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.
Caffeine and alcohol. That’s not a combination we would typically think of. But there was a time when one could purchase caffeinated alcoholic beverages. That was until 2010 when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration determined that such drinks were unsafe for human consumption.
The subject of drug addiction and incarceration has been a contentious one for some time. Many people still feel as though drug use is a crime and therefore should be punished as such. But as the years go by and as our understanding of addiction improves, more and more people are starting to see that drug use is indicative of a severe behavioral crisis…
It may seem like an impossible task to halt the runaway train of our opioid crisis. But Oklahoma has prepared a plan to do just that which can serve as a model for other states and let us estimate the price tag to eliminate this catastrophe.
Almost universally across the world, drug use is going up. Why is this? Why are more people using drugs? Are people naturally inclined to use drugs? Certainly not. National and international communities work very hard to crack down on drug production, trafficking, distribution, etc.
The holidays are a time of celebration and merriment when we get together with family members, friends, and other loved ones. It’s also a time when coworkers gather in a more casual environment and socialize. The holidays are when we all come together and just appreciate each other more.
Although men still misuse alcohol at a rate higher than women, new research indicates that the gap is closing. A study published in PLOS Medicine and reported on in U.S. News brought the spotlight onto this concerning issue.
To be addicted to a substance is truly to be enslaved by that substance. The substance controls you. But that also means the people who provide that substance control you, in a way. And you are also a slave to seeking money so that you can buy the substance, even if that means stealing to get the money…
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime reports each year on global drug use and addiction. This year’s report shows that despite the efforts of tens of thousands of people around the world, there is more drug use and loss of life than ever.
A news story out of South Dakota made national headlines when the state launched a controversial media campaign. Governor Kristi Noem led an ad campaign to raise awareness of the state’s meth problem. The slogan of the campaign was: “Meth. We’re On It.“
The extreme potency of fentanyl and similar drugs coming into the U.S. have thwarted efforts to reduce the number of lives lost to drug overdoses. That makes it an important drug to know more about.
At one time, the expectation of rehab success was abstinence. Now, it's more often the expectation that a person maintains compliance with a medication regimen. Have we given up on the concept of being fully drug-free after rehab?
While stopping damaging consumption of alcohol or drugs is a noble purpose, some people must begin their sobriety with a medically-supported detoxification process if they are to survive.
With the holidays right around the corner, business owners, managers, and HR staff alike are searching the internet for holiday work party ideas. A lot of businesses are looking for something fun and different to do this year, a change-up from the same-old same-old, generic Christmas party.
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.
