Thursday, December 26, 2019

The Increasingly Cultic Developmental Path of Pseudo-Xtian Sin, Shame & Guilt

The following began as a reply to a Redditor's post about the International Church of Christ... and evolved into something I'd been wanting to cobble together anyway, so here we go:
Is it any surprise that the ICOC began in Puritan Boston?
The vast majority of Americans were raised to think of the Puritans as a Christian sect that had been persecuted in post-Elizabethan, largely Anglican, 17th century England... period. With no explanation as to why. The fact, however, is that the ultra-Calvinist Puritans were so obsessed with sin, shame and guilt that they were acting out in psychological rebound effects like, well, public polygamy, secretive sex addiction and rampant child sexual abuse... not unlike the early Mormons whom the Puritan traditions had influenced in New England and northeastern New York state.
Morality, of course, has a useful place in social organization, but "too much of a good thing may not be." And excessive moral perfectionism was so often seen in the minds of the neurotic, borderline and psychotic patients Charcot, Freud, Breuer, Adler and Janet (say "Jan-NAY") ran into 125 years ago that it became one of the dominant themes of psychoanalytic theory by the 1950s.
The Puritan (and even earlier, 14th century, Alighierian) traditions (see Dante's Inferno) also influenced an 18th century circuit preacher named John Wesley, whose story is disturbing, fascinating and illuminating at the same time. (So-called "Free" Methodism is still that way.)
SHAME and GUILT, after all, are the two most powerful means of controlling children. And once installed and embedded in the minds of children, they are handles that can be used by those in authority to lead the mental children wherever the authorities wish, including into lives of slavish and unquestioning productivity, consumption and good little soldiering to build and protect the wealth of their handlers. (So it has been since Moses was raised in a pharoah's house. Sin, shame and guilt are the essential and funda-mental themes of the first five books of the Judeo-Xtian Old Testament.)
I am not saying that sin, shame and guilt are "totally bad" and should be erased from our minds altogether. All three have vital functions in the mix that is the "glue" of civilized society. But, move up the side of the cultic pyramid as far as I was able to on three separate occasions to really see, hear and sense how cultic dominance-&-submission schemes work, and it is patently obvious that the excessive use of sin, shame and guilt is the principal "lever" the priests and gurus use to manipulate those below them for the sake of the church's -- and their own -- personal enrichment.
Thus, the ICOC is just one of many, mostly evangelical and/or fundamentalist corruptions of what was once a message of love and forgiveness by the agents of wealth and power to drive the peasants into easily manipulatable anxiety, fear, terror and even Learned Helplessness & the Victim Identity. And the use of sin as a means of terrorizing those already pre-conditioned, in-doctrine-ated, instructed, socialized, habituated, and normalized to pseudo-Xtian doctrines and dogma is right out of The Book of Coercive Persuasion in Cults.
For those who want to dig deeper:
Religion as the Principle Force for Civilization... at a Price in not-moses's lengthy discussion with the OP on that Reddit thread
Religious Trade-Offs in not-moses's reply to the OP on that Reddit thread

References & Resources

Alighieri, D.: Delphi Complete Works of Dante Aleghieri, New York: Delphi, 2013.

