Substance use and dependency directly and indirectly affect many families in the community. These issues are complex with an impact on social behavior and physical and mental health.

Education, understanding and supportive services can be helpful moving those affected towards recovery and healing. I often hear these common misunderstandings and myth about chemical dependency and addictions counseling:

MYTH: Chemical dependency is an individual problem. 


FACT: There are 40 million illnesses and injuries every year in the US caused by chemical use that affects individuals, families, employers and communities.

MYTH: Chemical use is a choice that can be stopped by the person.

FACT: The net cost to society is $484 billion per year in treatment, lost wages and criminal involvement. Compare this to cancer at $171 billion and diabetes at $131 billion. Professional intervention is necessary.

MYTH: Treatment is costly and hard to get.

FACT: Continuum Health Partners offer a wide range of psychiatric and chemical dependency services in nationally recognized centers with a focus on treating the individual and affected family. Obtaining treatment and addictions counseling can simply be a matter of application and hospital assistance to obtain necessary care.

MYTH: Treatment doesn’t usually work.

FACT: Evaluation of treatment outcomes clearly show that at any given time up to 60% of chemical users recover for periods of years.

MYTH: The chemical user has to make an individual decision to stop using and recover.

FACT: Chemical users make bad decisions based on a distortion in perception and thinking. Educationally supportive intervention can help chemically dependent individuals make a choice to enter treatment and achieve recovery.

Edward Walsh is a Social Worker at The Addiction Institute in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health at St. Luke’s and Roosevelt Hospitals.