A version of this post was originally published in September 2019. It speaks to some questions about yesterday's post. This NPR headline demonstrates the problem with the concept of "opioid recovery" rather than "addiction recovery." Fortunately, there's been growing concern that advocates, policymakers, and media have too narrowly focused on the opioid crisis. Up to … Continue reading What we miss when we focus on opioid treatment 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.
The historical essence of addiction counseling
If AOD problems could be solved by physically unraveling the person-drug relationship, only physicians and nurses trained in the mechanics of detoxification would be needed to address these problems. If AOD problems were simply a symptom of untreated psychiatric illness, more psychiatrists, not addiction counselors would be needed. If these problems were only a reflection … Continue reading The historical essence of addiction counseling
Nora Volkow on More Realistic And Pragmatic Addiction Treatment
Source: NIDA There is and can be no ultimate solution for us to discover, but instead a permanent need for balancing contradictory claims, for careful trade-offs between conflicting values, toleration of difference, consideration of the specific factors at play when a choice is needed, not reliance on an abstract blueprint claimed to be applicable everywhere, … Continue reading Nora Volkow on More Realistic And Pragmatic Addiction Treatment
The opioid crisis as a disease of despair?
A version of this post was originally published in 2018 and is part of an ongoing review of past posts about the conceptual boundaries of addiction, the disease model, and recovery. Photo by Daniel Reche on Pexels.com The narrative that the opioid and overdose crisis is a product of despair has become very popular. The … Continue reading The opioid crisis as a disease of despair?
Addiction is disordered learning AND much more.
A version of this post was originally published in 2016 and is part of an ongoing review of past posts about the conceptual boundaries of addiction and its relationship to the disease model and recovery. I've had a lot requests to respond to this recent piece in the NY Times. A Personal Narrative or Universal … Continue reading Addiction is disordered learning AND much more.
Response to Why Addiction is NOT a Brain Disease
This post was originally published in 2012 and is part of an ongoing review of past posts about the conceptual boundaries of addiction and its relationship to the disease model and recovery. In a thoughtful post, Marc Lewis questions the disease model of addiction. He doesn't dismiss it out of hand. He seems to look … Continue reading Response to Why Addiction is NOT a Brain Disease
Substance Use Disorders as a category
This post was originally published in 2016. By now, the DSM-IV is a distant memory but this post seemed relevant to our recent discussion about the conceptual boundaries of addiction and its relationship to the disease model and recovery. There's been a big change in the way professionals and advocates talk and think about drug … Continue reading Substance Use Disorders as a category
Defining addiction and problem ownership
Yesterday's post and the discussion around it brought up a lot of good questions. Among them was the question, does it really matter whether we call it a disease? It prompted me to look at some old posts. I'll share versions of a few of them in the coming days. A few variations of this … Continue reading Defining addiction and problem ownership
Is it misleading to call addiction a disease?
The New York Times published a guest essay this weekend challenging the disease model of addiction. I've read several similar pieces over the years and frequently have the same experience. I agree with most of the writer's points, but disagree with his conclusions. Let's walk through it. Annual U.S. overdose deaths recently topped 100,000, a record … Continue reading Is it misleading to call addiction a disease?
Top ten of 2021 #7 – What should be the gold standard for addiction treatment?
This was originally published in a 2019 National Association of Social Workers’ Alcohol, Tobacco and other Drug specialty section newsletter. The most striking thing about substance abuse treatment is the mismatch between the duration of treatment and the duration of the illness.—Robert DuPont, MD DuPont R. (March, 2018) Interview with Brian Coon. Interview presented at the NC … Continue reading Top ten of 2021 #7 – What should be the gold standard for addiction treatment?
Recovery Review 