March 7, 2013

“Drunk Indians” Is Not Funny; Addiction Experts Speak Up

“‘A furnace full of drunk Indians’ – that’s how a character on the CBS sitcom Mike & Molly characterized Arizona and the first inhabitants of our land,” says Richard Taite.

Celebrity doctors with television deals and cavalier Hollywood writers for sitcoms have done serious damage with their remarks about addiction and treating addicts in public view for ratings and money, according to Richard Taite, a recognized leader in the recovery community, the author of a new book on addiction (“Ending Addiction for Good: The Groundbreaking, Holistic, Evidence-Based Way to Transform Your Life”) and the co-founder and CEO of Cliffside Malibu, a leading treatment center in Los Angeles.

The premise of “Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew” is a prime example of questionable medicine according to Taite, who has come out strongly against Dr. Drew Pinsky’s attempts to help addicted stars achieve sobriety.

Mr. Taite refutes Dr. Drew’s claim made yesterday on Dr. Oz’s television show that treating addicts (celebrity or otherwise) on a TV show does not impact in anyway the outcome or quality of their treatment.  Mr. Taite believes Dr. Oz’s viewing public deserves an educated second opinion to what appears to be Dr. Drew’s contention that flies in the face of all medically accepted practices in the treatment of substance abuse.

“Please keep in mind that this honest difference of opinion is not in any way directed to Dr. Drew personally, but rather at his brand of reality-show-cum-addiction treatment,” says Mr. Taite.

In question, here, is whether the pursuit of profit has superseded the genuine interest of the patient.  Mr. Taite has labeled this kind of TV as “addictainment.”

Adding further fuel to this fire is the sitcom “Mike & Molly” on CBS.

“‘A furnace full of drunk Indians’ – that’s how a character on the CBS sitcom Mike & Molly characterized Arizona and the first inhabitants of our land,” says Richard Taite.

“Not only is such a characterization insensitive and blatantly racist, but it also stigmatizes a whole group of individuals and helps keep them out of treatment. Such offhanded remarks are more than hurtful; they identify all Native Americans as poor, addicted and on the fringes of society. For someone who wants help overcoming addiction and may have little access to the best recovery methods, these kinds of statements can further demoralize them, keeping those in need from help.”

Mr. Taite adds, “There are twenty-one federally recognized Native American tribes in Arizona alone. Native Americans suffer higher rates of poverty, suicide and addiction than the average population, yet too many do not have adequate access to top-notch care.”

“This leaves the entire population vulnerable,” says Constance Scharff, PhD, Addiction Researcher for Cliffside Malibu. “The devastation of addiction on individual lives is compounded by abuse and neglect often suffered by children at the hands of those who are addicted. It is both insensitive and reprehensible to ridicule a group suffering these kinds of social problems.”

Taite continues, “It seems there is a culture in our media that seeks to ridicule or exploit addicts. In a time when reality shows like Celebrity Rehab are plagued by horrific death rates among former cast members and shows like Mike & Molly ridicule those in need of help – we must suggest a reckoning with regard to how addicts are portrayed on television. With accidental overdoses of prescription drugs alone reaching epidemic levels, these ‘jokes’ simply are not funny.”

Original Article

Cliffside Malibu

February 25, 2013

Former Child Star, Treatment Center Attack Dr. Drew Pinsky Approach

A former child star has taken aim at the tactics used by Dr. Drew Pinsky from VH1?s Celebrity Rehab and the philosophy of the show itself.

Commenting through a publicist to The Inquisitr, Dr. Damon Raskin, medical director of addiction at Cliffside Malibu Treatment Center and former child star, called it “disheartening” that treatment “would be compromised for entertainment purposes.”

February 20, 2013

As Mindy McCready marks the FIFTH ‘Celebrity Rehab’ cast member to die, an expert calls the show a ‘farce as a foundation for treatment’

Since Mindy McCready’s death from apparent suicide on Sunday night, attention has turned to  Dr. Drew Pinsky’s VH1 reality show “Celebrity Rehab”, after it emerged that she was the fifth member to die after supposedly being treated on the show.

“I think “Dr” Drew Pinsky should change his name to Kevorkian. Same results.” singer Richard Marx wrote on his Twitter page.
After receiving some backlash, Marx amended his claim: “I went too far with the Kevorkian crack. It is, however, my opinion that what Dr. D does is exploitation and his TV track record is not good.”

Sar far, Rodney King died in 2012 after drowning in his swimming pool. King’s autopsy revealed he had a mixture of cocaine, alcohol and marijuana in his system at the time, which contributed to his death. And Grease actor Jeff Conaway, who was a participant in season one and two, died in 2011 of health complications he apparently contracted from years of substance abuse.

On the season in which McCready appeared, two other people succumbed to their addictions. Mike Starr, bassist of the band Alice in Chains, died in 2011 after a drug overdose, and former “Real World” cast member Joey Kovar died in 2012 from opiate intoxication, believed to be in the form of a prescription painkiller he was taking.

With the total number of five people, who were part of the television show, ending up dead as a result of their addictions in the last two years, the backlash is understandable.

It seems that Dr. Pinsky’s rehab treatment on his TV show, which many professionals deem damaging and more for entertainment purposes than actual treatment only benefits the doctor, the production and the network.

