From a meta-analysis of contingency management: Adding prize-based contingency management to behavioral support for substance use disorders can increase short-term abstinence but the effect does not appear to persist to 6 months.
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.
More benzos, more deaths
A recent study finds increases in deaths for people prescribed benzos: We found evidence of an association between prescription of anxiolytic and hypnotic drugs and mortality over an average follow-up period of 7.6 years among more than 100 000 age and general practice matched adults. In patients who were prescribed these drugs, there was an estimated overall … Continue reading More benzos, more deaths
Strong evidence
Keith Humphreys directs us to a new paper by SMART Recovery UK in support of mutual aid groups in general. It's well written and avoids sectarian arguments of 12 step vs. SMART. Although there is an extensive body of research into Mutual Aid, most studies are methodologically weak, typically describing correlations without the ability to infer … Continue reading Strong evidence
Look elsewhere for nuance and accuracy
Lance Dodes' book, The Sober Truth, after a pretty amazing media blitz, finally gets the review it deserves in the NY Times: The authors’ blanket claim of efficacy for their own cherished treatment, in the absence of credible data, is the very flaw for which they harshly criticize A.A. . . . Those looking for … Continue reading Look elsewhere for nuance and accuracy
Could this be the next big push on alcohol policy?
The journal Addiction printed a piece calling for lowering the legal blood alcohol content to 0.05: The National Transportation Safety Board recently recommended that states establish a per se blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limit of 0.05 or lower for all drivers who are not already required to adhere to lower BAC limits in a national … Continue reading Could this be the next big push on alcohol policy?
The hardiness of AA
Bill White and Ernie Kurtz examine the factors contributing to AA's resilience in the face of steady attacks Attacking Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) and 12-step oriented addiction treatment has become a specialized industry with its own genre of literature, celebrity authors and speakers, single-focus websites, and promoted alternatives. Collectively, these critics suggest that A.A. is an anachronism … Continue reading The hardiness of AA
The Myth of an Addict Gene
Deja vu Sunday continues. These posts were from August 2006 and provide a real case of deja vu, as we've been engaged in these same arguments recently. I still hold the opinion that most of these arguments are less about whether it's a disease and more about perceived social, cultural, personal and interpersonal implications of … Continue reading The Myth of an Addict Gene
Early mutual aid involvement improves outcomes
DJ Mac provides an outstanding summary of a recently published study on the pre-treatment and early treatment behavior of outpatient addiction treatment patients and their outcomes. He starts with this finding: The folk who tested negative for drugs early on didn’t seem to have worse drug problems, but they did have better mental and physical … Continue reading Early mutual aid involvement improves outcomes
Is calling it a disease disabling?
The British Psychological Society posted about a study of how labeling obesity a disease influenced behavior: The good news is that the AMA is right to celebrate the benefits that it has already touted; labelling obesity as a disease, in the experimental group, did lead obese participants to report higher levels of self-esteem and body … Continue reading Is calling it a disease disabling?
not what one might hope for
Somehow, I missed the buprenorphine implant until a comment on yesterday's post. Yesterday's post pointed to dropout issues with buprenorphine. Of course, an implant would address that issue. However, the outcomes for the implants are, "not what one might hope for". Probuphine was evaluated in two placebo-controlled trials. In terms of efficacy, researchers found that patients … Continue reading not what one might hope for
Recovery Review 