AboutDerek Johnson Expertise Any behavior in which you are compelled to engage in when you do not want to can lead to an addiction.
Experience I offer counseling (http://www.kasamba.com/derek-johnson) of all types -drugs, alcohol, sexual, anger, depression, co-dependency, anxiety, grief, stress, eating disorders, distortions of thought, compulsions, mood disorders, controlling behaviors, inferiority, marriage and family, motivation, life coaching, relapse prevention and recovery counseling- from an eclectic approach.
My abilities are being refined daily by supervising a counseling center that offers counseling to 120 clients. I have 10 years of direct care in all counseling arenas. I also have 2 years experience working with the mentally handicapped. Additionally, I have 2 years experience in Marriage and Family relationship issues. I have personally and unfortunately experienced sexual abuse, a suicide attempt and many addictions. This gives me a unique perspective in helping others.
Organizations Teen Challenge of Florida Florida Certification Board International Society for Mental Health Online International Certification & Reciprocity Consortium
Education/Credentials Certified Mental Health Professional # 50190 (MA)/ Certified Addiction Professional #3279 (MA) / Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Sociology / Internationally Certified Counselor #24570 / Certified by the Florida Certification Board / Certified by International Certification & Reciprocity Consortium / NET Institute Diploma for Counseling and Addiction Studies
Expert: Derek Johnson Date: 3/22/2008 Subject: My boyfriend has recently admitted to being a heroid addict
Question My boyfriend and I have been together for two years. Back in February 2007, I caught him using heroin and made him mother aware of the situation. He quit cold turkey (or so I believe) and then relapsed in August. I then caught him a month later in my bathroom putting a needle in his arm. He swore to me he would quit and he even went through withdrawals. However, last week he admitted he was still an addict and he needed help. His parents have enrolled him in an intensive outpatient rehab. All of this happened while I was on vacation with my family. My boyfriend and I have a very strong bond, he is my best friend and he has always told me everything. He had told me several times that he relapsed and he needed help, and I did what I could while maintaining my promise to not tell his parents. Now that he is in rehab, he has gotten so much better. He is using Suboxone, which is helping his withdrawals and taking another medication to help him sleep. Today he went to his first NA meeting at his own will. I couldn't be more proud of him than I am now. But that's not the problem. I feel betrayed. He has been cheating on me for 7 months with H. He has lied to me, stood me up because he had to go score a bag, forged a check from my checkbook to cash in his account, and begged me for money because he didn't have any to pay his bills, so now he owes me over $5k. I don't even know where to start. Just a month ago, he and I were laying in bed talking about how we want to spend the rest of our lives together, but towards the end of his high life and now that he is in rehab, all of our intimacy is gone. I love him with my whole heart, and I know he loves me, but the fact that he can't even kiss me hello is bringing me down and making me miserable. Our relationship is now limited and monitored by his parents and we can only spend 2 nights together a week, but nighttime when we would sleep together was the only time he and I ever had together. Now we don't even have that. I don't know anything about heroin addiction, the odds of recovery and how to cope with everything going on. I tried reading personal diaries of people who have dealt with addicted lovers as well as those of addicts and they are not providing any answer for me. I don't know if I feel as empty as I do because I feel betrayed and don't think this relationship can be redeemed or if it's just because I miss seeing him as much as I once did, even if it was only while we were sleeping next to each other. I don't know if it is worth me sticking around through his rehab. I want to do what is best for him because I want him to get better. But I don't know if me being there or us being apart is going to help him, especially being my emotional state. I don't want him worrying about how I feel when he is trying to take care of himself before anyone else. What do I do? What is the likelihood of him recovering from a 3 year heroin addiction (sniffing, last 7 months injecting) with Suboxone treatment?
Answer Hi Samantha,
To get right to the question: The statistics across the board for all treatments are similar. After one year clean the relapse rate is around 50%. After two years around 26%. Finally at five years the rate falls to under 5%.
These stats show the caution that people need when making a long-term decision regarding people in addiction. Again these are general stats across the board. Some do not fall into these.
The good news is that all of the things that he has done to you were a result of being driven by a chemical. It is not the real him. If you value the real him and believe he can stay clean then you might consider that option.
Another issue here also is that it is imperative for him to address the underlying reasons behind his addiction. Simply using another chemical to cope with the loss of the abused chemical, while popular in this society, does little to keep the person from returning to his drug of choice. The success rate of 28 day programs of this type are 5%. That means 95% relapse. That being said, relapse is a part of recovery and many people endure many relapses prior to finally maintaining sobriety.
