Opioid addicted brains recover and residential more effective than medication for young opioid addicts Several years back, Bill White pointed out that we've learned an enormous amount about the neurobiology of addiction but know nothing about the neurobiology of recovery. This week, a small study focused on just that: The researchers performed several tests to … Continue reading 2014’s top posts: #8
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.
2014’s top posts: # 9
Gabapentin high DJ Mac recently posted about something I'd never heard of, gabapentin misuse. Sure enough, when I type gabapentin into google, one of the first suggested searches is "gabapentin high". There are reports of these drugs being used to maximise the effects of methadone and being misused by heroin users. In Scotland, a BJGP paper from 2012 reported: … Continue reading 2014’s top posts: # 9
2014’s top posts: # 10
Recovery is good business I just learned of this upcoming talk in Ann Arbor: Belief, Hope and Generosity in the Workplace: Hiring Individuals in Recovery Wednesday October 1, 2014: 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm -- Ann Arbor Downtown Library: 4th Floor Meeting Room Ari Weinzweig believes that a key aspect of managing ourselves is acknowledging … Continue reading 2014’s top posts: # 10
2014’s top posts: #11
Philip Seymour Hoffman It's nice to see a victim of addiction be remembered not just for their talent, accomplishments, personal drama or whatever else, and instead be remembered for his goodness. It’s being widely reported that Philip Seymour Hoffman died of a drug overdose. He was found in a West Village apartment with the syringe … Continue reading 2014’s top posts: #11
Top posts of 2014: #12
Abstinence—The Only Way to Beat Addiction? What killed Philip Seymour Hoffman? According to Anne Fletcher, it wasn't the doctor who prescribed him the pain medication that began his relapse, it wasn't the prescribers of the combination of meds found in his body, it wasn't his discontinuing the behaviors that maintained his recovery for 23 years, … Continue reading Top posts of 2014: #12
Opioid addicted brains recover and residential more effective than medication for young opioid addicts
Several years back, Bill White pointed out that we've learned an enormous amount about the neurobiology of addiction but know nothing about the neurobiology of recovery. This week, a small study focused on just that: The researchers performed several tests to assess changes in the "brain reward system" during early recovery. After drug withdrawal, many … Continue reading Opioid addicted brains recover and residential more effective than medication for young opioid addicts
Dry bar!
I'm so grateful to be doing recovery work in this community. Below is a teaser from a BuzzFeed story. Read the whole thing here. Brillig Dry Bar is a new pop-up bar in Ann Arbor, Michigan, that doesn’t serve alcohol. Courtesy of Nic Sims The bar’s name is a reference to Lewis Carroll’s Jabberwocky. Brillig is … Continue reading Dry bar!
The soul of addiction treatment
I've never met Scott Kellogg, but I appreciate his presence in the field. He's struck me as a pragmatist who tries to find third ways and has a conservative temperament. There are too few people who fit that description. His recent piece for Substance and Pacific Standard is on "A Struggle for the Soul of Addiction Treatment." … Continue reading The soul of addiction treatment
Book Review: It Takes a Family
I just finished Debra Jay's new book, It Takes a Family: A Cooperative Approach to Lasting Sobriety and wanted to share a few thoughts with you. Bill White was one of the first people I heard challenge our failure to distinguish between treatment and recovery. Jay picks up this theme and details the limitations of treatment--that treatment is good … Continue reading Book Review: It Takes a Family
Sentences to ponder
Hope is not wishful thinking; it is risk and action and the courage to undertake both. - Debra Dean Murphy
Recovery Review 