There are a lot of problems in addiction treatment, but 12-step hegemony is not the problem that advocates and media coverage would lead one to believe. There's a widely held belief that 12-step culture exerts a smothering pro-abstinence stranglehold on public health and policy responses to substance use. It's a strange phenomenon when one considers … Continue reading 2024’s Top Posts – #1 – 12-Step Facilitation is the eighth most frequently used therapeutic approach in treatment facilities
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.
2024’s Top Posts – #2 – Multiple pathways as a disruptor: from what to what?
"Multiple pathways to recovery" has been popularized by the new recovery advocacy movement (NRAM) and Recovery Oriented Systems of Care (ROSC), but the concept has been around since at least 1944. The September 1944 issue of Alcoholics Anonymous' Grapevine published an article by Philip Wylie, describing his solo recovery supported by psychologists and reading. Bill … Continue reading 2024’s Top Posts – #2 – Multiple pathways as a disruptor: from what to what?
Moderation or abstinence? The right endpoint for the right problem type
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vb2-R6nDzDc I've seen this segment from the PBS News Hour get some attention recently. Segment Summary The focus of the segment is the use, more specifically the lack of use, of naltrexone for alcohol problems. It rightly points out that the scale and toll of alcohol problems dwarf most other drugs. Deaths attributed to heavy … Continue reading Moderation or abstinence? The right endpoint for the right problem type
2024’s Top Posts – #9 – A War on Recovery?
STAT just ran another article in its "War on Recovery" series and continues its narrative of casting recovering people in Narcotics Anonymous and non-agonist recovery pathways as the villains. There's an important story undergirding this article (and the previous article attacking recovering people in NA) -- that there are important gaps in social support for … Continue reading 2024’s Top Posts – #9 – A War on Recovery?
Opioid settlement funds will be “a really nice tailwind”
The NYT recently published an article on allegations of ethics violations and fraud in Acadia Healthcare's methadone clinics. It's a big deal because Acadia is big, really big. "The for-profit chain of 165 methadone clinics — the country’s largest — has generated more than $1.3 billion in revenue since 2022." The allegations include not providing … Continue reading Opioid settlement funds will be “a really nice tailwind”
Unpopular opinion: Attention to recovery advocacy and ROSC has come at the expense of Recovery Management, harming treatment patients
This post isn't meant to suggest that ROSC or recovery advocacy are bad in any way. Rather, it is meant to suggest that Recovery Management has been underdeveloped while energy and enthusiasm have been focused on recovery advocacy and ROSC. It also isn't meant to assign blame, I'm just sharing an observation. Recovery Management (RM) … Continue reading Unpopular opinion: Attention to recovery advocacy and ROSC has come at the expense of Recovery Management, harming treatment patients
Experience is the best teacher. What’s the lesson?
(source) From a 1995 study: As recently as 1988, researchers in New York City suggested the adoption of crack smoking, in lieu of intravenous cocaine use, as a mechanism of AIDS risk reduction (Des Jarlais and Friedman, 1988). However, recent studies indicate that when compared with intravenous drug users, crack smokers may be at equal … Continue reading Experience is the best teacher. What’s the lesson?
A War on Recovery?
STAT just ran another article in its "War on Recovery" series and continues its narrative of casting recovering people in Narcotics Anonymous and non-agonist recovery pathways as the villains. There's an important story undergirding this article (and the previous article attacking recovering people in NA) -- that there are important gaps in social support for … Continue reading A War on Recovery?
Is it harmful to frame addiction as a disease?
Yesterday's post discussed a response to a guide intended to facilitate the protection of people with lived experience when sharing their personal stories. Activism for the rights of people who use drugs and models of recovery that include ongoing AOD use increasingly destabilizes our understandings of the nature of addiction and its solutions, often seeking … Continue reading Is it harmful to frame addiction as a disease?
Guidelines for publicly sharing addiction recovery stories: protecting, paternalism, or gatekeeping?
Several months ago, the National Council for Mental Wellbeing (NCMW) posted their Protecting Individuals with Lived Experience in Public Disclosure Guide. They describe it as a tool for self-evaluation allowing individuals and organizations to assess the risks to people publicly sharing addiction and recovery stories. I've seen little attention to this topic, but I welcome … Continue reading Guidelines for publicly sharing addiction recovery stories: protecting, paternalism, or gatekeeping?
Recovery Review 