Para-professionals working in the field of alcoholism are overwhelmingly recovered alcoholics. Most of them credit their recovery to AA, some to the facility where they are currently working, an increasing number to a combination of both, and a few to still other forms of therapy. One thing they all share is their attitude toward sick … Continue reading Love and faith
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.
Hope is created in community
Across the disciplines, we see a movement away from individually focused understandings of hope to more communally and relationally dependent models. Many focus on connectedness as a central aspect of hope. This takes the form of friendship, solidarity, and bearing witness as central relational aspects of hope. Within the recovery model and other models of … Continue reading Hope is created in community
hope inspires the good to reveal itself
A great truth, attributed to Emily Dickinson, is that “hope inspires the good to reveal itself.” This is almost all I ever need to remember. Gravity and sadness yank us down, and hope gives us a nudge to help one another get back up or to sit with the fallen on the ground, in the … Continue reading hope inspires the good to reveal itself
Sentences to ponder
This headline is for all the legalization activists who point to the legal status of tobacco and alcohol. A sobering thought: One billion smokers and 240 million people with alcohol use disorder worldwide (source)
when we pit pain against drug misuse, nobody wins
…when you try to balance the damage caused by pain against the damage caused by drug abuse, nobody wins. Barry Meier on Fresh Air Vox looks at the pain patients vs. opioid misuse conundrum: Drug policy is hard. There's no perfect solution to the conflict between treating pain and curtailing the abuse of opioid painkillers. Really … Continue reading when we pit pain against drug misuse, nobody wins
What would it look like if we were serious about marijuana as medicine?
It might look something like this: The Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) and the Canadian Consortium for the Investigation of Cannabinoids (CCIC) have launched a registry for users of medical cannabis in Quebec that will allow physicians to better manage its use and monitor patient safety. This innovative project represents the world's … Continue reading What would it look like if we were serious about marijuana as medicine?
“revolutionary changes in the way we treat this DISEASE”
This has already gotten a lot of attention, but it's pretty great. I hope they are provided the resources to meaningfully assist people seeking help. Police chief Leonard Campanello announced on the department’s Facebook page that, starting June 1, any addict who voluntarily brings in their stash won’t be arrested as long as they agree … Continue reading “revolutionary changes in the way we treat this DISEASE”
Partial truths drive use of meds and resistance to meds
Remember years ago when there was some buzz about publication bias in medical journals? Studies finding that drugs were effective were much more likely to get published. If you recall, we were promised that a new day was coming. Back in 2008, many people assured me change was coming and transparency was taking hold. After … Continue reading Partial truths drive use of meds and resistance to meds
One reason why getting addicts good primary care physicians is so important
Frequent emergency room visits is associated with overdose: According to the study from researchers at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, the risk of dying from a prescription drug overdose was five times the rate for patients who visited the ER twice in the past year, compared to patients with one or fewer trips … Continue reading One reason why getting addicts good primary care physicians is so important
Sentences to ponder
Rather than ‘can we cure?’ (hepatitis C), the question is now ‘who should we cure first?’. This question is driven partly by the prohibitively high cost of Direct-acting anti-viral (DAAs) treatment. If DAAs were cheap, then anyone who wanted treatment would be given treatment—but that is not the current reality. . . . . . … Continue reading Sentences to ponder
Recovery Review 