Armstrong, K.: A History of God: The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam; New York: MJF Books, 1993.
Assman, J.: Moses the Egyptian: The Memory of Egypt in Western Monotheism; Cambridge, MA: Harvard U. Press, 1998.
Assman, J.: The Price of Monotheism; Palo Alto, CA: Stanford U. Press, 2009.
Beder, S.: Selling the Work Ethic: From Puritan Pulpit to Corporate PR; London: Zed Books, 2001.
Berger, P.: The Sacred Canopy: Elements of a Sociological Theory of Religion; New York: Doubleday, 1967.
Boethius of Rome: Consolation of Philosophy; somewhere in what is now Switzerland or southern Germany: The Holy Roman Church, c. 524.
Bottero, et al.: Ancestor of the West : Writing, Reasoning, and Religion in Mesopotamia, Elam, and Greece; Chicago: U. Chicago Press, 2000.
Durkhem, E.: The Elementary Forms of Religious Life; orig. pub. 1912, London: Allen & Unwin, 1915.
Ehrman, B.: The Triumph of Christianity: How a Forbidden Religion Swept the World; New York: Simon & Schuster, 2018.
Frankopan, P.: The Silk Roads: A New History of the World; New York: Vintage, 2017.
Freud, S.: Moses & Monotheism; orig. pub. 1939, New York: Penguin, 1955.
Hoffer, E.: The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements; New York: Harper and Row, 1951, 1966.
Martin, W.: The Kingdom of the Cults; Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1967, 1977, 1987.
Miles, J.: God, A Biography; New York: Random House 1996.
Miles, J.: Christ: A Crisis in the Life of God; New York: Random House, 2001.

Moore, M.: "Dante's Infernal Crimes Forgiven," in The Daily Telegraph; June 17, 2008. 
Pagels, E.: Revelations: Visions, Prophecy, and Politics in the Book of Revelations; New York: Viking, 2012.
Prothero, S.: God is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions that Run the World; New York: Harper Collins, 2010.
Rubenstein, J.: Armies of Heaven: The First Crusade and the Quest for Apocalypse; New York: Perseus - Basic Books, 2011.
Sargant, W.: Battle for the Mind: A Physiology of Conversion and Brain Washing; orig. pub. 1957, Cambridge, MA: Malor Books, 1997.
Setton, K.: The Papacy and the Levant, 1204-1571, Vol. 1: The Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries; London: Arner Philosophical Society, 1976.
Smith, H.: The World's Religions: The Revised & Updated Edition of The Religions of Man; orig. pub. 1958, San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1991.
Strozier, S.; Terman, D.; et al: The Fundamentalist Mindset: Psychological Perspectives on Religion, Violence, and History; London: Oxford University Press, 2010.
Tuchman, B.: Bible and Sword: England and Palestine from the Bronze Age to Balfour; New York: Alfred A, Knopf, 1976.
Weber, M.: The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism; Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 1930.

Friday, December 20, 2019

The Major Models & Methods of Addiction Intervention

Following are a pair of brief online articles summarizing the major models and methods of addiction intervention. They are not comprehensive, but do provide newcomers to the topic with a basic sense of how interventions are prepared for and conducted. 

I do have a single -- hopefully relevant and useful -- comment: 

Many -- though far from all -- substance and behavioral process abusers developed dense compensatory narcissistic ego defenses before and/or during their active addictions. Others have developed equally dense, "negatively narcissistic," "learned helplessness & victim identities." And still others -- owing to what personality expert Otto Kernberg called "borderline organization" -- are ardently "righteous" in both manners, albeit at different times, as they appear to flip back and forth from active, assertive and "positive" to passive, submissive and "negative" narcissistic identities. 

All three of these types are very difficult subjects for even the best of professional interventionists, and are usually the sort of addicts who will have to hit what the various 12 Step addiction programs call "very hard bottoms" before they experience sufficient motivation -- if even then -- to submit themselves to any form of control by others. The first type above is usually too self-obsessed to move out of the first of the five stages of addiction recovery, the second is usually too ashamed, and the third is too confused, cognitively dissonant (or even dissociated) and too conflicted to move to the third of those five stages and remain there long enough to build the platform for the fourth.

BTW, the intervention models I use the most when I encounter those who show up with severe depression or anxiety accompanied by substance abuse are NA's "Am I an Addict?" and AA's "Twenty Questions" lists... both of which I find to be very -- if not always immediately -- effective.      


