“Once I became my diagnosis, there was no one left to recover.” Yesterday's Pat Deegan post led me to Dr. Daniel Fisher's work on mental illness recovery. He promotes an "empowerment" model of recovery that he contrasts with a "rehabilitation" model of recovery. According to this vision, one is capable of recovering from the mental … Continue reading “Disease” and 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 currently serve as the Director of Social Work and Spiritual Care for a healthcare system. I've also served as the Director of Behavioral Health at another hospital. I'm also 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.
Hope and Recovery
Pat Deegan reflects on her own experience an shares about the need for hope in recovery: He said, I should retire from life and avoid stress. I have come to call my psychiatrist's pronouncement a "prognosis of doom". He was condemning me to a life of handicaptivity wherein I was expected to take high dose … Continue reading Hope and Recovery
Deconstructing “it works”
Healthcare, etc. has a great post deconstructing what it means to say a treatment works: What exactly does it mean when we say that a treatment works? Do we mean the same thing for all treatments? Are there different ways of assessing whether and how well a treatment works? I am sure you've guessed that … Continue reading Deconstructing “it works”
Intellect no shelter from cognitive bias
In a recent post I shared my observation that, as the usefulness of many psychotropics have been cast into doubt by a growing body of evidence, many people who used to chide questioners to "follow the evidence" now resort to anecdotes to defend their advocacy for these drugs. (And, denigration of other methods.) One story … Continue reading Intellect no shelter from cognitive bias
Coming of Age on Zoloft
An interesting take on anti-depressants from a writer who has benefited from them: The mainstreaming of medication has bred confusion about what’s normal. In some sectors, we’ve grown so vigilant about the possibility of having a mental disorder that this vigilance becomes counterproductive, a source of anxiety in itself. Every negative emotion becomes a potential sign or … Continue reading Coming of Age on Zoloft
Sentences to ponder
I didn’t invent the humor in recovery. It’s already there. There’s a tremendous amount of laughter at a good AA meeting. Author, Elizabeth Zelvin, discussing her use of recovery themes in her mystery novels.
The political left and prohibition
Andrew Sullivan picks up on Jack Meserve's discussion of the political left and prohibition: Meserve: Think of a few of the currently illegal vices: recreational drug use, gambling, prostitution. With some exceptions, the left has been in favor of legalization or decriminalization of these activities. Now think of legal vices: gluttony, cigarette smoking, alcohol use. … Continue reading The political left and prohibition
The truth is dangerous
How hard is it for the DEA to have an honest conversation about drugs? Below is testimony from the director. Note the incoherence. “Is crack worse for a person than marijuana?” Polis asked Leonhart. “I believe all illegal drugs are bad,” Leonhart answered. Polis continued, asking whether methamphetamines and heroin were worse for a person's … Continue reading The truth is dangerous
A Brief History of Queer Experience with Addiction and Recovery
There are a lot of generalizations about LGBT communities and treatment, but this is an interesting commentary on the place of addiction and recovery in the queer health agenda: As early as 1970, gay activists in recovery began to challenge AA in the flurry of queer-positive activity that followed Stonewall, petitioning AA for the right … Continue reading A Brief History of Queer Experience with Addiction and Recovery
The ancients on will and addiction
It took me a few reads, but Alan Brody suggests that addiction is a combination of impaired will and impaired evaluative faculties that lead to poor choices in how to exert our will. Then again, I'm not sure I know where he stands. He guides through some philosophical musings about addiction and will. He presents … Continue reading The ancients on will and addiction
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