From Ernie Kurtz: Sometimes, ignorant people--especially ignorant professionals--say that "Alcoholics Anonymous teaches that only an alcoholic can help an alcoholic." Sister Ignatia is only one of many whose story overturns that canard. Look at all the non-alcoholics who were so significant in AA history: Sister Ignatia, Father Dowling, Willard Richardson, Frank Amos, Dr. Slikworth, and … Continue reading The “kinship of common suffering”
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.
Welcome our own weakness? Really?
This caught my attention in a recent episode of On Being. It speaks to the importance of us (helpers) needing to be able to face our own pain if we are are to help others face theirs. MS. TIPPETT: Not just in the context of disabilities, you know, you've posed this question, you know, the whole … Continue reading Welcome our own weakness? Really?
Umwelt
Yesterday, I was reading This Will Make You Smarter and thought that the concept of umwelt could be enormously helpful for my social work students and Dawn Farm's counseling staff: In 1909, the biologist Jakob von Uexküll introduced the concept of the umwelt. He wanted a word to express a simple (but often overlooked) observation: different … Continue reading Umwelt
An absence of hope
Today, Bill White shared some of my favorite stories. As I faced these amazingly resilient women, I asked each of them to tell me about the sparks that had ignited their recovery journey. Each of them talked about the role their outreach worker had played in their lives. The following comments were typical. I couldn't … Continue reading An absence of hope
A culture of communion
Jim Contopulos writes about the beauty in brokenness he witnessed when his (now deceased) son took him to an NA meeting. Years before we lost Nick to the diseases of addiction and mental illness, he invited me into a Narcotics Anonymous meeting. I had never attended one, but of course, I said “yes” to his invitation. I … Continue reading A culture of communion
Recovery and the Conspiracy of Hope
I think Pat Deegan does a great job describing the cycle of despair in settings that don't facilitate or witness recovery. I think this translates very well to addiction treatment providers. What it misses is those who step in after hope is abandoned and ennoblize the suffering of patients--"accepting them as they are", but never … Continue reading Recovery and the Conspiracy of Hope
Patient or person with a predicament?
One important task in the process of recovery is learning or relearning good physical self-care. Part of this is learning how to be a good consumer of health care. Doctor Skeptic has a thought provoking post on being a "person with a predicament" versus a "patient". My right foot hurts. It hurts in the middle, … Continue reading Patient or person with a predicament?
to come face to face
In its etymology, the word “confront” literally means “to come face to face.” In this sense, confronting is a therapeutic goal rather than a counseling style: to help clients come face to face with their present situation, reflect on it, and decide what to do about it. Once confronting is understood as a goal, then … Continue reading to come face to face
denial
“The resistant behavior that is labeled "denial" does not just walk through the door with the client, but is strongly influenced by the way in which the therapist approaches the client. Said provocatively, denial is not a client problem, it is a therapist problem." William R. Miller: Handbook of Treatment Approaches
opportunity, choice and hope
From Slaying the Dragon by Bill White …what addiction professionals have done for more than a century and a half is to create a setting and an opening in which the addicted can transform their identity and redefine every relationship in their lives, including their relationship with alcohol and other drugs. What we are professionally … Continue reading opportunity, choice and hope
Recovery Review 