Five Addiction Intervention Methods



Johnson Model 

Widely recognized more than any other method, the Johnson Model is a direct form of intervention that focuses on getting the addict into treatment by way of personal confrontation. Loved ones often make the mistake of assuming the addict doesn’t care about their feelings. Most of the time, the substance abuser is just distracting himself from focusing on what he is doing to everyone he cares about, because it is painful for him to think about and leaves him feeling guilty and ashamed. The Johnson Model forces the addict to acknowledge his behavior and its consequences.

Known in many circles as the surprise intervention, this model requires those who care about the addict to gather and attempt to get him to seek treatment on his own by telling the addict about the pain his addiction has caused. It is best suited for individuals who are not likely to shy away if they feel abandoned or isolated from their loved ones. In fact, relapse is of specific concern among Johnson intervention subjects, with InformaHealthcare reporting relapse rates of 38 to 79 percent among five types of treatment referral methods, with the Johnson model being the second highest in the group.

Most often, the person who has been the primary caregiver in an addict’s life serves as the facilitator of the Johnson intervention, with the help of a professional interventionist to strategically plan the event. The Johnson Model utilizes direct threats of consequences if the addict refuses to get treatment. For example, a wife may tell her alcoholic husband she will leave him and take the children if he doesn’t get help. The hope is that the addict will become willing to seek help — even if he doesn’t want it — because he so badly does not want to face the stated consequences. The good news is that it often works.

The Johnson Model intervention is most likely to be successful when more people are involved. The caregiver is responsible for gathering as big of a support group together for the planning and intervention process as possible. Generally, the interventionist meets with this group a couple times before the actual event takes place. The purpose of this is to iron out details of what to say, what not to say, and how the intervention should be carried out.
While this model is straightforward, it isn’t cruel. Addicts are never belittled or put down for their behavior, but loved ones are encouraged to be honest about the choices they will have to make if things don’t change. Often, the threat of losing their friends or family members is enough for many to willingly seek the help they need.

Field Model

A former professional golfer, Jane Mintz, developed this method of intervention following her own stint in rehab for treatment of alcoholism. Knowing she wasn’t the only one struggling – the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism reports that there are 17 million alcoholics in the United States – she was determined to formulate a new kind of intervention that was geared toward addicts with more than one factor at play.
It’s not just substance abuse that’s a problem for these addicts. Many are mentally ill, too. Others are suffering from polydrug abuse, or they might be victims of childhood neglect or abuse that still plagues them in their adult years. Mintz views the Field Model as being like a subsidiary of the Johnson Model but with a more precise focus. A trained interventionist in this genre knows how to predict the actions of an addict and how to handle problems when they arise unexpectedly.

Case in point, if an addict becomes violent during an intervention, the professional Field interventionist knows how to subdue her and get things back on track. Many naturally assume these are techniques all interventionists learn for all methods, but they aren’t, and Mintz recognized that in her pursuit of developing the field model. One of the ways Field Model interventions manage to prevent more disasters during intervention is by starting off on the right foot and making sure everyone involved is on the same page and feeling good about the task at hand. After all, it only takes one party feeling left out or unheard for the whole intervention to come unraveled.

Systemic Family Model

The systemic family intervention focuses on treating the entire family unit, not just the substance abuser. In this model, it is the interventionist’s role to educate the family on why they will have to change their lifestyles, too, if they want the addict in their life to get better.
This method of intervention has become common knowledge in American households due to the popular A&E television show, aptly titled Intervention. The show boasted an alleged 71 percent success rate, per the Daily Beast, and allows loved ones to express to the addict what their behavior has done to others. Often, family members will be asked to write letters ahead of time that can be read to the addict during the intervention.

This model recognizes that the addict isn’t the only person getting hurt by drug and alcohol abuse. Likewise, the addict isn’t the only individual perpetuating the behavior either. Siblings, spouses, or parents may be fueling the fire, and often they don’t even know they’re doing it. Unresolved issues in the family unit that are allowed to fester frequently end up being discovered at the root of an addiction problem.