Richard Taite, CEO of Cliffside Malibu Treatment Center is at pains to point out that rehab treatment for entertainment purposes is wrong,  as it does damage to already damaged people.

“Mindy McCready’s death is certainly a tragedy and one that was perhaps preventable if she had gotten real treatment,” says Richard Taite, co-author of the best selling book, Ending Addiction For Good. “Celebrity Rehab is a farce as a foundation for treatment. It is at best info-tainment – a television show that exploits the fragility of individuals who are in desperate need of help. Recovery does not happen in twenty-one days for individuals suffering profoundly from multiple disorders, such as Mindy McCready, and it does not occur under the view of millions of television viewers. One of the main needs any addict has is to develop a sincere, trusting relationship with a therapist and privately uncover the root causes of their addiction. This does not happen in a television show where addicts are part of a ‘cast’ and followed by television cameras 24 hours a day everywhere but in the bathroom! Those who suffer from depression, suicidal ideation, and addiction need long-term, private support in a safe environment. It is tragic that Ms. McCready did not receive that level of care.”

Dr. Drew, for his part, said he contacted McCready last month after her boyfriend’s death.

“When I heard she was struggling, I did reach out to her and urged her to go to take care of herself, get in a facility if she felt she needed,” he said. “Her biggest fear was the stigma of doing so and what people would think if she, God forbid, took care of herself. And this to me is the most distressing part of this story. She is a lovely woman, we have lost her, and it didn’t have to go down like this.”

What do you think? Should the show be pulled given people’s health and life are at stake?

Original Article

Cliffside Malibu

February 20, 2013

Addictainment under fire: ‘Celebrity Rehab’ a disaster for many, addiction experts blast show

The entire premise of “Celebrity Rehab” is under fire with the recent suicide of country artist Mindy McCready, the fifth cast member death of Dr. Pinsky’s questionable treatment reality series on TV which many professionals deem damaging and more for entertainment purposes than actual treatment.

Mindy McCready, 37, is the fifth person who has appeared on “Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew” to die in the past two years.

The former country star apparently took her own life and killed her dog too on Sunday at her home in Heber Springs, Ark. Authorities say McCready died of a suspected self-inflicted gunshot to the head and an autopsy is planned. She left behind two young sons.

McCready had attempted suicide at least three times since 2005, as she struggled to cope amid a series of tumultuous public events that marked much of her adult life.

Speaking to The Associated Press in 2010, McCready said: “It is a giant whirlwind of chaos all the time…I call my life a beautiful mess and organized chaos. It’s just always been like that. My entire life things have been attracted to me and vice versa that turn into chaotic nightmares or I create the chaos myself. I think that’s really the life of a celebrity, of a big, huge, giant personality.”

Other “Celebrity Rehab” deaths include Joey Kovar, a member of MTV’s “Real World: Hollywood” died last August at the age of 29 of “opiate intoxication.” Kovar was on the series with McCready on the show’s third season in 2010.

Also dead: “Celebrity Rehab” Season 2 cast member Rodney King, dead at 47, his demise an accidental drowning, with alcohol, cocaine, marijuana and PCP found in his system.

Another “Celebrity Rehab” second season star was “Taxi” actor Jeff Conway, who died at age 60 in May 2011 with opiates and other drugs in his system.

Another third season “Rehab” cast member was Alice In Chains bassist Mike Starr, who died at the age of 44 in March 2011, addicted to heroin and other drugs and died of a drug overdose.

As the death toll among former “Celebrity Rehab” cast members grows, the question of whether the show does more harm than good, and if these addicts are truly getting the treatment they need is at the forefront of addiction specialists’ minds.

Dr. Drew, who treated the deceased cast members, released a statement after McCready’s death to People magazine:

“I am deeply saddened by this awful news. My heart goes out to Mindy’s family and children. She is a lovely woman who will be missed by many. Although I have not treated her for a few years, I had reached out to her recently upon hearing about the apparent suicide of her boyfriend and father of her younger children. She was devastated.”

Richard Taite, CEO of Cliffside Malibu Treatment Center, has a strong opinion about this pattern of failure celebrated on the smallscreen for entertainment.  He also co-authored the best-selling book, “Ending Addiction For Good.”

“Mindy McCready’s death is certainly a tragedy and one that was perhaps preventable if she had gotten real treatment,” says Mr. Taite, founder and CEO of the elite Cliffside Malibu addiction residential treatment center.

“Celebrity Rehab is a farce as a foundation for or example of treatment. It is at best info-tainment – a television show that exploits the fragility of individuals who are in desperate need of help. Recovery does not happen in twenty-one days for individuals suffering profoundly from multiple disorders, such as Mindy McCready, and it does not occur under the view of millions of television viewers. One of the main needs any addict has is to develop a sincere, trusting relationship with a therapist and privately uncover the root causes of their addiction. This does not happen in a television show where addicts are part of a ‘cast’ and followed by television cameras 24 hours a day! Those receiving real treatment do not have to seek refuge in a bathroom to get a few minutes to process their feelings alone! Those who suffer from depression, suicidal ideation, and addiction need long-term, private support in a safe, secure environment. It is tragic that Ms. McCready and the four other addicts who have died after being on Celebrity Rehab did not receive that level of care.”

Original Article

Cliffside Malibu