While there have been a lot of calls for evidence-based responses to Philip Seymour Hoffman's relapse, Bill White points out that there is no evidence base for understanding long-term recovery and relapse after long-term recovery. Treatment outcome studies suggest a principle: recovery stability and permanence increase with duration of recovery, with the risk of future … Continue reading Addiction Recurrence after Prolonged Recovery
Category: Research
“He’d still be alive”
Much has been said this week about the death of Phillip Seymour Hoffman. I've heard two recurring themes. First, that he might still be alive if he had been "treated with an evidence-based" treatment, like buprenorphine. Second, that he might still be alive if he hadn't been inculcated with the disease model, which purportedly fosters … Continue reading “He’d still be alive”
Hell no, they ain’t doing that to me again
You may remember a few posts a while back about Dr. Carl Hart. He argues that addictive drug use is a rational choice by addicts and bases these arguments on his studies that involve giving crack to addicts and paying them for their participation in the study. Some of you raised the obvious ethical questions … Continue reading Hell no, they ain’t doing that to me again
Capitalism + Addictive Drugs = ?
When legalization advocates point to alcohol and tobacco, this kind of thing comes to mind. A report published last week in the journal Nicotine and Tobacco Research found that while the nicotine content of cigarettes has remained relatively stable for more than a decade, the amount of that nicotine delivered to the machines researchers use … Continue reading Capitalism + Addictive Drugs = ?
“looking past these behaviors”
This article got me thinking about the bigotry of low expectations and the importance of continuing to assert that every addict should be offered treatment services that provide a path to full recovery, not just symptom or harm reduction. If it's not suicide or drug overdoses doing the killing in psychiatric patients after all, how … Continue reading “looking past these behaviors”
What kind of corporate citizen is Reckitt Benckiser?
While the story has nothing directly to do with addiction, Marketplace provides a little background on the kind of corporation that Reckitt Benckiser (manufacturer of Suboxone) is: Here's the background: Many rodenticides act as anticoagulants, killing pests by making them bleed internally. They're great at killing rats, but they're also killing animals that eat rats. Stella … Continue reading What kind of corporate citizen is Reckitt Benckiser?
Spiritual awakening predicts improved recovery outcomes
An interesting study from a friend of ours: Abstract PURPOSE: This study examined concurrent and longitudinal associations between two dimensions of affiliation in Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)-attendance and spiritual awakening-and drinking outcomes among adult patients who were in treatment for alcohol dependence in Warsaw, Poland. In a study conducted at four addiction treatment centers, male and female … Continue reading Spiritual awakening predicts improved recovery outcomes
Therapists personal lives affect treatment outcomes
If you're a helper and you think your personal life is irrelevant to the treatment you provide, think again. The Personal Burdens scale was strongly and inversely related to the growth of the alliance as rated by the patients, but was unrelated to therapist-rated alliance. Conversely, the factor scale of therapists' Personal Satisfactions was clearly … Continue reading Therapists personal lives affect treatment outcomes
Home is where the meth is
An anthropologist embedded with meth addicts in Missouri and has an interview in the New Republic. The trailer parks of Jefferson County, Missouri, are a far cry from the international cartels of Breaking Bad, but this is the real picture of meth in America: Eveready batteries and Red Devil Lye on kitchen counters, used syringes … Continue reading Home is where the meth is
On knowing and piety toward science
I've pushed back before on the limits of research, "rational" policy, evidence-based policies, and the assumption that research is objective, etc. On Being recently discussed science and the unknown. Here are a few choice bits. On the limitations of science: Dr. Gleiser: . . . one of the grand goals of modern physics is to build a Theory … Continue reading On knowing and piety toward science
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