The typical ways that families deal with an addicted relative are often quite contradictory to what they should be doing. While families certainly have the best intentions, punishing an addict for using drugs doesn’t encourage him to stop, nor does praising or rewarding him if he does stop using. One of the biggest complains addicts in recovery have is that their family won’t stop treating them as though they are still using drugs or drinking. The systemic family intervention works on communication within the family unit and rebuilding bonds of trust to prevent suspicions or mistrust on either end. Addicts are much more likely to be honest and stay sober when they feel respected and valued by their friends and family.
With this form of intervention, the process doesn’t end after the addict enters treatment. Instead, the focus remains on healing the whole family and preparing them for when the addict returns home. This may include taking mild precautions, such as not drinking around an alcoholic relative, or it might be more intense, such as seeking weekly counseling with the addict to work on behavioral modifications or communication skills.

One of the biggest differences between other interventions and this one is that the addict is invited to partake in the intervention process from the start. There are no surprises or hidden agendas. Of course, the addict must be willing to take part in it, which is a potential drawback of the systemic family intervention.

Crisis Interventions

Crisis interventions are set in motion for individuals who are in dire need of immediate treatment. Addicts who are battling comorbid mental health and substance abuse problems are prime candidates for this type of intervention, which is often used during breakdowns and times when the addict is vulnerable and has little leverage. The National Alliance on Mental Illness reports 53 percent of drug addicts and 37 percent of alcoholics have one or more serious mental illnesses. Other crises warranting intervention include:

Financial troubles due to drug or alcohol abuse

Legal issues, such as jail time for substance abuse or possession

Deteriorating family relationships

Illness stemming from substance abuse

Caregiver/parental-child neglect issues

Not only can crisis interventions urge the addict to seek treatment in a time of desperate need, but in some situations, professional interventionists can also get substance abusers committed — even against their will — if they are a threat to their own well-being or to someone else’s well-being. The biggest and most common reasons for this are violence against others and attempts at suicide. According to a report from the Nation’s Health, 78 percent of violent crimes involve drugs or alcohol. In substance abusers who fail to get the help they need, the suicide rate is as large as 45 percent, Psychology Today reports.

The crisis intervention process is carried out in a very direct manner. Usually, there is little time to waste sugarcoating the situation. In many cases, the addict is confronted about her substance abuse behaviors and the side effects of such. Then she is given the choice to proceed to treatment or face more dire consequences.

A crisis intervention is most often not a lengthy or planned event. Rather, an interventionist is brought in when things are at their worst and the addict has hit the infamous rock bottom. This may be at a police station, at a bail hearing following an arrest, or even in the hospital following a drug overdose, something 38,329 people died from in 2010, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Love First Model 

This approach is more emotional and attempts to appeal to the addict’s feelings toward his loved ones. These interventions are carried out in places that the addict will feel comfortable and find non-threatening, such as his childhood home where his parents still reside. Knowing that families often disagree in these situations, especially in environments they feel safe in, the interventionist serves as a mediator and guide during the process.

The Love First method doesn’t involve accusations or negative statements. Instead, family and friends gather in support of treatment and express their unconditional love for the addict. The goal of this method is to encourage the addict to want to seek help for himself once he realizes the support he has and the many reasons he has to get better. At the same time, the support network learns how to be positive and encouraging, rather than placing blame and arguing. At the root of the Love First method, it is believed that some addicts can enter treatment without being pushed or bullied into it.

Getting Help

Many concerned family members and friends of addicts are inclined to try and cut corners by performing interventions themselves. The problem with this is that the intervention process is usually too harsh, most likely due to inexperienced laypersons attempting to practice the professional trade of intervention with no knowledge on how it really works. There is a psychological process involved that requires solid education on the process. Watching videos on the Internet and television shows detailing other accounts of the intervention process cannot be directly translated to another person’s situation.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse notes 8.9 percent of the American population needed help for a drug or alcohol abuse problem in 2012, and only 1 percent got the help needed. You can help your loved one become part of the 1 percent. The end result hoped for in any intervention is seeing the addict accept help and enter treatment. While each method is different, one factor remains the same — the sooner the addict is placed into treatment following the intervention, the better. For this reason, a bag should be packed and travel arrangements should be made ahead of time in most cases.



