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State to encourage meth treatment

Wyoming, Dec 28 -

By BARBARA NORDBY
Star-Tribune staff writer

BREAKOUT
For a list of substance abuse treatment providers in Wyoming, visit wdh.state.wy.us/SAD and click on "services locator" or call the Wyoming Substance Abuse Division at (307) 777-6494. Or, call your local hospital or health department.

MAINBAR
Treatment options for Wyoming's methamphetamine addicts have expanded and improved significantly in recent years. And while treatment seems to be working, still more services are needed, state reports say.

Some people have to wait longer than a month for treatment, and services are especially needed for women with children.
"Enhancing substance abuse treatment is vital to (solving) the methamphetamine problem in Wyoming," according to the 2005 "State of the State of Substance Abuse" report. "Of those in need of substance abuse treatment, less than one fourth are able to actually receive treatment."

Discussions about treatment methods and trends will be part of the third annual statewide meth conference, in Casper Wednesday and Thursday.

A panel of recovered addicts will describe their experiences in a free, public discussion Wednesday from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Parkway Plaza.

Most people who enter treatment for meth addiction are referred or ordered there by the courts, often as an alternative to incarceration. Their success can depend on whether they come to be engaged and active in their own progress. Treatment programs range from outpatient therapy to inpatient, residential services.
Last year, 2,243 people were admitted for meth treatment statewide, a figure that represents more than one in five of the people treated for substance abuse. The number receiving meth treatment nearly tripled from 2001 to 2004. At one treatment center, meth addiction diagnoses have exceeded diagnoses for alcohol addiction.
"We need a lot more money for treatment beds," as opposed to jail space, said Gary Starbuck, director of the Casper Re-Entry program, a treatment center for people finishing prison sentences.
"It needs to be viewed as a social problem, not a criminal one," he said.

The Wyoming Department of Health's Substance Abuse Division, in two reports in 2005, tried to send the message that treatment works, that it's more cost-effective than incarceration and that more treatment facilities are needed.

Recently the Substance Abuse Division started an advertising campaign featuring addicts who have been successful in treatment, with lists of local treatment providers.

Communities are already well-versed in the damage done by meth, said Anna Maki, the state's meth initiative coordinator.

"We're really focusing on the fact that treatment does work. It may take several attempts, but it really does work," Maki said. And, she added, it's cost effective compared to incarceration.

Steve Gilmore, the division's new director and a former law enforcement officer, said his goals include improving prevention and treatment, and expanding the state's drug court system.

Drug courts combine strict court supervision with drug treatment and frequent drug testing as an alternative to incarceration.

For example, the Casper Re-Entry program is developing a residential program for people in drug court.

Treatment, along with prevention, Gilmore said, "needs to be at the core of the work the substance abuse division is doing."

Meth treatment takes longer than traditional treatment programs, Gilmore said, and so in the last decade treatment centers have had to adjust their programs.

"It takes a tremendous amount of resolve on the part of the person who's using to try to kick that habit," he said. "It's a miracle if they can do it in 60 days. All the information I have about meth is it is a long-term treatment regimen that people need to go through. The statistics are that long-term treatment and aftercare are essential."

State reports suggest Wyoming treatment centers are doing a better job, as addicts have been sticking with the programs longer and there's been a slight increase in the number who complete their programs.

Since the Department of Health created the Substance Abuse Division in 2000, the division has been working to unify the state's treatment programs.

The division created a process of certifying programs, and lists all certified programs on its website. Certified programs use a uniform method of deciding what type of care an addict needs, which makes it easy to refer a client to another program.

In 2002 the Legislature designated $25 million to prevent and treat substance abuse, which improved the quality and capacity of programs, those in the field say.

This year the state gave $9 million in grants for addiction treatment, prevention, intervention and law enforcement.
"There are a number of different treatment options in Wyoming; however, there are still some gaps," Maki said. "Using funding we are hoping to get from the Legislature in the coming session we are hoping to fill some gaps."

Gaps are primarily in the areas of adolescent treatment, services for women with children, and residential treatment for all.
"Meth addicts nearly always require residential treatment. It's different from treating an individual for alcohol or other substance abuse," Maki said.

Various methods
Among the speakers at this week's conference will be Dr. Richard Rawson, developer of the widely used "matrix" method of meth treatment. Meth treatment involves therapy, not medication, like with some other addictions.

The matrix method has several pieces, including a supportive therapist, group counseling activities, involvement with a 12-step program, relapse prevention and education, family involvement and drug testing.

Starbuck at Casper Re-Entry described his program as a "therapeutic community." The first "class" graduated recently and the second graduates Jan. 13.

"Very basically, what we're trying to do is teach people how to live," he said.

That means a day structured to approximate a workday, so addicts will be prepared to work.

The day includes recreation, counseling, support groups and learning daily living skills.

The program trains people to be independent and connects them with support services, in part to help boost their self esteem.
Starbuck said he thinks people get involved with drugs when they are discouraged with life or feel a spiritual void.

"People have lost connection, if they ever had it in the first place, with responsible people and responsible living," he said. "Once you get down in the drug world it's very difficult to climb out of that."

Accessible to all
Having great treatment won't solve the problem unless it's accessible to all who need it.

Researchers found that 2.5 percent of all Wyomingites needed but didn't get treatment for a drug problem in 2002-2003. The number was as high as 7.8 percent among 18 to 25-year-olds.

Put another way, less than one in four Wyomingites who need treatment actually access it, a different report said.

Nationally, reasons people don't get treatment include cost or lack of insurance. Other reasons were that they weren't ready to stop using drugs, denial they need help, and the stigma associated with treatment. Still others said they didn't know where to go or felt they could handle the problem without treatment.

Another factor may be long wait times. In Wyoming around 29 percent of clients waited more than a week to get into individual or outpatient treatment. When it came to residential treatment, 39 percent waited more than a week.

The state is working to develop better research on what Wyoming has and what's still needed, said Maki at the Substance Abuse Division, but all signs indicate the meth problem will only get worse if addicts can't get the help they need.

Reach Barbara Nordby at (307) 266-0633 or at [email protected].