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.
Most parents want to do everything they can to ensure their children grow up to lead healthy, productive, successful lives. That goal acts as a driving force behind how parents raise their children and the day-to-day actions that parents take in doing so.
Alcohol is unique in that, while it is most definitely a mind-altering substance, its use is also quite normalized in day-to-day life. Where do you draw the line? How do you know what qualifies as alcohol use and what qualifies as misuse?
Two coinciding factors are currently worrying public health experts regarding teen and adolescent health. First off, marijuana use among young people is growing. Second, it is becoming increasingly apparent that marijuana use among young people is particularly harmful to them.
There is no mistaking that the massive push to manufacture, distribute, and prescribe opioid pain relievers in the late-1990s and early-2000s was a huge mistake. It’s known that opioid pharmaceuticals have caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans. But what about the more sinister, under-reported harmful effects of the prescription opioid epidemic, like the surge in heroin addiction?
Public reports indicate the U.S. drug overdoses declined slightly in 2018. Was this the result of public policy, or was it the result of foreign nations cracking down on drug trafficking?
Though alcohol consumption has been all but completely normalized in American society, every year it seems we find more harmful effects connected to drinking. For example, research shows that heavy drinking in one’s youth can lead to dementia in one’s elderly years, only one of a host of other mental and physical problems that can occur.
One of the harmful side-effects of addiction is that being hooked on drugs and alcohol makes one more susceptible to contracting various illnesses. Given the COVID-19 pandemic, that puts addicts at even greater risk.
When addicts try to get off drugs and alcohol, they often find themselves coming up against challenges and difficulties. Getting rid of an addiction is not an easy thing to do. Sadly, the COVID-19 pandemic is making conditions even more challenging for addicts.
For the first time in three decades, the United States experienced a dip in drug overdose deaths. It was short-lived, though, as preliminary data from the CDC now indicates that overdoses are back on the rise. What will it take to halt a growing health crisis that has plagued Americans for one-third of a century?
The American Heart Association released findings that showed how people with heart arrhythmia are more likely to die due to drinking to excess. It is a significant revelation by itself, but it's also indicative of the other harmful effects of alcohol consumption on the human body.
Oklahoma may seem like a peaceful, sun-filled land of rolling hills and prairies. But this area also struggles with a severe drug problem. It is a public health crisis that affects cities and rural communities alike.
The actual effects of COVID-19 are still being estimated. And we may never know the full extent of harm caused by the pandemic. But while most people are worried about protecting themselves from contracting the virus, what effect is the pandemic having on those recovering from drug and alcohol addiction? What is the impact on those who currently use drugs and alcohol?
The list of daily healthy activities we should maintain is a long one. Most people know that getting a decent night’s rest is essential for our health, but why? Why is sleep crucial to health, and why is it so important for recovering addicts to get plenty of rest?
It’s common for a society to honor and uplift good behavior and to condemn and vilify bad behavior. Unfortunately, some people are confused about the nature of certain human conditions, addiction being one of them. Why is it so harmful to stigmatize and stereotype addicts? And what should people do instead to help addicts?
Alcohol is an accepted part of our culture, but that doesn't make alcohol "good" by any means. In fact, there is always risk in even moderate drinking, and that risk is exacerbated during a health crisis. Why is it so crucial to avoid alcohol during the COVID-19 pandemic?
