Pointing out the importance of social support in the treatment and rehabilitation processes of addicted individuals, Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nesrin Dilbaz emphasized that the best social support is the family and that the family should be included in this system. Speaking at the conference hosted by Üsküdar University with the support of iCAAD, Prof. Dr. Nesrin Dilbaz stated that one of the most important problems experienced by addicted individuals is related to employment and that necessary arrangements should be made in this regard.
The conference on "Holistic Approach in Addiction Treatment; Integration of Treatment and Care Services with Psychosocial Interventions" hosted by Üsküdar University with the support of iCAAD (International Conference Addiction Associated Disorders) brought together national and international experts.
Psychiatry specialists, family physicians, psychologists, social workers, PDR specialists, nurses, addiction-related personnel and local government units participated in the conference, where all issues related to addiction and addiction-related problems, which are increasing all over the world, were discussed.
Prof. Dr. Nesrin Dilbaz: "We aimed to share information in the field of addiction"
NPISTANBUL Hospital AMATEM Clinical Director Prof. Dr. Nesrin Dilbaz stated in the opening speech of the conference that they held the second meeting of iCAAT in Istanbul this year and that they wanted it to become traditional, "iCAAD is an organization that has regular annual training programs in London, Paris and Rome. This year, we are organizing a joint conference in Istanbul where we discuss different topics on addiction issues. We aimed for cooperation and information sharing by inviting professionals working in the field of addiction in our country or students who want to become professionals in the field of addiction, as well as people working in the field of addiction in non-governmental organizations and local governments to our conference. We are hosting very valuable speakers and professors from abroad at our conference."
Prof. Dr. Nesrin Dilbaz: "Post-treatment care is important"
Prof. Dr. Nesrin Dilbaz pointed to the importance of rehabilitation and aftercare services in the field of addiction and said, "We need to focus much more on these issues now. Because if we cannot develop rehabilitation and aftercare services as we want, we see that patients often come back with relapse. In this sense, we need to improve ourselves and get experience and knowledge from visiting professionals."
He talked about "Addiction and Rehabilitation in Turkey" studies
Prof. Dr. Nesrin Dilbaz, in her presentation titled "Addiction and Rehabilitation in Turkey", stated that rehabilitation programs are implemented in treatment centers to the extent of the facilities of the centers and mentioned the problems arising from the lack of trained personnel and technical reasons in treatment centers.
On March 10, 2019, he mentioned that the Regulation on Addiction Counseling, Detoxification and Rehabilitation Centers was published and said, "With this, it has started to be discussed that these addiction rehabilitation centers and the definition of these centers and rehabilitation in addiction should belong to a structured and quality education and program. The hardware is there, but the software needs to be created. It is important to gather experiences and information about the programs there. It is also important that these experiences come together in this meeting."
Prof. Dr. Nesrin Dilbaz: "Family support is important"
Stating that the best social support for addicted individuals is the family, Prof. Dr. Nesrin Dilbaz emphasized the importance of cooperation and support with the family and pointed out the importance of including the family in the system. Prof. Dr. Dilbaz said that one of the most important problems faced by addicted individuals during their readjustment to society is the problem of finding a place to stay and a job.
Prof. Dr. Nesrin Dilbaz mentioned that there is no law or regulation on the rehabilitation of mentally disabled people within the legal regulations and said, "The rights in this regard are mostly in the legislation on disabilities. In the labor law, every private institution or municipality has to employ disabled personnel at the rate of 3% of the personnel employed by the workplace, but when you look at the advertisements, it is written that they do not have a mental illness disability. In other words, it takes disabled people, but this person will not be addicted or disabled due to another psychiatric disorder," he said, noting that arrangements should be made to create job opportunities for these people.
Noting that addiction is actually an emergency warning system, Prof. Dr. Nesrin Dilbaz said, "When a problem occurs in a country in Europe, it can spread to other countries very quickly. When we look at it now, there is a very serious opioid painkiller epidemic, especially in America. Turkey has not reached that point yet."
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Onur Noyan: "Methods in the rehabilitation process will be discussed"
NPISTANBUL Hospital Psychiatry Specialist Assoc. Prof. Dr. Onur Noyan also stated that there are too many centers opened in Turkey where addiction-related treatments are applied, that there is a good point in treatments, but that there are some problems in the services after treatment, "We feel the lack and deficit of long-term programs, especially rehabilitation. For this reason, we gathered today to talk about what kind of programs we can bring to our country and what can be done by making joint meetings and studies with our colleagues in other countries that are experienced in terms of rehabilitation. Our colleagues came from England, Scotland and Sweden. We will talk about what they are doing in rehabilitation and what awaits us in treatment."
In his presentation titled "Harm Reduction Approach", Assoc. Prof. Dr. Onur Noyan noted that there is not yet a clear consensus in our country about this approach, which emerged in England in the 1920s. He stated that the harm reduction approach aims to increase the quality of life of the person and that this approach is used from time to time in alcohol, substance, smoking and gambling addiction.
Noting that harm reduction programs are implemented in many countries but are rarely implemented in our country, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Onur Noyan said, "Because what do patients want, what do families want, what do we experts want? We do not have a common consensus that unites them. Patients' relatives mostly expect people to completely remove alcohol and drugs from their lives. As a treatment team, we also expect this. But sometimes patients come with the expectation that 'How about if you don't take it out of my life, if I drink less, if I drink a little more controlled'. When this expectation does not meet at a common point, there may be problems such as rapid detachment from treatment or abandonment of treatment. Harm reduction includes treatment methods that will make it easier for the person to stay in the treatment process."
Specialist Clinical Psychologist Ahmet Yılmaz: "The family should also participate in the treatment process"
NPISTANBUL Hospital Specialist Clinical Psychologist Ahmet Yılmaz emphasized the importance of family participation in the treatment process in his presentation titled "Addiction and Family Therapies". Noting that family attitudes are important in the child's introduction to addiction, Yılmaz said, "Family dynamics is an important risk factor for the individual to start using substances, but it is also an important factor in the success of the treatment."
Specialist Clinical Psychologist Ahmet Yılmaz: "The child should be given responsibility"
Emphasizing the importance of allowing the child to solve his/her problems on his/her own, giving responsibility to the child and not setting limits for the child, Yılmaz said, "He/she does not want his/her child to experience difficulties and troubles. He does everything to prevent his child from experiencing the difficulties he experienced in his own childhood. The child is not given responsibility. No boundaries are drawn for the child. They grow up far away from some concepts. Children grow up without learning that there is a price for getting something, that you have to deserve something, and they begin not to tolerate negative emotions. The problem is solved by the family. The word "no" is not used to the child in any way.
Dr. Gregory Boris, Head of the Emergency Services Department at Griffin Hospital, who attended the conference from the USA, gave information about the treatment and practices they carry out for addicted patients in their hospitals in his presentation titled "Traditional Medicine and the Changing Face of Addiction".
The Guest House Ocala Founder and Trauma Specialist Judy Crane made a presentation on addiction and trauma. Psychotherapist and Clinical Assistance Counselor Dr. Colleen Kelly also emphasized the importance of aftercare in addiction treatment.
