Miller and Moyers make the case that low therapist empathy is toxic with a review of some research on the topic. In one study, a single in-session therapist behavior predicted 42% of the variance in clients’ 12-month drinking outcomes: the more the therapist confronted, the more the client drank (Miller, Benefield, & Tonigan, … Continue reading Is low therapist empathy toxic?
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.
The adoption of 12-step practices and beliefs.
We're seeing a growing body of research on the mechanisms of change in 12 step recovery. Tonigan and Greenfield recently published an article in Psychology of Addictive Behaviors. Working the 12 steps is widely prescribed for Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) members although the relative merits of different methods for measuring step work have received minimal attention and … Continue reading The adoption of 12-step practices and beliefs.
Tribes of the recovering communty
Dharma Punx is not a recovery group, but it has lots of recovering people as part of it's Buddhist community. Every Tuesday and Thursday night, a growing group of New Yorkers gather on the formerly down-and-out Bowery, seeking to develop a spiritual practice with a punk-rock edge. These “Dharma Punx” meetings are based on Buddhism, … Continue reading Tribes of the recovering communty
Methadone, technology and outcomes
Substance Matters has a post about the use of new technologies in methadone maintenance. Patients who use a web-based intervention (TES) instead of half of their traditional counseling did better than those with traditional counseling as part of their methadone treatment. It provokes important questions about the usefulness of new technologies and how they might … Continue reading Methadone, technology and outcomes
Blame and illness
On blame and illness: After Linnea Duff learned at age 45 that she had developed lung cancer, she practically encouraged people to ask if she had ever smoked. But in the eight years since, her feelings have soured considerably on the too-frequent question, and she’s developed an acute sense of solidarity with fellow … Continue reading Blame and illness
Consuming research
A couple of fun posts about research. (Did I really just write that?) First, Tyler Cowen reviews a widely cited study: In 1991 Halpern and Coren published a famous study in the New England Journal of Medicine which appears to show that left handed people die at much younger ages than right-handed people. Halpern and … Continue reading Consuming research
1 in 5 Russian men die of alcohol-related causes
The scale of the alcohol problem in Russia is stunning: Today, according to the World Health Organization, one in five men in the Russia Federation die due to alcohol-related causes, compared with 6.2 percent of all men globally. In 2000, in her article “First Steps: AA and Alcoholism in Russia,”Patricia Critchlow estimated that some 20 million … Continue reading 1 in 5 Russian men die of alcohol-related causes
Mental Illness not a barrier to 12 step benefits
A recently published study replicates findings that addicts with co-occurring mental illness benefit from twelve step facilitation: Background Evidence indicates that 12-step mutual-help organizations (MHOs), such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA), can play an important role in extending and potentiating the recovery benefits of professionally delivered addiction treatment among young adults with … Continue reading Mental Illness not a barrier to 12 step benefits
Podcast Alert!
We got a message from our friend Mark at the Recovered podcast that he will be podcasting with his wife on the topic of Grief and Recovery. Their oldest son died July 2, 2012 and they have been dealing with this topic since. This topic is near and dear to my heart. Below is a repost of … Continue reading Podcast Alert!
Sentences to ponder
I'm not a fan of Celebrity Rehab, but I like this quote: “The people who don’t make it are in the process of making it. It took me nine years and 26 rehabs. Unless you’re dead, you’re in the process of making it.” --Bob Forrest
Recovery Review 