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When addiction or mental illness becomes an emergency, this book is 911

Daily Oklahoman - 11/7/2021

Nov. 7—"The Right Rehab — A Guide to Addiction and Mental Illness Recovery When Crisis Hits Your Family" by Walter Wolf (Rowman & Littlefield, 257 pages, in stores Nov. 15)

Self-help books can be found by the hundreds in book stores. Some aren't worth the paper they are printed on; others are so valuable you should snap them up the moment you see them.

"The Right Rehab" by Walter Wolf falls in the latter category. It provides a simple, easy to understand and follow, step-by-step process by which anyone can seek help for a loved one who is caught in the thralls of addiction or mental illness.

I wish this book had been available when I needed this sort of guidance years ago.

Here is how Wolf begins Chapter 1: "If you are reading this because you or your family are in crisis due to drug/alcohol addiction and/or mental illness, you are likely experiencing a thousand nightmares right now. Your first priority is getting the victim to a safe place, ensuring his immediate health and well-being, and then getting you and your family stabilized."

You may need to call 911, Wolf continues; if so, be sure to ask for an officer trained in crisis intervention. If drugs are involved, he suggests having Narcan — "today's fire extinguisher" — within easy reach, and be prepared to apply CPR if necessary until emergency personnel arrive.

Wolf includes checklists of information one should have available in times of such crisis: age, address, names and phone numbers, Social Security number, addiction status, number of dependents, whether the victim is in the service or a veteran, employment status, insurance status.

If drugs are involved, he provides another checklist. And one about individual and family medical history. And a checklist of various legal questions as well. And what to do if a lawyer is needed. And whether treatment is the next stage.

The second chapter discusses treatment and explains what addiction is and how it is caused; physical dependence, substance use disorder treatment; how it is diagnosed; whether treatment should be outpatient or inpatient; the numerous addictions that are treated; mental disorders; process addiction; and evidence-based treatment along with other treatment techniques.

Wolf then discusses finding the right rehab to match the patient's needs. This is extremely important, he notes, because the wrong rehab will be a waste of time and money. He includes the types of rehab one should avoid, especially those designed to separate you from your money rather than actually focusing on the well-being of the patient.

He then provides a long, extensive list of questions to ask that will help determine whether the rehab in question is, first, legitimate, and second, the right kind to provide the most benefit for the money spent.

Those three chapters alone make the book worth the expense, but Wolf isn't finished. He discusses finding the right plan to match the needs of the individual. "There is no one plan that fits everyone," he points out, before describing the myriad alternatives that are available.

Then he tells how to get treatment, and the options that are available to help pay for it.

For those who are daunted by the full chapters packed with information and checklists, Wolf pauses at Chapter Seven to provide a "summary of what you need to know now-now." This is essentially an outline of the previous six chapters, all in one place for quick reference and easy comprehension.

Wolf concludes the book with a chapter on what he sees as problems with the system and a "prescription for a healthier population and continued economic expansion." Readers might want to call the attention of elected officials to these proposals.

The rest of the book contains notes, a bibliography and an index, so it isn't as long as some panicking readers might fear.

"The Right Rehab" includes glowing testimonials from experts in the field as well as clients Wolf has assisted. But all you need to do to recognize the value yourself is pick up the book and start reading — especially if you have someone in your life who is experiencing drug addiction and/or mental illness.

This is a self-help book that leaves all of the others in the dust.

Glen Seeber, The Oklahoman

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