Stating that individualized treatments are effective in addiction, experts liken it to having a tailor make a special dress. Stating that the same dress will not suit everyone, psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nesrin Dilbaz said, "In treatment, we measure, we cut and we look at the genetics of the person. We can do this in Turkey. A treatment method specific to the genetic structure and gender of the person emerges."
NPISTANBUL Hospital AMATEM Coordinator, psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nesrin Dilbaz pointed out the importance of personalized treatment methods in addiction treatment.
Not the same dress for everyone!
Stating that individualized treatment can be likened to a tailor-made dress in psychiatry, Prof. Dr. Nesrin Dilbaz said, "Individualized treatment means the following in psychiatry; It is like having a dress sewn by a tailor instead of a standard dress for everyone sewn in a garment. So it is not the same dress for everyone. In treatment, we measure, we cut and we look at the genetics of the person.
We can do this in Turkey, we do it in our own hospital. A treatment method specific to the person's genetic structure, gender and everything else emerges. This is called individualized treatment or precision medicine."
Family is also treated in addiction
Stating that addiction is a chronic brain disease and that the family as well as the client is treated in the treatment, Prof. Dr. Nesrin Dilbaz said:
"We have classical treatment methods. The first is counseling. Currently, counseling centers are being established with regulations. If you have a problem with addictive substances, you can apply to the counseling center. If the family cannot bring their children, they can come as a family. We can identify the situation without seeing the patient. Our client comes and we talk with motivational speaking methods. We talk about the pros and cons of the situation. We make them accept that they have a problem, not an addiction. Then we come to the purification part. We ensure that the body, especially the brain, is purified from the substance. There are receptors in our brain. Let's say there are three receptors in our brain. When you meet alcohol, these receptors increase. To satiate these receptors, the amount of alcohol gradually increases. Their number never decreases. When we purify, they first start shouting. After a while they realize that the alcohol is not coming. Gradually they start to shut up, but they never decrease. After 15 years, if you consume alcohol again, you will be in the same situation. It depends on what we understand by treatment. You have the flu and you will get it again. Addiction is like that. If you are addicted once, there is no such thing that once you get clean you will never drink again. It has the ability to recur more and more. This is a chronic disease. The patient must say I am addicted. This is a cycle. He quits, starts again and starts again. We try to keep the period of sobriety or staying clean long. The most important issue is informing patients and their relatives. After we receive the patient, we do not only treat the patient. The family is also treated. The dynamics of the family is also disrupted. As long as the patient is hospitalized, the patient will stay clean, there is a guarantee for this. But after they leave the hospital, they need to make a promise to themselves."
Deep TMU is a treatment with a future
Stating that they use two main treatment methods in addiction, Prof. Dr. Nesrin Dilbaz said, "One of them is medication and the other is a treatment called Deep TMU (Deep TMS). There is a triangular region in the brain where addictions occur. This is the pleasure zone. Everything we enjoy is addictive. This region is what we call craving or craving. We want to create a craving for cocaine and activation starts in a region of the brain. We find that point and stimulate it. The purpose of this is to eliminate the craving. First we make him crave and then we eliminate it. Deep TMU is a serious form of treatment with a future.
Prof. Dr. Nesrin Dilbaz stated that addiction to alcohol and cigarettes has a genetic side and its treatment is more difficult and progresses slowly, and said, "The majority of cigarette addicts are treated without medication. Drug treatment is a treatment method we use frequently. Drugs in the form of vaccines are being researched."
Internal control should be learned
Stating that addiction treatment requires discipline and that they aim to create internal control for their clients, Prof. Dr. Nesrin Dilbaz said, "Addiction treatment requires discipline. Since our patients cannot discipline themselves in life, we try to do this. We talk about internal and external control. If a traffic police officer is standing under a red traffic light or you know there is a camera, you stop. But if you stop not because you have to stop, but to avoid getting a ticket. This is external control. Education in our country is external control. What needs to happen is internal control. We need to teach our children a sense of shame instead of you are guilty or you will be punished. If we want to change values, we need to develop a sense of shame. Not if we try to focus on external control."
We explained individualized treatment methods to experts around the world
Stating that the number of addicts is increasing in the world and in our country, Prof. Dr. Nesrin Dilbaz said that the American Psychiatric Association holds a congress every year where psychiatrists in the US and around the world gather together, with the participation of about 10-12 thousand people, and that she attended this congress this year and talked about individualized treatment methods. Dilbaz said that he and Prof. Stephen Stahl, who is known as the father of psychopharmacology and one of the biggest psychiatrists in the US, discussed individualized treatment at this congress.
We are progressing as fast as them in the field of addiction treatment
Prof. Dr. Nesrin Dilbaz said, "We shared what is available in personalized treatments and development. We told psychiatrists in America. Because we are progressing at least as fast as them in this field. We also have many meetings and studies in our country. I am the president of the Addiction Association of Turkey. We hold a congress on addiction in Turkey every two years. This year, we held an interim congress. We held it in Cyprus as a congress with international participation. There was a very wide participation."
