Experts Available to Discuss Substance Abuse Treatment
ExpertSource:
TOPIC: A 2001 study conducted by the Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration showed $18 billion was spent on substance abuse treatment, according to an article by Public Access Journalism. Researchers say substance abuse treatment has progressed since via medications that lessen withdrawal symptoms as well as treatment programs that teach clients how to re-enter life sober by providing social services, housing and job training. While experts say there is still a stigma associated with substance abuse, views are being reshaped due to the numerous studies over the past 20 years that show genetics play a factor in addiction.
EXPERTS: ExpertSource can offer several highly qualified experts to comment on this story:
Steven M. Orenstein, MA, LMFT is Chief Executive Officer of New Seasons. Mr. Orenstein served as Director of Addiction Medicine Services at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Beverly Hills, where he developed effective and cutting-edge dual diagnosis and chemical dependency treatment programs. He has more than 20 years of experience as a psychotherapist and administrator, specializing in dual diagnosis. He has successfully operated large facilities that provide programming for treatment-resistant adults and adolescents. Mr. Orenstein has been affiliated with numerous hospitals, residential care facilities, and psychiatric medical service organizations. He is a licensed clinician of over 20 years and has designed chemical dependency treatment programs that have become a model of quality care for the Southern California managed care marketplace. Mr. Orenstein also was co-creator of Behavioral Health Resources, a national management and consulting company devoted exclusively to behavioral healthcare operations.
Mark de Bernardo, partner at Jackson Lewis Law Firm, is the founder and executive director of the Institute for a Drug-Free Workplace. He is also president of the Foundation for Drug Education and Awareness and author and/or co-author of more than 18 books on employment and labor law topics. He is the lead author for the annual Guide to State and Federal Drug-Testing Laws. Mr. de Bernardo can share his expertise on topics relating to workplace law, such as substance abuse in the workplace, senior executive personnel actions and alternative dispute resolution. Media experience includes The Today Show, Good Morning America, Crossfire, Larry King, Time, Newsweek, U.S. News & World Report, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and Washington Post.
Winnie Wechsler joined Phoenix Houses of California in February 2003 as executive director. She is responsible for all of Phoenix House’s activities in California, which span 29 programs serving over 2,200 people each day. Phoenix House is the nation’s largest non-profit substance abuse service provider, with over 100 programs in nine states. With beginnings in New York in 1967, Phoenix House opened its first therapeutic community in California in 1979 when it was invited by the County of Orange to initiate adult residential services. The organization now has two adult and three adolescent treatment centers in California, two women’s and children’s facilities, two community-based sober living centers, five in-prison programs in the Central Valley housing 1,635 inmates, and more than 300 individuals in non-residential services throughout the Southland. Phoenix Houses of California also provides on-site clinical management, training, and consultation services at six youth detention facilities throughout the state. Over 100,000 men, women, and adolescents have been treated in Phoenix House programs, more than 8,500 of them in California. With more than 35 years of expertise, Phoenix House has developed specialized therapeutic communities for numerous populations including homeless, mentally ill, and criminal/juvenile justice clients as well as programs that rebuild families torn apart by substance abuse and other destructive factors. In addition to its continuum of treatment and recovery services, Phoenix House is engaged in a broad array of prevention activities, primarily through our national education affiliates the American Council for Drug Education and the Children of Alcoholics Foundation. Moreover, in each of the communities in which Phoenix House is located, the organization works in partnership with public, private, and not-for-profit agencies in order to provide the community with critical resources and services. Partners include governments, schools, hospitals, community-based organizations, businesses, community coalitions, and neighborhood improvement groups. As the executive director, she has can discuss teen substance abuse trends, legislative issues relating to teen substance abuse, and the social impact of long-term treatment. Prior to joining Phoenix House, Ms. Wechsler was a 20-year veteran of the entertainment and education industries serving as executive vice president and general manager of Internet & broadband services for Lightspan, Inc., an educational multimedia company which she helped take public; senior vice president of Buena Vista Internet Group (BVIG); one of the founders of Disney Online; and senior vice president, new business development, for the Disney Channel. Ms. Wechsler earned an MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a bachelor’s degree from Wellesley College.
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