Here in the UK the same sort of rubbish goes on... there seems to be this legendary 'faith' in the notion that ".... you have to reack rock-bottom before you can ever get anywhere!". What a load of crap!
Having the will power, intelligence, determination and good fortune NOT to reach rock bottom has to mean a better chance, under better conditions, with better prospects, better in mind body and spirit, as you still have a trace of those essential commodities!
Unfortunately we are still plagued with nasty, whining, self-righteous little weasels and bullies like the execrable Jeremy Kyle (whose dismal TV show actually lacks the class, humanity and down-to-earth common sense of Jerry Springer. I was pleased to see recently that the vile little git's name is being widely used to describe an unpleasant malady almost as embarrassing, unloved and unwanted as the little pain in the arse himself - haemmoroids. Highly appropriate!
An agonised, deeply distressed shriek of.... "Awwww %*$*ing hell - me Jeremies!!!" recently brought tears of laughter as well as profound sympathy to my eyes, when an unfortunate sufferer tripped over in the pub, and landed very heavily astride a stout oak partition, decorated with the Ten Commandments (salvaged from an old Victorian church pew). Rather remiss of me, I neglected to note which commandment it was... am now praying it was the one about ''... covetting your neighbour's ass...", which would be perfect.
For anyone abroad still unfamiliar with 'Cockney Rhyming Slang', embarrassing and/or unmentionable medical conditions and dubious body parts often feature, for obvious reasons. Therefore 'piles' which are associated with the 'bottle and glass', and therefore hardly a thing to proudly mention in company, have an especially well appointed list of nicknames, i.e.-
Chalfonts - (fr. Chalfont St Giles= piles)
Nauticals - (fr. Nautical Miles = do.)
Sunnies - (fr. Sunny Smiles = do.)
Imperials - (fr. Imperial Miles = do.)
Statutes - (fr. Statute Miles = do.)
Romans - (fr. Roman Tiles = do.)
This has little to do with drugs I realise (apart perhaps from a few locally applied benzocaine derivatives maybe?), but I'm afraid I get a bit carried away with the wondrous richness of the English language, and was irreistably tempted to mention that shameful excuse for a British 'therapist' so. It may provide some small comfort to know that we are plagued with such idiots her in the UK too, and sympathise with your problems absolutely!
Don't panic, I am not quite in the mood to write a book, as I have an unfortunate tendency to do sometimes, when mounted on my high horse (strictly no pun intended!)
I will therefore only briefly mention my experiences with NHS 'addiction specialists' and so-called clinics for the moment, and my viws concerning the British version of 'NA' and the strange, tortue obsessed, puritanical maniacs it seems to attract.