Chief Clinical Editor for Narconon, Claire Pinelli
Claire Pinelli has been a teacher and counselor for over 45 years. Claire has always been interested in helping others, even while working on her degree in mathematics. Eventually, Claire took a year off to follow her passion, then returned to finish her degree graduating Cum Laude for Brooklyn College, CUNY.
Throughout the 1970s Claire continued to counsel others, moving to Los Angeles before eventually settling in New York City where she married. While in New York Claire began a new chapter in her life by teaching in the New York City School System, where she helped establish the first computer science curriculum for the New York City School System. Despite her busy schedule, Claire found the time to earn her Master of Science Degree, Cum Laude, in Computer Engineering from Polytechnic Institute of New York (now New York University).
In 1985 she left New York with her husband and moved to Los Angeles finding herself managing a multi-specialty medical clinic in Los Angeles. As time went on, Claire’s family grew to 3 children and with her husband, they made the decision to move to Northern California for her children to have a quality education. It was here that Claire began one of the most fulfilling chapters in her life when a local Narconon drug and alcohol rehab center asked for her help. She agreed, and it was there she realized her passion and ability to use her counseling skills to help those addicted to drugs and alcohol as well as their families. While there, she was able to put in a standard withdrawal protocol and double the program enrollment.
In 2004 she moved on to work at a larger Narconon facility in Oklahoma. Here she was met with a new challenge. Over the course of her 2-year tenure, Claire saw the enrollment double as she supervised treatment for over 200 clients at a time. Her skills as an administrator as well as a counselor were put to good use as she helped thousands of addicts discover how to live life free from drugs and alcohol. After ensuring a smooth transition, in 2007 she decided to move to Houston, Texas, where she and her family live today. In Houston, she and her husband founded Q.U.A.D. Consultants of Texas, Inc. A Texas corporation whose goal is to help people Quit Using Alcohol and Drugs by treating and educating not only the addict, but the counselors, the family and the facility as well.
Over the years, she never stopped learning and advancing her knowledge and certification to increase her expertise and skill to help others. She became an LADC with Clinical Supervision Certification from the Oklahoma Board of Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselors; an Internationally Certified Advanced Alcohol and Drug Counselor (ICAADC) and a Certified Clinical Supervisor (CCS) from the International Certification and Reciprocity Consortium; a Registered Addiction Specialist (RAS) from the Breining Institute in California; and a Master’s Level Certified Addiction Professional and Certified Addiction Professional (MCAP) from the state of Florida.
Claire has been doing talks and lectures on drug addiction and treatment as well as classes for professionals since 2005.
She currently is living in Houston with her family and consulting for several facilities and creating and delivering Board Approved Continuing Education training for professional and lay people alike.
In fifteen states around the U.S., recovery high schools offer youth in recovery the right environments in which they can get their lives on the right track for success.
Just about everything having to do with marijuana is seen as highly controversial. As states continue to legalize its use for recreational purposes, we are beginning to see growing evidence that not all is as it seems. Using marijuana has consequences and, legal or not, the number of individuals affected by those consequences is growing.
Kratom is a mind-altering substance that has bounced on and off the radar for the last decade. Occasionally, we’ll hear news blurbs about this drug, a story here and there of someone who died from using it.
When we find that an increasing number of young people are dying from injury-related causes, it’s time to look at how many of them could be losing their lives from preventable, alcohol-related causes.
It’s pretty safe to say that people want to live the healthiest lives that they can. That applies to just about anyone, not just those who are in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction. By and large, people want to safeguard their physical and mental health.
The terms “human trafficking” and “drug abuse” are terms that invoke senses of anguish, and despair. Human trafficking and drug abuse are terrible occurrences, and both occur in the U.S. and the world.
Needle exchange programs are one of the more controversial approaches to the drug problem. Safe injection sites even more so. Both methods fall under the category of harm reduction. The goal behind harm reduction is to reduce the harm in drug use.
A recent article in U.S. News reported on a new study published in The Journal of Urology. The data suggests that taking opiate-based painkillers after a vasectomy does not improve pain control. Furthermore, taking such drugs after a vasectomy is also linked to the persistent use of such medicines in the months following surgery…
There’s been a lot of talk about the addictive nature of tech, the internet, cell phones, and social media. From the Help Guide to Consumer Affairs and countless other publications, big media centers and online resources are beginning to report on the harmful effects and the addictive nature of tech, social media, and the internet.
In an Oklahoma courtroom, state attorneys claim that Johnson & Johnson should pay their fair share for their role in creating the opioid epidemic that claimed thousands of lives in the state. Why will this cost more than $800 million the first year?
When my parents and grandparents were growing up, there were only a couple of drugs readily available: alcohol and tobacco. Some people slipped into alcoholism and others may have ruined their health by smoking too much and too long.
With so much focus on the harm coming from opioids, it would be easy to overlook the deadly threat coming from synthetics. This ever-changing list of drugs can wreak havoc among drug users who might not even know what chemical they are buying.
This is a difficult question that the parents of addicts sometimes have to ask. “Should I call the cops on my addicted son or daughter?” In the following paragraphs, we’ll look at some of the pros and cons of doing so. We’ll look at the support for calling the cops.
Who feels better in the presence of pets? Can I see a show of hands? I know I do. Growing up in the rural Midwest, an Australian Shepherd dog was always at my side, everywhere I went.
For anyone who has a family member or loved one who is addicted or is in recovery, the big question is this. “How can we guarantee long-term recovery?” We know how dangerous relapses are. We know about the ever-present risk of an overdose. We know that addiction is a life or death matter.
It is no mystery that the United States is struggling with a drug addiction crisis. In October of 2017, the opioid epidemic alone (just one facet of America's addiction problem) was declared a Public Health Emergency. Drug addiction has spread across the United States.
The famous architect, Frank Lloyd Wright, used to go out into the woods to find inspiration for his architecture. Known for his surreal home designs, Wright found inspiration for his homes in places where there were no homes. He found motivation from nature.
Recidivism, the revolving door nature of the prison system provides significant barriers to rehabilitating criminal behavior. Much of this is because offenders are put in a prison system that does not address the underlying reasons why they did something wrong.
A cursory glance at recent headlines will reveal story after story of huge, multi-billion dollar pharma companies being sued for the part they played in the creation of the opiate epidemic. Now the cat is out of the bag, one could say, and the American public knows the truth.
In a country where drug addiction statistics are on the rise, it’s not a surprise that drug use among employees is a growing problem. This is particularly harmful too, as one employee's addiction harms all the other employees and the place of employment.
