Nick thinks spending on wagyu beef makes his Hamburger Helper into haute cuisine.
He buys Wagyu at
Walmart. I do not shame poverty, practical choices, or fiscal restraint...but I will shame poor taste from a delusional, tacky, boasting, underachieving fuck who's never accomplished anything honestly or elegantly in his life, punches down, and thinks he's
haute.
Hazelden's gone soft in the last few years. You can get a suboxone script from the Betty Ford these days. Nick won't be hanging himself at the Betty Ford, he'll come out of there on more drugs than he went in on.
(I'm joking here. I thoroughly approve of Hazelden's embrace of evidence-based treatment modalities. But the doctors aren't coming out of Talbott with a take-home methadone script in their back pocket. You'll work those steps or kiss your licence goodbye.)
I've known a few people to go. And though you're right, I've known folks to relapse afterward (par for any rehab), I've not known anyone walking out with a scrip for anything like that. Most often they do no earnest followup, or they head to AA/NA post-rehab and eventually gravitate to and hook up with the wrong ones.
But to describe Talbott as harsh but "better than regular rehabs at helping doctors get their licence back" makes me wonder if the patients were just as prone to lies and deceit and utility-based actions as your garden-variety junkie...and that the glow of the place (possibly like Hazelden) maybe got scammers who sucked it up and checked the boxes (if they didn't despair, it sounds) back to life when they shouldn't have been. I know you said otherwise, but getting a license back is an entirely different thing than getting serious.
Hmm, I guess I'm somehow both skeptical of and supportive of intensive & in-patient rehab. :-/
In any case, cheap-ass Nick wouldn't even have to fly to Hazelden. And his $8 million/ month healthcare insurance plan (KIDS) would 100% cover the cost of it - possibly any of them, but definitely a local place, after the mess he's gotten into. Had he gone before his plea/ sentencing, he probably wouldn't even have to deal with much probation time. MN is huge on rehab as a virtue, if sometimes just to throw paint at a wall, as shown by allowing him to jam in a week of outpatient to meet his requirements.
Also, as I've mentioned before, there are significant resources in MN
specifically for lawyers with substance abuse concerns, free. (
Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers is one). You don't even have to be a practicing lawyer or in good standing. Counseling, resources, peer mentoring/ support, etc. ...And YOU CAN EVEN GET FREE CLE CREDIT ON TOPIC!
Tuesday, July 15, 12:00 p.m. –
“Managing Ethics, Stress and Negativity”
Presenters: Chase Andersen, Client Services Director
1.0 Ethics CLE Credit (applied for)
Register for the Webinar
Here
Wednesday, July 30, 12:00 p.m. –
“Understanding Chronic Stress, Mental Health and Addiction in the Legal Profession”
Presenters: Jon Tynjala, Executive Director
1.0 Mental Health CLE Credit (applied for)
Register for the Webinar
Here
Many
more CLE classes.
Is it full rehab? No. But supportive and lawyer-focused.
All for nought, though. Nick has no problems at all and is in complete control of himself and his life, just an unfortunate innocent under the government's thumb and abused by Aaron...existing.