To find out where my journey in sobriety all started click the link

http://http://abcnews.go.com/Health/staying-sober-daniel-baldwin/story?id=4543817   

There is no escaping the fact that alcohol or drug addiction can have a destructive impact on a person's life. Families, relationships and careers can all be impacted in the damaging wake of an addiction. That is why seeking professional recovery help is essential for those who are caught up in the throes of a substance abuse problem. However, just because a person has a desire to get clean and sober doesn't always mean they have the financial resources to enroll in rehabilitation care. As you explore the options for treatment for you or your loved one you can also explore the many options for paying for that treatment. Basically, there are three ways to finance a stay at rehab. These are through private insurance, obtaining government assistance or paying from your own savings.

Health Insurance: Many comprehensive health insurance policies cover the cost of rehabilitation treatment. Often you'll find these policies as part of an overall employee benefit package. In other words, you might be covered for rehab and not even know it. On the other hand, if you are buying your own insurance policy you might not include coverage for substance abuse treatment because you may think you'll never need it. While that might be true for many people it is often hard to predict which course our life or the life of our family members might take when it comes to substance abuse. If you currently have a health insurance plan and feel the need to explore rehabilitation care then call your policy representative and find out exactly what your options are. You might also be able to add coverage to your policy to cover these costs.

Government Assistance: Another option for paying for recovery treatment would be to seek out assistance from various government funded programs such as Medicare or Medicaid. It may be intimidating for someone to navigate through the bureaucratic red tape, but there is a light at the end of the proverbial tunnel especially if you can get the help. First, you should contact the treatment center you're thinking about checking into to see if they accept Medicare or Medicaid. If so they can probably provide you with the proper resources to determine if you qualify for that kind of assistance. You may find that a Medicare or Medicaid grant is on your own financial situation. If it is felt that you have assets to pay for the treatment yourself you might not get government assistance.

Paying Cash: A final option is to pay for the treatment out of your own pocket. If you have accumulated savings or the means this is obviously a direct way of getting the help you or your loved one would need. However, that doesn't mean that a particular rehabilitation center won't work with you to make financial arrangements. You might be able to take out a loan to cover the cost of treatment or work out a payment plan with the facility as you would with a college tuition loan. Many rehab facilities understand that we are living in tough economic times and have developed payment options for individuals to help them get the assistance they need.

When you consider the overall devastating financial effects of an addiction problem, putting off treatment today because you can't afford it doesn't make a lot of sense. Help is available and help is out there. You just need to ask for it.

BrainPaint – The next generation in EEG biofeedback

Simple to use, yet sophisticated in scope

BrainPaint is a state-of-the-art neurofeedback system that incorporates a comprehensive assessment tool, which systematically calculates protocol suggestions used to improve and restore activity related to brain function. This assessment tool is revolutionary, turning SOBA Malibu clinicians into top practitioners in a fraction of the time. SOBA therapist and practitioners appreciate the automation – similar to that of computerized chess crunching data to explore the potential of future moves – allowing the focus to be on the human aspects of the session.

The software transfers knowledge and experience from top researchers to SOBA Malibu practitioners. It incorporates Bill Scott’s 15 years of clinical, research and teaching experience fine tuning neurofeedback protocols from the following leaders in the field:

Barry Sterman’s SMR training
Dale Walters’s Alpha-Theta training
Eugene Penniston’s Alpha-Theta training
Susan and Siegfried Othmer’s Beta, SMR and Theta assessment process
Renate Drechsler’s Slow Cortical Potential training

In 2005, Bill Scott, David Kaiser, Siegfried Othmer and Stephen Sideroff conducted a 121 subject randomized control trial using a hybrid of the aforementioned scientists’ protocols. After demonstrating the efficacy of these neurofeedback protocols, the study was published in a peer review journal.

If you or a loved one is suffering from addiction or treatable psychological disorders, please contact our admissions counselors at 866-547-6451 or go to www.sobalmalibu.com

Robert has spent nearly 15 years teaching people from all walks of life the simple secrets that will let them lose fat fast without giving up the foods they love. Because of his effective and innovative approach to blending fitness, nutrition and motivation

– Robert has captured the attention of major television network executives and producers.

Robert’s unique ability to entertain, educate and engage others to eat healthfully is without question a gift. He was recently acknowledged for his approach to helping others embrace diet free living when Aetna featured him in their 2007 African American History Calendar, which addressed obesity. And because of his captivating speaking ability, Robert was also asked to speak at the annual event, which acknowledged those featured in the calendar.