Johnson Model

The Johnson Model of Intervention was coined by a pioneer in the industry in the 1960s. Vernon Johnson, who earned the nickname, “the father of intervention,” believed addicts built up walls of denial so impenetrable that they could only be broken down when confronted with the crises addiction created in their lives. This is perhaps the most recognizable form of intervention, in which a family, guided by an interventionist, confronts an addicted individual without their prior knowledge of the meeting.

The Johnson Model is grounded in the assumption that addicts cannot see how their substance abuse negatively affects them and those around them. It also assumes that these individuals will remain in denial until they hit rock bottom. It’s important to realize this is not the result of stubbornness, but rather an elaborate defense mechanism that the brain creates to justify their addiction. The aim of a Johnson Intervention is to encourage addicts to agree to treatment before they hit rock bottom on their own, which can be life-threatening. The timing of the intervention is referred to as “raising the bottom.”

If a family chooses to pursue a Johnson Model intervention, they should get in touch with an interventionist who will guide them throughout the process. An addict’s close friends and family members will prepare for the intervention by learning about addiction as a disease. They must also consider how the addict’s drug abuse has affected their life. They will also come up with a list of potential treatment options. A family prepares for an intervention without the addicted person’s knowledge or approval.

What Happens During an Intervention?

A member of the intervention team will arrange for the addict to meet at a specified location, where the confrontation will begin. During the course of the intervention, friends and family will present a detailed account of an addict’s behavior and the negative consequences associated with that behavior. While this is referred to as a confrontation, members of the intervention must present the facts in an objective, nonjudgmental manner. The ultimate goal of the intervention is to present the reality of the affected person’s addiction in a way he or she can accept. When done successfully, an addict can accept help and decide on a course of treatment.

In the Johnson Model, an addict’s loved ones form the foundation of the intervention. These interventions are rooted in caring and compassion, not malice or accusation. A proper intervention encourages affected individuals to seek treatment not only for themselves, but for the network of loved ones who surround them.

Invitational Model

Developed by Ed Speare and Wayne Raiter, this method of intervention is also referred to as the Systemic Family Intervention Model. This model also takes a family-oriented approach rather than focusing solely on the addicts. The theory of the invitational model is rooted in the idea that, if the system of addiction changes, so will every individual within that system, including the addict.

How the Invitational Model Works

In a systemic family intervention, an entire family or support network is invited to come to a two-day workshop led by an interventionist. Throughout the course of the workshop, the addict and the family are coached on the disease of addiction, including its pathology and how it affects a family. Specifically, an interventionist helps the support network understand the concept of enabling and how it affects the addict and the family as a whole. Each family member must understand the role that he or she plays so everyone can begin the road to recovery as a unit. When every family member is committed to healing, the hope is that the addict will accept help and begin his or her journey to sobriety.

An invitational intervention begins when a concerned member of a family contacts an interventionist about a loved one with a substance abuse problem. Once they make plans for a workshop, a designated member of the family is coached on how to invite the addict to participate. Once the entire family system is at the workshop, they learn about different treatment options for the addict.

Treatment and Follow-Up

Ideally, an addict will agree to seek treatment at the conclusion of the workshop, which is often multidisciplinary in nature. An interventionist using an invitational model will usually follow up with the family for up to a year. The main difference between the invitational model and others is it’s not confrontational in nature and it recognizes the family’s role in aiding and effectively treating addiction.

Field Model

Jane Mintz is a former professional golfer who became an interventionist after successfully winning her own battle with alcohol abuse. A competitive high-achiever by nature, Mintz studied every intervention model and addiction process in painstaking detail. In response to her years of research, she developed her own model, the Field Model of Intervention. Unlike other intervention models, the Field model does not replace other models. Rather, it is complementary.

