Bermuda's approach to fighting addiction is winning international acclaim according to visiting US drug counsellors.

Lissa Jones and Jonathan Lofgren were in Bermuda last week to run sessions for around 30 drug and mental health workers.

Ms Jones, of the African American Family Services, Minneapolis, Minnesota, said: "Although the island of Bermuda might be only 20 miles or so, you are largely influential in formulating international policy in regard to drug control.

"That's quite a significant achievement for a place so small. You have a great deal of influence in the United States.

"Bermuda has significant respect and influence in the international community as it relates to chemical health and mental health and addiction.

"Bermuda has been very forward thinking in creating a Ministry of Drug Control."

Her colleague Mr. Lofgren added that Bermuda was one of only three jurisdictions to have such a Ministry.

Mr. Lofgren and Ms Jones ran sessions on ethics and cultural issues at sessions co-sponsored by the National Drug Control ministry and the Bermuda Addiction Certification Board.

Mr. Lofgren, on his fourth trip here, said it was vital that Bermudians understood the Island's addiction problems were being handled by professionals.

Bermuda's drug problems parallels those of the US with cocaine, heroin and marijuana being the primary illicit drugs while alcohol abuse was a major problem.

However he said abuse of prescription drugs by seniors and children was far lower than in the US but Bermuda still needed to keep an eye on it.

The comprehensive programme at the women's treatment centre which allows women to stay with their children during treatment came in for praise.

"All the research supports the idea that women will do better if they can see to their children while in treatment," he said.

"They have taken on that initiative and in just one year have developed a very comprehensive programme addressing the gender needs and the children's needs. It's very exciting."

He said there was a urge to learn among Bermuda's drug counsellors. Those who didn't already have professional degrees were in line to go away and get them whereas some jurisdictions left it only to recovering addicts.

Former users who had beaten their own problems to become role models and help others were also doing important work said Mr. Lofgren.

"If you can show the client you care, that is the single biggest determinant," said Mr. Lofgren.

Ms Jones said being culturally sensitive to clients helped improve the quality of care according to research.

"Clients do 50 percent better than when they are treated in a more generalised setting."

Joanne Dean, treatment coordinator for the National Drug Control ministry, revealed that the way Portuguese clients were counselled was being looked at.

"Their families are more integral to their treatment process than the black population," she said. "Maybe if we adjust how we address that community we will have more successes and have more of them coming to seek treatment.

"Because of their moral values and because addiction is highly stigmatised by the Portuguese population, maybe going to a 12-step meeting is not the way to go with them and maybe that should be ingrained in church because they are very Catholic and very spiritual.

"Those are some of the things specific to Bermuda.

"We (also) have a lot of Indians and Asians. Eventually they will hit the system because substance abuse hits just about every culture."

There are also other pressing factors demanding attention in the bid to wean people off drugs.

"Almost 80 percent of the women coming into treatment will have had some sort of sexual trauma or abuse," she said. "That is also seen in the males.

"Bermudians ? people in general ? are not going to want to reveal that right up front.

"They won't necessarily do that in a group therapy because we are close-linked, people don't air their dirty laundry.

"So we need to be mindful of our own culture we need to give them an opportunity to get that out in a safe environment."

And Ms Jones added: "Research shows 70 percent of people with chemical health issues also have mental health issues. They are very closely related."

National Drugs Control Minister Wayne Perinchief said the visit of the US professionals is part of a strategy to improve services.

He said: "The donor community are demanding accountability and standards. We are trying to avoid a dilution of funds by sending people overseas so we are really trying to do most of the treatment here."