https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhpAYw9kCt8 Someone shared this video several weeks ago and it really resonated with me. I've been an addiction professional for 27 years, so I've learned a lot about the effects of opioids and the experience of opioid withdrawal from doctors, counselors, clients, recovering people with a history of opioid addiction, and other experts. However, there's … Continue reading The agony of opioid withdrawal
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.
Follow the science . . .
With the emergence of the omicron variant, I've been watching arguments about which kinds of COVID mitigation strategies make sense and which ones do not. I also just came across this letter about the efficacy (or lack thereof) of esketamine for depression. What do these have in common? The common thread I observe is the … Continue reading Follow the science . . .
Moral Panic? Replace ‘moral’ and ‘panic’ with what?
Sam Quinones' recent Atlantic article about methamphetamines came up recently in a conversation with a couple of friends recently. I hadn't read it, but one of my friends responded that it had elements of moral panic. This response was consistent with comments I had seen on Twitter. My reaction was that moral panic has been … Continue reading Moral Panic? Replace ‘moral’ and ‘panic’ with what?
Recovery, activism, and character
Bill White recently wrote a powerful post about the intersection of recovery, character, and activism. First, on character as an essential element of recovery advocacy: What is the role of character reconstruction in addiction recovery? In recovery activism? I have repeatedly returned to these questions over the course of my adult life, especially as young … Continue reading Recovery, activism, and character
How should we respond to co-occurring addiction and racism? (Guest post by Alexa Johnson)
Alexa Johnson is a friend who is early in her career and reached out for my thoughts on some important questions she had been contemplating. She shared a written reflection on the issues involved and I encouraged her to turn it into a post. I admire her combination of conviction and willingness to keep asking … Continue reading How should we respond to co-occurring addiction and racism? (Guest post by Alexa Johnson)
“full recovery or amplified recovery” — toward typologies of recovery?
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?
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)
Recovery Review 