PeaPod highlights a recent study looking at methadone's blunting of emotions: Does methadone blunt your feelings? If you work in abstinence-oriented treatment, you’ll not have to think too closely about the answer to that question, you’ll have heard many testimonies to that effect and you will have seen the evidence with your own eyes. But … Continue reading Methadone’s effect on affect
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.
Smoking cessation + exercise = quit
Another ingredient to be added to tobacco quit plans: Quitting smoking is one of the healthiest things a person can do, but it's also among the hardest, especially for teenage smokers who battle not only addiction but also the social pressure to keep lighting up. Now new evidence that suggests a way to make their … Continue reading Smoking cessation + exercise = quit
Drug deaths now outnumber traffic fatalities in U.S., data show
Bad news. Drugs exceeded motor vehicle accidents as a cause of death in 2009, killing at least 37,485 people nationwide, according to preliminary data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While most major causes of preventable death are declining, drugs are an exception. The death toll has doubled in the last decade, now … Continue reading Drug deaths now outnumber traffic fatalities in U.S., data show
Family meals appear to be protective for girls
Promoting family meals is a popular prevention strategy. A recently published study looks at its impact: Family meals were associated with reductions in alcohol and tobacco consumption in girls but not boys. Alcohol consumption was also associated with reductions in the frequency of meals among girls, but not boys. Results supported the assertion that family … Continue reading Family meals appear to be protective for girls
Confidence schmonfidence
Here's a finding that suggests some kinds of self-efficacy can be harmful to drinking outcomes: Results indicated that the group falsely led to believe that they had a high level of drinking restraint subsequently consumed more beer than the group led to believe that they had a low level of drinking restraint. This study demonstrates … Continue reading Confidence schmonfidence
Who’s benefiting?
Points has a thoughtful discussion of the issues around self-disclosure in a classroom setting.
Caretakers in the crosshairs?
This blog has previously discussed the need to balance the goal of reducing the number of opiate prescriptions that end up misused with the need to provide good pain management for patients with chronic pain. Prosecutors are stepping in: Fatal overdoses from prescription painkillers more than tripled to 13,800 in the United States in 1999 … Continue reading Caretakers in the crosshairs?
Some would never qualify for release
Someone tweeted this drug policy proposal the other day: We need to do something effective to rid them of the addiction, and protect the public from drug-related crime so long as they are addicted. That means addicts should be segregated from society until they are no longer addicted. Put them in jail for long terms? … Continue reading Some would never qualify for release
“they will panic”
Dawn Farm has seen a marked increase in clients with recent histories of benzodiazepine (drugs like Xanax, Valium and Klonopin) use. These drugs are especially noxious because" it is easy for people to develop physical dependence without realizing it; withdrawal can be dangerous and involves seizures,; more serious withdrawal symptoms often do not begin for … Continue reading “they will panic”
Connection and confidence keys to success with AA
In a new study, researchers used data from Project MATCH to illuminate the specific effects of AA attendance: Overall results indicated that greater participation in AA during the first three months of the study period was independently associated with more successful recovery over the following year. Of the behavioral changes associated with AA attendance, changes … Continue reading Connection and confidence keys to success with AA
Recovery Review 