Changes Addiction and Treatment Blog
Our addiction and treatment blog is here to help you navigate the space between addiction and recovery
Quality Addiction Treatment: The Cost of Skimping.
A journalist recently asked me some questions about addiction, its costs and what constitutes quality care. Below is the Q&A. Can you talk about quality addiction treatment costs in South Africa, what medical aid pays and the issue of co-payments? Can you explain...
Addiction Recovery: Transforming Self-Talk
In addiction recovery, we find that every aspect of our lives comes under scrutiny. From our daily routines to our innermost beliefs about ourselves. As a family member watching a loved one go through this transformation, understanding the power of words, especially...
Alcohol Rehab: 12-Step Power
Understanding 12-Step Treatment The 12-Step Treatment approach is most commonly associated with Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), a fellowship founded in 1935 by two alcoholics who helped each other stay sober. The principles of 12-Step Treatment involve acknowledging...
Unraveling Co-occurring Disorders in Opiate Addiction Recovery
Often people trying to find recovery from opiate addiction, find themselves grappling with other mental health challenges. These Co-occurring Disorders in Opiate Addiction Recovery are not mere coincidences but are part of the complex web of factors that contribute to...
Realistic Expectations in Around Rehabs and Addiction Treatment
Setting realistic addiction treatment expectations is a crucial part of the initial treatment phase. As an addiction counsellor with 25 years experience, I've seen how essential this is, and I want to share some insights to help you and your loved ones navigate this...
4 Stages of an Alcohol Treatment Centre Programme
Here are the four stages of an alcohol treatment centre programme: 1) Treatment Initiation 2) Early Abstinence 3) Maintaining Abstinence 4) Advanced Recovery. Few alcoholics' recoveries are this direct. We move back and forth between the four stages, some alcoholics...
6 Dysfunctional Family Roles in Addiction
It's common for family members to unknowingly adopt one of six dysfunctional family roles in addiction that can perpetuate the disease and impede the treatment process delaying or stopping the recovery journey. A respected specialist in the field of addictions and...
The 12 Patterns of Denial: #12 The Democratic Disease State
People with addiction or substance abuse problems use different forms of denial to keep themselves in the addictive cycle. One such denial strategy is called the democratic disease state. Denial can be a dysfunctional protection mechanism which you may use to protect...
The 12 Patterns of Denial – Manipulation in Addiction
People with addiction or substance abuse problems use different forms of denial to keep themselves in the addictive cycle, for example manipulation in addiction. Denial can be a dysfunctional protection mechanism which you may use to protect yourself from having to...
The 12 Patterns of Denial & Comparing in Addiction
People with addiction or substance abuse problems use different forms of denial to keep themselves in the addictive cycle. Comparing in addiction is one example. Denial can be a dysfunctional protection mechanism which you may use to protect yourself from having to...
Does Medical Aid Pay for Addiction Rehab in South Africa? 2025
2025 Step-by-step Guide If you’re limping from crisis to crisis due to your own or someone else’s substance abuse, you may be asking the question: will my medical aid pay for addiction rehab in 2025? Even more so when someone you love is dealing with a drug or alcohol...
How Long Do Alcoholics Stay In Rehab?
Research shows that, on average, 35% of people will relapse in the year after treatment if their rehab programme was less than 90 days long. This drops to 17% for those who were in rehab for 90 days or longer. Relapse rates are even lower for those in treatment for a year or more.