Wright resident Hattie Stein lends guidance, hope to those

Dealing with addiction

From there she will serve as a contract service provider for Rural Family Addiction and Behavioral Health Services.

For 21 years, Stein has been offering counseling to those whose lives are trapped in an addiction, whether it’s an individual fighting alcoholism, or a family coming to terms with a loved one’s gambling problem.

Her move to CSS is a win-win situation; while Stein provides her own financial backing, the Diocese of Dodge City provides her space, technical support, telephone, bookkeeping, and other assistance.

From her office across from Sacred Heart School, she will offer outpatient treatment and counseling for those suffering from alcohol and drug dependency, codependency, and sexual and gambling addictions.

Starting next year, Stein will, at the request of Bishop Ronald Gilmore, begin efforts to bring "Rachel’s Vineyard," to Dodge City, which offers guidance, counseling and healing to those affected by an abortion. The bishop also asked Stein to initiate a grief and healing retreat for those who are healing from sexual abuse.

Having faced addiction herself, Stein has a special empathy for those struggling to come to terms with their addictions.

"If you have experienced it, you have a knowledge and understanding that no one else has who hasn’t experience it," she said. "In 1980, when I was three months sober, I realized I needed more than Alcoholics Anonymous. My sponsor said to go see Sister Francis Biernacki, who then worked at the CSS office in Garden City.

"I didn’t trust anyone at the time," she said. "Sister Biernacki saved my life. She gave me a stability in my life.

"I knew I always wanted to give back," Stein added. "The resources that we gain, I think it’s our duty to give back so that others will have that same chance."

Her road to sobriety wasn’t easy, but far from impossible. Within five years, Stein opened the first addiction outreach office in Dodge City, in cooperation with the St. John’s Chemical Dependency Unit in Salina. In 1989 she began work with the newly developed chemical dependency unit at Humana Hospital in Dodge City, and in 1991 opened her own private practice.

Stein is a National Certified Alcohol Counselor, Certified Alcohol/Drug Counselor, National Advanced Certified Relapse Prevention Specialist, and a Certified Sexual Addiction Therapist.

The study of addiction "has grown by leaps and bounds," Stein explained. "Alcoholism is the oldest disease of mankind. There are behavioral references in the Bible."

Stein looks for one of three stages in addiction, the treatment for which ranges from outpatient counseling, to a referral to an inpatient treatment facility.

"The first stage is harder to see," she said, explaining that at the first stage, the signs of alcoholism aren’t always apparent. "The second stage begins to demonstrate the social aspects, which causes problems with friends, family, work, or you get a DUI. You begin to see social deterioration.

"The third stage is when the person cannot not drink. They may be ready to ‘seizure out’ without alcohol. They are referred to inpatient treatment. This is not ‘one size fits all.’ It all depends on the individual. The program at CSS will be based on the need of the client and family."

Why more people facing addiction don’t get help may be due to the stigma attached to being labeled an "alcoholic," or "drug addict." What they need to know, Stein said, is that their lives can be completely turned around. "Recovery is possible."

"Addiction changes a person biologically (the brain and central nervous system), psychologically (one’s personality), and socially (one’s relationships) and each must be treated."

Stein discounted the long-held notion that marijuana is not addictive. "That was marijuana from the 60s and 70s," she said. "Today’s marijuana is much higher in THC content, which is the chemical that makes you high. Yes, marijuana is addictive."

The production and use of methamphetamines is perhaps the fastest growing chemical addiction other than alcohol. And its production isn’t limited to inner city basements. In fact, old, abandoned farm houses, a staple along many Kansas vistas, provide a prime location for a meth lab.

"I’ve worked with children who have lived with the toxic fumes of meth labs," she said, shaking her head. "It damages the central nervous system."

The fastest growing addiction of all, she said, is sexual addiction, thanks in large part to the Internet.

"What they have on the Internet makes Playboy look like Reader’s Digest," Stein said. "When children try something the first time, it creates a template. They experience sexual abuse on the screen, and they grow up believing that’s what sex is." An article about sexual addiction will be featured in a future SKR.

Stein is married to Kenneth, and has six children and 13 grandchildren. She can be contacted at (620) 227-1584, 1-800-222-9383, or by emailing hstein@dcdiocese.org.