Dr. M.K. (Khal) El-Yousef founded Fairwinds Treatment Center over 25 years ago with the intention of bringing long-term recovery to those suffering from addiction problems.
Dr. El-Yousef pioneered the unique and effective dual diagnosis method of treatment, which includes both clinical treatment and therapeutic counseling for the patients’ underlying emotional and mental triggers. Only by treating both the physical and psychological aspects of addiction can individuals return to their families healed and ready to pursue a happier and healthier life.
Over the past few decades, researchers have been substantiating a long-suspected link between trauma and addiction problems. For instance, a 2003 National Survey of Adolescents found that teenagers who had experienced sexual assault or abuse were three times more likely to have experimented with illegal substances.
In 2012, researchers at the University of Texas surveyed a group of 32 healthy teenagers every six months over the course of three and a half years. Some of these individuals had suffered childhood trauma and others had not. The researchers found that nearly half of the group that had been maltreated as children developed substance abuse or depression problems over the course of the study, which was three times the rate of occurrence in the control group.
Time magazine reported that more research must be done to verify the results. Reporter Maia Szalavitz writes, “But the findings do add to the already voluminous literature suggesting that addiction problems have more to do with people’s attempts to manage or flee pain than to their desire to seek pleasure — and that simple drug exposure is not sufficient to trigger addiction.”
If you or a loved one is suffering from a drug addiction problem, perhaps triggered or exacerbated by a trauma, contact the professionals at Fairwinds today. We are one of the top dual diagnosis treatment centers in the country, so you’ll be in the best of hands.
