Atheist PZ Meyers responds to a post discussing why "normal" people are drawn to fundamentalism: We’d like to believe that the triumph of secularism is inevitable — how can we fail when we’re going up against such nutty ideas? — but maybe it isn’t, if we neglect social and community and family ideals and pander … Continue reading Neglect of social and community and family dimensions
Month: October 2013
Worth Every Penny?
Preventing HIV is a very good thing. The Atlantic has a post about the role of needle exchanges in preventing HIV. It makes a pretty compelling case that needle exchanges reduce HIV infection rates among injection drug users. I don't doubt this. And, provided it serves as an engagement point for recovery, I have no … Continue reading Worth Every Penny?
If it wasn’t rational, cont’d
All right, last one. This time, Sally Satel makes the case that recovery comes down to choice and "grit and conviction." It's not just American Enterprise Institute fellows who make these arguments. I've heard people in recovery say to other AA members in relapse, "You need to make a decision!" Of course, the relapser has … Continue reading If it wasn’t rational, cont’d
If it wasn’t rational, cont’d
Sam Wilkinson responds to the the coverage of Hart's research (That crack and meth addicts in a lab will decline drugs for money.) and agrees that addiction is rational. Hart has found the same thing. It isn’t the addicts are powerless; it’s that nothing on the other side of the scale weighs as much as … Continue reading If it wasn’t rational, cont’d
Is low therapist empathy toxic?
Miller and Moyers make the case that low therapist empathy is toxic with a review of some research on the topic. In one study, a single in-session therapist behavior predicted 42% of the variance in clients’ 12-month drinking outcomes: the more the therapist confronted, the more the client drank (Miller, Benefield, & Tonigan, … Continue reading Is low therapist empathy toxic?
The adoption of 12-step practices and beliefs.
We're seeing a growing body of research on the mechanisms of change in 12 step recovery. Tonigan and Greenfield recently published an article in Psychology of Addictive Behaviors. Working the 12 steps is widely prescribed for Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) members although the relative merits of different methods for measuring step work have received minimal attention and … Continue reading The adoption of 12-step practices and beliefs.
Tribes of the recovering communty
Dharma Punx is not a recovery group, but it has lots of recovering people as part of it's Buddhist community. Every Tuesday and Thursday night, a growing group of New Yorkers gather on the formerly down-and-out Bowery, seeking to develop a spiritual practice with a punk-rock edge. These “Dharma Punx” meetings are based on Buddhism, … Continue reading Tribes of the recovering communty
Methadone, technology and outcomes
Substance Matters has a post about the use of new technologies in methadone maintenance. Patients who use a web-based intervention (TES) instead of half of their traditional counseling did better than those with traditional counseling as part of their methadone treatment. It provokes important questions about the usefulness of new technologies and how they might … Continue reading Methadone, technology and outcomes
Blame and illness
On blame and illness: After Linnea Duff learned at age 45 that she had developed lung cancer, she practically encouraged people to ask if she had ever smoked. But in the eight years since, her feelings have soured considerably on the too-frequent question, and she’s developed an acute sense of solidarity with fellow … Continue reading Blame and illness
Consuming research
A couple of fun posts about research. (Did I really just write that?) First, Tyler Cowen reviews a widely cited study: In 1991 Halpern and Coren published a famous study in the New England Journal of Medicine which appears to show that left handed people die at much younger ages than right-handed people. Halpern and … Continue reading Consuming research
Recovery Review 