Join Together reports on a new study finding that a tobacco-free policy adversely impacted retention rates at one treatment program. Their post fails to mention that this is not the first study to shed light on this question of how tobacco-free treatment policies impact treatment outcomes. A quick visit to our site would have offered … Continue reading Tobacco-free policies and treatment completions
Category: Research
Game changers and compassionate fatalism
Here is some follow-up on a couple of recent posts. First, compassionate fatalism. More on St. Anthony's. (Previous post) But Bill Hockenberger, a former alcoholic who manages St. Anthony’s, insists that he hasn’t given up on any of his charges and that about 3 to 5 percent stop drinking every year. Hope springs eternal. Next, … Continue reading Game changers and compassionate fatalism
Quote for the day
All of this demonstrates why few research scientists are in policy-making positions of public trust. Their training for detail produces tunnel vision, and men of broader perspective are required for useful application of scientific progress. —Michael Shimkin
Oxycontin babies?
[I'm sticking my neck out on this one. Take it in the spirit in which it's written—an attempt to unpack the issues involved rather than any kind of declaration of truth. Please, set me straight in the comments if I've missed big chunks of research.] This post in Time rightly chides those who invoke "crack … Continue reading Oxycontin babies?
AA/NA safe for teens?
Safety concerns are occasionally raised about referring adolescents to twelve step groups. A recent study evaluates the safety of AA/NA for teens: By 12-month follow-up, 57.5% reported some AA/NA attendance with a combined lifetime exposure of 5,340 meetings. Of these, 21.9% reported at least one negative experience, which was more common among NA than AA … Continue reading AA/NA safe for teens?
Stick with the winners
Jonah Lehrer reviews recent findings on "social contagion" and obesity: It turns out that the habits of others shape our own, that we unconsciously regress to the dietary norms around us. Because we’re not particularly good at noticing when we’re sated and full – the stomach is a crude sensory organ – we rely on … Continue reading Stick with the winners
This was no honest mistake
What is there to say? Not shocking and very ugly.
Depression and Alcohol
A new meta-analysis of studies looking at depression and alcohol cast doubt on self-medication theories: The analysis revealed that the presence of either disorder doubled the risks of the second disorder...evidence suggests that the most plausible causal association between AUD and MD is one in which AUD increases the risk of MD, rather than vice … Continue reading Depression and Alcohol
The Suboxone “Solution”
The Fix has a provocative article on the growing use of buprenorphine maintenance. Over the last several years we've watched long-term maintenance become the norm and it has been a growing concern at Dawn Farm, particularly as we've had growing numbers of people misusing the drug and others seeking help getting detoxed from buprenorphine. She … Continue reading The Suboxone “Solution”
How AA and NA work, part 2
Here is a summary of the practice implications from the presentations at last year's conference on How AA and NA Work. Video and slides from the presentations are available here. Enhance motivation for recovery and help individuals to accept support: Laudet’s research found that the reasons people leave 12-Step programs are parallel to the lessons learned from … Continue reading How AA and NA work, part 2
Recovery Review 