(Source: ABC 7 Bay Area) Bill White shared an important post this week that I imagine will evoke a variety of reactions. Stigma reduction efforts have sought to challenge assumptions that people with addiction are neglectful or abusive parents. Those assumptions are wrong and should be challenged. It's also true that addiction does inflict harms … Continue reading Sheltering at home when home is “the lion’s den”

I saw some comments about this study as evidence of stigma among physicians. Every time I see a discussion about physician reluctance to treat addiction, I wonder if there's an alternative explanation. Here's what paper reported: 67.1% believe treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD) is more effective with medication than without77.5% believe buprenorphine is an … Continue reading Stigma? Or, something else?

I really enjoyed Bill White's post today. It's a collection of quick takes on several issues. His willingness to address the moral dimensions of recovery are sure to provoke thought: Recovery must be as morally redemptive as addiction is morally corrupting, as connective as addiction is alienating. . . On being a fellow traveler: What … Continue reading Quick and worth your time

I just saw that I haven't posted anything for a couple months. I work at a hospital in a coronavirus hotspot. It's been busy and I don't feel especially inspired to write when I get home. However, I want point you in the direction of “We Do Recover”: Scientific Studies of NA. (Full paper here.) … Continue reading “We Do Recover”: Scientific Studies of NA

In recent months I've been spending a lot of time working with systems, caregivers and patients with severe and persistent mental illness. I've been thinking a lot about the role of recovery and what a recovery orientation looks like in that context. I stumbled upon the University of Melbourne's recovery library and, under the category … Continue reading What does it mean to be recovery-oriented?

Here's the conclusion of an interesting new paper: Treatment with buprenorphine or methadone was associated with reductions in overdose and serious opioid-related acute care use compared with other treatments. Strategies to address the underuse of MOUD are needed. Seems pretty straightforward, right? Buprenorphine and methadone protect patients from OD. But, I added an asterisk. Why? … Continue reading buprenorphine or methadone associated with reductions in overdose *

Bill White has a great post on anonymity and advocacy. He examines the changing cultural context for anonymity and the different functions of anonymity. On anonymity as a spiritual principle: When AA literature speaks of anonymity as a “spiritual principle,” it does so out of a profound understanding of the importance of self-transcendence as the […]