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.
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.
Learn to spot the signs of heroin addiction. Find out the signs and symptoms of heroin addiction before it’s too late. Spotting the initial signs of heroin addiction can save lived.
Heroin is an illegal and highly addictive drug. It is both the most abused and the most rapidly acting of the opiates. Heroin is typically sold as a white or brownish powder or as the black sticky substance known on the streets as “black tar heroin.”
Narconon helps people trapped in the dwindling spiral of substance abuse take back their lives and live drug free. Find out how we can help you beat heroin.
Recovery from heroin abuse and heroin addiction begins with finding a drug and alcohol rehab program which address not only the physical effects of heroin use, but provides tools for a successful recovery.
Ice is one of the most destructive drugs on the illicit market, in its physical effects, mental effects and behavioral effects. If someone you care about is abusing it, it is critically important to help them find effective help as soon as possible.
Suboxone is a medication that is administered to those who are addicted to opioids. It contains a synthetic opiate and a second drug that is intended to counteract the euphoric effect of the opiate, supposedly preventing the user from getting high.
Molly is a nickname for a new form of an old drug. Molly is crystal MDMA—the proper chemical name for this drug is 3,4-methylenedioxy-N-methylamphetamine. Most people call it Ecstasy. Ecstasy has long been a drug popular at dance clubs, nightclubs, music festivals and parties.
Do you think you see signs of drug use but you are not sure what drug is being used or how bad it is? If you suspect cocaine abuse by someone you care about, here are the signs of cocaine use you should watch for.
The results of abusing crack cocaine are so severe that only the most powerful addiction would keep a person using this drug. Crack cocaine is a strong stimulant that energizes the entire central nervous system and places damaging stresses on the heart, lungs and brain.
Ice is a purified form of methamphetamine. Much of the ice in the US and Australia come from larger scale methamphetamine labs such as those in Mexico.
While LSD can be a dangerous drug, and one that is mostly abused by young people, it may be an advantage that the signs are LSD abuse are so distinctive, as this makes them easier for parents or loved ones to detect this type of drug abuse. LSD is sold in pills, capsules or in liquid form.
Methamphetamine is not the number one drug that is abused in most countries, but it is one of the most addictive and one of the most destructive. It’s important that parents and other family members are able to tell when someone they care about is abusing methamphetamine.
Alcohol may be the world’s most acceptable drug. But if you ask a group of average people for a list of drugs, many people will leave it entirely off their lists.
There are various kinds of rehab programs or detox programs available for the person who has been addicted to drugs or alcohol. Typical detox offerings may fall short of what an addicted person actually needs to help him (or her) gain the ability to find lasting sobriety.
Every year, millions of people enter drug rehabs in the US alone. While rehab helps many of them, the majority of them had been to rehab before and then relapsed after they went home. In fact, one in ten had been to rehab five or more times before.
