A version of this post was originally published in April 2019. Recently proposed definitions of recovery could be characterized as defining it downward (or expanding the boundaries outward). I've expressed concern that these proposed boundaries are so broad that most people who currently self-identify as in recovery will not feel a shared identity with the … Continue reading “full recovery or amplified recovery” — toward typologies of recovery?
Author: Jason Schwartz
I have been an addiction professional and social worker since 1994. I started blogging in 2005 as the Clinical Director at Dawn Farm. I no longer work at Dawn Farm and am now the Director of Behavioral Medicine at a community hospital, and a lecturer at Eastern Michigan University’s School of Social Work.
Views expressed here are my own.
Keep in mind that the field, the contexts in which the field operates, and my views have changed over time.
What we miss when we focus on opioid treatment and recovery
A version of this post was originally published in September 2019. Fortunately, there's been growing concern that advocates, policymakers, and media have too narrowly focused on the opioid crisis. Up to this point, it hasn't reached the level of media coverage. USA Today is one of the first to publish an article that explores the … Continue reading What we miss when we focus on opioid treatment and recovery
Does morality have a place in discussions of addiction recovery?
A version of this post was originally published in June 2020. A question has been on my mind for a while--what is the place of morality or moralizing language in addiction and recovery? Not moral? Bill White has been one of the most influential recovery advocates of the last quarter-century. One could argue that, over … Continue reading Does morality have a place in discussions of addiction recovery?
Power statements for addiction treatment
A version of this post was originally published in October 2019. 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 understand patients' and recovering people's views on addiction and recovery. What I like less is that it sounds like this … Continue reading Power statements for addiction treatment
Love and Addiction Counseling (Bill White and Jason Schwartz)
A version of this post was originally published in January 2018. [Cross-posted at williamwhitepapers.com] Addiction counseling has become an increasingly professional and pristine affair, and service relationships reflect a more detached process than in years gone by. And yet one worries about the loss of something precious in our current fixation on the technical mastery … Continue reading Love and Addiction Counseling (Bill White and Jason Schwartz)
Seeking more, not less, from MAT
A version of this post was originally published in November 2019. In recent years it's become more and more common to see advocates criticize treatment and mutual aid groups. These critics question the alleged orthodoxy and motives of treatment providers, but they do not engage in criticism of medication-assisted treatment (MAT). It appears that this … Continue reading Seeking more, not less, from MAT
Follow the science . . .
A version of this post was originally published in June 2020. I've been thinking a lot about the convergence of several cultural trends: historically unprecedented access to information;the atomization of media and information sources;the tribalization of media and information sources;scientism as a cultural force that:lacks epistemic humility;is often dismissive of experiential knowledge;is often dismissive of … Continue reading Follow the science . . .
On advocacy and criticism
This post was originally published January 1, 2020. I'm not sure why, but I've been missing Roger Ebert recently. I've posted about him a few times before and commented on my appreciation that he was a film lover first and a film critic second. I think it's safe to say that social media has multiplied … Continue reading On advocacy and criticism
In Praise of Service
It doesn't come up much here, but I am a social worker. Both of my degrees are in social work, I've taught social work for the last 17 years, I've served on NASW's Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drug Section, as well as NASW-Michigan's Legislative and Social Policy Committee and Ethics Committee. This blog focuses on … Continue reading In Praise of Service
Unethical care, shoddy care, and the “poverty industry”
As someone who spent 25 years working for a nonprofit providing long-term residential addiction treatment, I'm of two minds about the state of residential treatment in the US. On the one hand, our agency struggled mightily to maintain high-quality, ethical, evidence-based care that kept patients engaged and supported them through the treacherous first 1-2 years … Continue reading Unethical care, shoddy care, and the “poverty industry”