Willingness is for Both the Addict and the Professional

February 19th, 2011 | Posted by Sherry Gaba in Addiction - (Comments Off on Willingness is for Both the Addict and the Professional)

Willingness is one of the first keys towards a successful recovery. This element needs to be embraced not only by the addict but also by the professional who is aiding the addict. Willingness is the ability to be open and ready for a transformational experience. In the area of recovery, this transformation is forward movement …
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Shopping Addiction Woes for Lindsay Lohan

February 7th, 2011 | Posted by Sherry Gaba in Shopping Addiction - (Comments Off on Shopping Addiction Woes for Lindsay Lohan)

How does a young lady with celebrity status and the means to buy whatever she would like end up with an addiction to shopping? Many are aware of the personal and public battle that Lindsay Lohan has had with her addiction to drugs and alcohol. People may not be aware that addictions tend to cross …
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Celebrity Rehab 4 Alumni Share Their Experience Strength and Hope

January 22nd, 2011 | Posted by Sherry Gaba in Addiction | Celebrity Rehab - (Comments Off on Celebrity Rehab 4 Alumni Share Their Experience Strength and Hope)

On one of the last episodes of Celebrity Rehab 4 with Dr. Drew, past residents from Celebrity Rehab 3 came to the Pasadena Recovery Center to share their experience, strength and hope with the current residents. Mike Starr, Mackenzie Phillips and Tom Sizemore arrived at the center to share their experiences garnered from their recent …
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The big debate the past two weeks on Celebrity Rehab has been whether an addict can have a beer—even a nonalcoholic one—and still maintain their sobriety. I’ve seen a lot of comments on the show’s message boards about this, and a lot of misunderstanding about why abstinence from all drugs and alcohol really is important …
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Country Strong: A Movie that Depicts the Truths about Untreated Alcoholism

January 10th, 2011 | Posted by Sherry Gaba in Alcohol Addiction - (Comments Off on Country Strong: A Movie that Depicts the Truths about Untreated Alcoholism)

I am not a movie critic and won’t pretend to be, but I do not understand why the reviews for the movie “Country Strong” were so negative. The movie has everything in it from alcoholism, mental illness, co-dependency, ageism, and grief and loss giving the audience a bird’s eye view of the dysfunction that goes …
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Things are getting tough for Leif Garrett on Celebrity Rehab. During family day, his mom was so loving and supportive. She said she’d do anything to help him stay sober. But when she said that, Dr. Drew pointed out that bailing him out of jail would not help him—it would only make things worse by enabling …
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Why Recovery Coaching Works

December 23rd, 2010 | Posted by Sherry Gaba in Addiction - (2 Comments)

There’s a phrase going around that says, “If you can get a person to five years of recovery they are likely to make it to ten years.” But how do you get someone to five years when more than three out of four relapse in the first year? We now know that acute addiction care …
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Boundaries, everyone needs them and no one wants to be in charge of them. In order for recovery to have a chance at success, boundaries are necessary. When watching Celebrity Rehab 4, you can tell that the Center has rules and regulations. They have to. Specific rules that the patients have to adhere to begin the …
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Post-Traumatic Stress Last week on Celebrity Rehab, you saw me have a very intense session with Janice Dickinson. (You can see a short clip at http://www.vh1.com/video/misc/606920/janice-dickinson-talks-to-a-therapist.jhtml#id=1654325.) Janice is coming unraveled, and very small things are setting her off in a big way. What’s going on here? Janice was subjected to terrible neglect and physical, sexual …
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