Here is a summary of the knowledge presented at last year's conference on AA and NA: The preponderance of evidence supports the causal pathway that AA attendance leads to abstinence (Kaskutas, Zemore). 12-Step affiliation significantly enhances the odds of sustaining abstinence for multiple years among polysubstance-dependent individuals (Laudet). 12-Step involvement yields benefits above and beyond meeting attendance (Kaskutas, … Continue reading Top Posts of 2011 #10 – How AA and NA work
Month: December 2011
Top Posts of 2011 #11 – Rethinking confrontation
A repost from 4 years ago: I posted on this when it came out, but Bill White and Bill Miller recently published an article on confrontation that was just made available on the Counselor Magazine website. It makes a terrific point on confrontation as a therapeutic goal in contrast to confrontation as a therapeutic style: … Continue reading Top Posts of 2011 #11 – Rethinking confrontation
the root and foundation of many other enormous sins
From England in 1606, An Act For Repressing the Odious and Loathsome Sin of Drunkenness: "Whereas the loathsome and odious sin of drunkenness is of late grown into common use within this Realm, being the root and foundation of many other enormous sins, as a bloodshed, stabbing, murder, swearing, fornication, adultery and such like, to the great … Continue reading the root and foundation of many other enormous sins
Top Posts of 2011 #12 – Addiction redefined
The American Society of Addiction Medicine has issue a new definition of addiction. The short version good, but the long version is REALLY good. Here are some of the new elements, some of them are followed by my responses: Addiction is a primary, chronic disease of brain reward, motivation, memory and related circuitry. Nothing new … Continue reading Top Posts of 2011 #12 – Addiction redefined
Smartphones for recovery
I recently got an android phone and was looking at this app today. The app allows for all sorts of automation and reminders. It got me thinking ab0ut what might be possible for relapse prevention in treatment. Some possible uses include: Warning text messages based on location. Old using haunts, for example. These text messages … Continue reading Smartphones for recovery
Christmas, capitalism and drugs
A nice illustration of how capitalism and drugs can be a toxic combination:
Pain, meds and money
A few stories on opioids caught my eye. First, one about methadone, pain and class: Map the deaths and you see the story. Assign a dot to each person who has died in Washington by accidentally overdosing on methadone, a commonly prescribed drug used to treat chronic pain. Since 2003, there are 2,173 of these … Continue reading Pain, meds and money
Free will vs. addiction
This post from Points does a good job framing why, I think, so many people resist the concept of addiction: Although addiction may be defined and operationalized in a number of different ways, the heart and core of the concept lies in its implication of the loss of the ability to choose – that … Continue reading Free will vs. addiction
The confines of culture
I recently read a series of great posts that had no direct relationship to addiction or recovery but they got me thinking about the power of culture as a sustaining force in addiction. The series was sparked by a Forbes blogger who wrote a post entitled, If I Were A Poor Black Kid. It inspired … Continue reading The confines of culture
The wager
The passing of Christopher Hitchens caused me to reflect on libertarian thinking about drugs and alcohol. I don't like to get into reading other's minds, but, in spite of all their pragmatic arguments for libertarian drug policies, I've always thought pragmatic considerations were an afterthought and that their motivations were much more philosophical. They bristle … Continue reading The wager
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