How the Field Model Works

The field model is based on the Johnson model, so it has many of the same properties. The reason the Field model is complementary is because it specifically prepares the interventionist for handling crises during the intervention process and after. For example, Field model interventionists are trained to assess suicide risk or predict potential for violence. Using the field model can be especially beneficial for those families who believe an addict is a danger to themselves not just because of their addiction, but also because of co-morbid conditions such as depression or bipolar disorder.

Bringing Families Together for Interventions

Mintz likens families of addicts to herds that aren’t always moving in the same direction. Addicts often look to the strays of the herd to enable their addiction. When all family members are moving in the same direction, it’s easier for the addict to realize the depth of their addiction and its negative consequences. Part of the field model is educating families and helping them realize when they’re part of the problem – and how they can be part of the solution.

Family Systemic Model

The family systemic model of intervention is often referred to as the invitational model, though the two methods do have minor distinctions. While a classic intervention involves a confrontation without prior knowledge of the addict, the family systemic model is completely different. In a family model, the addict comes to all planned meetings 
with the interventionist, including the first one. Instead of a one-way conversation in which family members discuss how one person’s addiction has negatively affected their lives, the family unit has a collaborative discussion about how addiction, as a disease, has affected the family unit.

Time Frame

The biggest difference between an invitational model and a family systemic model is the time frame for intervention. While an invitational intervention usually concludes with a two-day immersive workshop and periodic follow-up, a family systemic intervention can last for months at a time. Meetings can be several times a week or until the family decides on an appropriate treatment plan to which the addicted individual agrees. In the end, the addict and the family unit agree to counseling. An addict will seek treatment and then join the family later for group therapy. In essence, the family commits to rehabilitation together.

Published References & Resources

Friday, December 13, 2019

"Gold Standard" Addiction Treatment

The vast majority of substance abusers and behavioral process (e.g.: gambling, shopping, sex, romance, game) addicts will never have enough money or insurance coverage to get into the sort of "high-buck" or "Class A" treatment program described in the first section here, but many will ultimately be able to use a lot of the (mostly non-medicinal) methods and techniques one runs into in Malibu, Rancho Mirage, Wickenburg and Tucson.
Intensive Medical Detox: MD- and RN-supervised withdrawal including anti-anxiety, anti-seizure and step-down pain-killing meds -- as well as vitamin & mineral supplements (and even naturopathics) -- to attenuate the most uncomfortable (typically anxious and flu-like) symptoms. (To locate a licensed detox facility near you, see the SAMHSA Website.)
Inpatient Hospitalization: At least a few days in a detox ward (using infusion therapies and/or microdose-level, psychedelic-assisted withdrawal; e.g. psilocybin, ayahuasca, MDMA), usually followed by 21 to 28 days in sunrise to sundown lectures, videos, discussions, and how-to demonstrations, along with controlled diet, stepdown medications if needed and one-on-one counseling to explore such issues as Will the Addict Ever Stop Using SOMETHING if He or She remains Depressed, Anxious & Belief-Bound? and learn Mate's Method and More for Dealing with Addictive Impulses as well as other tricks from A Basic Addiction References List.
Partial Hospitalization: Typically four to six weeks of on-site lectures, videos, discussions, and how-to demonstrations, along with controlled detox as above, diet, stepdown medications if needed and one-on-one counseling (as above) from about 9:00 am to 3:00 pm four to six days a week.
Outpatient Detox & Treatment: Typically eight to twelve weeks on and off site with day and/or evening lectures, videos, discussions, and how-to demonstrations totaling about three hours daily up to five days a week, along with professionally assisted detox as above.

