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.

How can we protect the SUD workforce from moral, social & psychological hazards?

~ Jason Schwartz

This was originally published in a 2018 National Association of Social Workers' Alcohol, Tobacco and other Drug specialty section newsletter. Bill's recent post on moral injury got me thinking about Sandra Bloom's concept of moral safety, which got me thinking about this article. Before the pandemic began, we frequently talked about the workforce experiencing moral, … Continue reading How can we protect the SUD workforce from moral, social & psychological hazards?

Addiction Professionals in the Pandemic – Andre Johnson

~ Jason Schwartz ~ 1 Comment

I just came across this recent interview with Andre Johnson and I thought I share it with you, along with my interview with him about maintaining services through the pandemic. https://youtu.be/8_ScBktNreI Who are you? My name is Andre Johnson. I'm a person in long-term recovery. And what that means is, I have not used drugs … Continue reading Addiction Professionals in the Pandemic – Andre Johnson

“Really… You think you’re the only one who had a hard time?”

~ Jason Schwartz

There's a lot of academic and advocacy energy around harm reduction, legalization, and assertions that drugs and drug use carry relatively few innate harms--the real problems are puritanical and often racist attempts at social control. These discussions give the impression that people with addiction and society would be ok if we assured a legal, unadulterated … Continue reading “Really… You think you’re the only one who had a hard time?”

Does naloxone prescribing result in discrimination?

~ Jason Schwartz ~ 1 Comment

I keep hearing anecdotal reports of people being prescribed naloxone, filling the prescription, and later experiencing discrimination (refusing to write a policy) from an insurance company, typically a life insurance company. I have not been able to have direct contact with anyone who experienced this or get the name of an insurance company engaging in … Continue reading Does naloxone prescribing result in discrimination?

Is addiction caused by genetic or environmental factors?

~ Jason Schwartz

I've been involved in some recent discussions about addiction as a disease and the role of experiences like trauma. A few years ago I had the pleasure of seeing Dr. Jehannine Austin discuss how she approaches genetic counseling around psychiatric disorders and addiction. She doesn't answer all the questions around the etiology of addiction (who … Continue reading Is addiction caused by genetic or environmental factors?

Revisiting recovery-oriented harm reduction (part 2)

~ Jason Schwartz

I've been watching a really interesting twitter discussion about the conceptual boundaries of recovery. One branch of the discussion got into recovery as a process and as an outcome. It reminded me of this post from 2019. Yesterday, we began to revisit the concept of recovery-oriented harm reduction. Why recovery-oriented harm reduction and not just … Continue reading Revisiting recovery-oriented harm reduction (part 2)