He continues to be a popular lecturer for major corporations, organizations and universities including AETNA, Speaking of Women’s Health, Salem Communications, Universal Studios, Clipper Windpower, Blue Cross/Blue Shield and such colleges as The University of Texas Medical Branch. In 2010, at the request of the Mississippi State Board of Education, Robert presented a keynote lecture at the annual teacher’s conference. This event set the stage for Robert’s campaign to reverse the cause of weight gain by showing people how to eat the foods they love and reduce their waistline instead of adding to it.

Robert has served as national spokesperson and consultant to the world’s largest co-ed health club - Gold’s Gym Corporation (over 600 locations in 40 states and 30 countries) and as a national advisor and program developer to some of the most innovative wellness centers in the country including the California Health and Longevity Institute, the brainchild of health advocate, billionaire and Dole Food Company CEO David Murdoch, which offers innovative wellness solutions to Hollywood stars and the well-heeled executives.

A former professional athlete himself, Robert Ferguson has also built a national reputation as a nutrition, conditioning and weight loss coach for some of the top professional athletes (e.g., Fernando Vargas, Sergio Mora, Samuel Peter, Stevie Forbes, Lucia Rijker, Maureen Shea) in the country who routinely appear on such networks as HBO, Showtime andESPN to name a few. He is also a doctoral candidate in sports psychology, former U. S. Marine and holds certifications in personal training and performance nutrition.

Sherry Gaba, proudly has over thirteen years of experience as a clinician, and a graduate of USC specializing in addictions, eating disorders, parenting, single parenting, divorce, and life coaching.

Would anyone be interested in seeing a final match between Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe?

Courtesy of Perez Hilton Blog

Compulsive and sometimes-uncontrollable drug craving, med-seeking, and use that persist even in the face of negative consequences characterize drug addiction. For many people, drug addiction becomes chronic, with relapses occurring after drug rehab and even after long periods of abstinence.

Over time, a person’s ability to choose not to take drugs can become compromised. Drug seeking becomes compulsive, as a result of the effects of prolonged drug use on brain functioning. Behavior becomes unpredictable.

The compulsion to use drugs can take over an individual’s life. Addiction involves not only compulsive drug taking but also a wide range of dysfunctional behaviors. Addiction leaves people and their loved ones at increased risk for a wide variety of illnesses. These illnesses can be brought on by the addicts’ behaviors, or because of toxic effects of the drugs themselves.

Drug rehab is not always simple. Effective drug abuse and drug rehab treatment programs typically incorporate several components directed to particular aspects of the illness and its consequences.

Despite scientific evidence establishing the effectiveness of drug rehab and drug abuse treatment, many people believe that drug rehab is ineffective, mostly because of unrealistic expectations. Many people equate addiction with simply using drugs and therefore expect that addiction should be cured quickly, and if it is not, the drug rehab is a failure. In reality, because addiction is a chronic disorder, the ultimate goal of long-term abstinence often requires sustained and repeated treatment as well as transitional living. drug rehab is the beginning of recovery, but not the end of the disease.

Scientists continue studying alcoholism. Some of the more exciting investigations focus on the causes, consequences, treatment (such as drug rehab), and prevention of alcoholism:

• Genetics: alcoholism is a complex disease. Scientists have identified chromosomes where genes involved in increasing a person’s risk for alcoholism are potentially located. Researchers are working to be able to identify and measure the specific contribution of each gene to the complex behaviors associated with drinking.
• Treatment: Three commonly used behavioral treatments for alcohol abuse and alcoholism are: motivation enhancement therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and 12-step involvement. Other therapies that have been evaluated and found effective in reducing alcohol problems include drug rehab and transitional living.
• Medications: There are a range of new medications being developed based on the results of genetic and neuroscience research. Neuroscience research has already led to studies of one medication—naltrexone as an anti-craving medication. This drug, in combination with behavioral therapy, has proven effective in treating alcohol craving. Naltrexone, often started in drug rehab, targets the brain’s reward circuits and is the first medication approved to help maintain sobriety after detoxification from alcohol since the approval of Antabuse in 1949.
• Combined medications/behavioral therapies: Medications work best with behavioral therapy. Studies are taking place to determine which of the currently available medications and which behavioral therapies work best together. drug rehab is a suggested setting for these studies.
Be especially scrutinizing as you determine the drug rehab program that meets your specific needs.

SOBA Malibu Recovery Center introduces compassionate care in a healing environment. Services include:

• Detox and / or medication management
• Residential Treatment
• Day Treatment
• Parent and Teen Outpatient Services
• Adult Outpatient Services
• Alumni / Aftercare

If you or a loved one is suffering from alcohol or drug addiction, please call us at 866-547-6451 and speak with one of our caring admissions counselors.