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation: See the article from Johns-Hopkins and other information on this relatively inexpensive and non-invasive procedure that appears to "work" for a percentage of both substance abusers and behavior addicts. 
Infusion Therapies: Runs the gamut from ketaminenicotinamide / niacin / tryptophan, adenine dinucleotide (usually administered this way), and/or massive B complex to EDTA chelation to blow out the toxic junk often embedded in cut-down street drugs. I have also seen lists in TC brochures of infusions called "Fountain of Youth," "Party Recovery," "Slim Down," "Chill Out" and "Bug Off" (anti-virals and anti-biotics). WARNING: A lot of this stuff is available OTC, but is RISKY BUSINESS if used without board-certified medical supervision. (Just look at all the side effects for each those in the first sentence above.) And some of it is risky even when supervised by "professionals."
Wellness Injections: (If you think I have concerns about the ITs above, figure me for "no way, Jose" on this stuff, but...) B-12 "bombs," neurostimulants to curb appetite (including dextroamphetamine and even fast-acting, atypical antidepressants like esketamine), immunity boosters and "chill shots" (generally containing benzodiazepines and/or neuroleptics) are not unusual in these places.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: "...a short-term, goal-oriented psychotherapy treatment that takes a hands-on, practical approach to problem-solving. Its goal is to change patterns of thinking or behavior that are behind people’s difficulties, and so change the way they feel. It is used to help treat a wide range of issues in a person’s life, from sleeping difficulties or relationship problems, to drug and alcohol abuse or anxiety and depression. CBT works by changing people’s attitudes and their behavior by focusing on the thoughts, images, beliefs and attitudes that are held (a person’s cognitive processes) and how these processes relate to the way a person behaves, as a way of dealing with emotional problems." (from PsychCentral.com)
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction: "...an eight-week evidence-based program that offers secular, intensive mindfulness training to assist people with stress, anxiety, depression and pain. It is a practical approach which trains attention, allowing people to cultivate awareness and therefore enabling them to have more choice and take wise action in their lives." (from Wikipedia)

Dialectical Behavior Therapy: "...a well-established treatment for individuals with multiple and severe psychosocial disorders, including those who are chronically suicidal. Because many such patients have substance use disorders, the authors developed DBT for Substance Abusers, which incorporates concepts and modalities designed to promote abstinence and to reduce the length and adverse impact of relapses. Among these are dialectical abstinence, 'clear mind,' and attachment strategies that include off-site counseling as well as active attempts to find patients who miss sessions." (from NCBI Resources)
Family Days or Weeks: The family is invited to spend several days to learn from lectures, videos, discussions, and demonstrations how to support the addict in his or her recovery, as well as -- in some cases -- to work through issues that may have contributed to the addict's need to use.
Other Elements: Including those not touched upon above in A Summary of Recovery Activities and Three Classes of Addiction Treatment, in not-moses's reply to the original poster on that Reddit Addiction thread.
One can find the providers of such treatments on the SAMHSA website.
Subsequent to such treatment -- or as a riskier but often still effective, and far less costly, alternative -- see...
12 Step MeetingsAlcoholics AnonymousNarcotics AnonymousCocaine AnonymousPills Anonymous, and/or Marijuana Anonymous meetings onsite or nearby.

Rational Recoverya non-12-Step program that utilizes REBT and CBT techniques. 

Refuge Recovery: which is based on mindfulness.
SMART Recoverya non-12-Step program that includes group CBT and Motivational Enhancement techniques.
So-called "Class B," residential and partial day or "outpatient" treatment that does not include onsite MDs and/or "medication management" by board-certified specialists in addiction medicine, and "Class C" residential programs in "sober living" residences that may or may not include meals, but often or almost always do include rapid referral to detox facilities, as well as counseling from visiting certified substance abuse counselors and regular attendance at 12 Step meetings like those of Alcoholics, Narcotics and (sometimes) Cocaine Anonymous. 
Class B and C programs may be available via referral from county health and human services agencies, a.k.a. "departments of public social services." But in my experience, they may be easier to find via attendance at AA, NA and other 12 Step meetings.