Disagreements around the use of medication are symptomatic of larger ideological and philosophical views around substance use, SUD’s, addiction and recovery. From where I am sitting, it seems like we are becoming increasingly tribal and more entrenched. It also seems that conversations often veer into personal attacks. There are good motives and smart people doing … Continue reading From Bias to Balance
Month: October 2019
Planes, Car Repair Shops, and Dentists
One principle of innovation is to borrow and adapt ideas from outside one’s profession. “Addiction and the Stages of Healing” is a set of ideas I have developed, written and presented elsewhere. Portions of that work will likely be posted here from time to time. One central notion of that topic is below in the … Continue reading Planes, Car Repair Shops, and Dentists
Power statements for addiction treatment
I like this twitter thread a lot. I'd like it more if that last tweet was a little different. I like the desire to learn more about the desire to understand recovering people's views on addiction and recovery. What I like less is that it sounds like this understanding is not an end in itself. … Continue reading Power statements for addiction treatment
Defining recovery from addiction
To delve into an important and often discussed issue, we are talking today about the definition of recovery from addiction. Much has been written on this definition over the years since the working definition was developed by the Betty Ford Institute over a decade ago. We also have a shared definition from SAMHSA that encompasses … Continue reading Defining recovery from addiction
Recovery Review in the UK
Well, this is a first. We got picked up as a guest editor in Recovery Plus. Check it out. They make our content look pretty great.
Sentences to ponder
Evidence-based practice (EBP). What is it? Take a look at the graphic above. According to American Psychological Association and the Institute of Medicine, there are three components: (1) the best evidence; in combination with (2) individual clinical expertise; and consistent with (3) patient values and expectations. Said another way, EBP is a verb. Why then … Continue reading Sentences to ponder
Addiction, harms, and police interaction
Earlier today, Brian Coon posted a list of references from a project on harms of drug use to users. Keith Humphreys just shared a provocative tweet taking a more macro perspective on addition and public policy. https://twitter.com/KeithNHumphreys/status/1187508469458321409
“Harms of Use”: A List of References
In creating a presentation on "Harms of Use", examining problems specific to certain chemicals, and related to various contextual factors including: non-prescription websites, new levels of potency from synthetic derivatives, recreational misuse of psychotropic medications without addiction potential based on novel preparation methods and routes of administration, compounds taken in combination for synergistic effects, availability … Continue reading “Harms of Use”: A List of References
The New Definition of Addiction, and Why it Matters
The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) recently released a statement outlining an updated definition of addiction: Addiction is a treatable, chronic medical disease involving complex interactions among brain circuits, genetics, the environment, and an individual’s life experiences. People with addiction use substances or engage in behaviors that become compulsive and often continue despite harmful … Continue reading The New Definition of Addiction, and Why it Matters
A consumer’s guide to research on substance use disorders (wrap up)
We've spent the last week exploring questions intended to help readers evaluate research for themselves. What is the treatment or intervention being studied?Who were the subjects?How long was the study?What outcomes did the study measure? (How did they define success?)What were the study methods?What were the actual findings and does the authors’ discussion accurately represent … Continue reading A consumer’s guide to research on substance use disorders (wrap up)
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