/article_1626781e-9c85-11e1-a5e4-0019bb2963f4.html

Click link to read more: http://blogs.psychcentral.com/addiction-recovery/2012/01/why-addicts-leave-treatment-early/

So you’re on a natural high because you’ve been clean and sober for a year or two and you think you’ve finally figured out what to do with your life. Since you live, breathe, eat, and dream recovery anyway, why not make a career out of helping addicts and alcoholics and become a professional substance abuse counselor?

There’s no question it’s a noble calling. But take a deep breath, pilgrim. Before you jump into it, there are a few things you should know about the career you’re considering.

Click here to read more: http://www.together.us.com/2011/03/so-you-want-to-be-a-substance-abuse-counselor/

Eight months after wedding England’s Prince William, Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge (formerly Kate Middleton), has revealed she will become a patron of the British charity Action on Addiction, which supports research, prevention and treatment of addiction, support for addicts’ families and the education and training of those working in the field.

Action on Addiction is one of several charities to which the Duchess will lend her highly visible support: Other charities relate to Catherine’s interest in the arts, including a charity that provides art therapy to children. She also announced she would become a patron of East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices, which help care for children with life-threatening illnesses.

Click here to read more: http://www.latimes.com/health/boostershots/children/la-heb-kate-middleton-addiction-20120105,0,941424.story

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/powerful-painkiller-abuse-experts-worried-180505140.html