Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay I've encountered a particular institutional condition often in my work: the drug treatment center with an “assembly line” mentality. Some of the worst behavior happens in these places, clients are rarely served quality care. But it isn't because of poor staff (who tend to be some of the most passionate … Continue reading When Treatment Centers Become Assembly Lines
Category: Treatment
What I Wrote to Medical Students About Recovery
Credit: Parentingupstream at Pixabay My friend, a doctor, reached out to me recently and asked if I would write a few words for her annual address to medical students at a fairly prestigious school. The topic was "opioids", but she wondered what a recovering person would say if they had a few moments with a … Continue reading What I Wrote to Medical Students About Recovery
Physicians Should Help ‘Prescribe’ Recovery Support
The AMA's recent report on substance use treatment doesn't acknowledge recovery. This glaring omission misses the potential for doctors to support recovery activities through "social prescribing" - as researcher Justin Bell describes.
Substance Use Disorders – The epidemiological mess more than a decade in the making
Yesterday, I posted about the epidemiological crisis being reported regarding an explosion in substance use disorders resulting in increases in untreated SUDs and low rates of problem recognition. (There's been a parallel explosion in recovery prevalence.) All of this was predictable. In fact, we were writing about it here 13 years ago. Despite the foreseeability … Continue reading Substance Use Disorders – The epidemiological mess more than a decade in the making
2022’s #1 post: Is rehab effective? The results are in.
This summary of the research evidence provides verification that “that residential rehabilitation is associated with improvements across a variety of outcomes relating to substance use, health and quality of life”. Rehab is linked to improvements in mental health, offending, social engagement, employment, reduction in substance use and abstinence. There is little research that compares rehab with other treatments delivered in the community, but where there is, the evidence suggests that “residential treatment produces more positive outcomes in relation to substance use than other treatment modalities.” The review also suggests that rehab can be more cost-effective over time than other treatments
Is rehab effective? The results are in.
This summary of the research evidence provides verification that “that residential rehabilitation is associated with improvements across a variety of outcomes relating to substance use, health and quality of life”. Rehab is linked to improvements in mental health, offending, social engagement, employment, reduction in substance use and abstinence. There is little research that compares rehab with other treatments delivered in the community, but where there is, the evidence suggests that “residential treatment produces more positive outcomes in relation to substance use than other treatment modalities.” The review also suggests that rehab can be more cost-effective over time than other treatments
Response to Why Addiction is NOT a Brain Disease
This post was originally published in 2012 and is part of an ongoing review of past posts about the conceptual boundaries of addiction and its relationship to the disease model and recovery. In a thoughtful post, Marc Lewis questions the disease model of addiction. He doesn't dismiss it out of hand. He seems to look … Continue reading Response to Why Addiction is NOT a Brain Disease
Recovery MAINTENANCE
This post was originally published in 2014. There's a lot of commentary out there on Philip Seymour Hoffman's death. Some of it's good, some is bad and there's a lot in between. Much of it has focused overdose prevention and some of it has focused on a need for evidence-based treatments. Anna David puts her … Continue reading Recovery MAINTENANCE
Care that never quits
[This post was originally published in 2013.] I spent a little more time with Jim Contopulos' video memorial for his son and an interview he did will Bill White. There's a lot to all of this, but a couple of things stuck with me. In the interview, he discussed being a scared parent and seeking … Continue reading Care that never quits
Pain management – cat among the pigeons
“Life is pain…anyone who tells you differently is selling something” William Goldman, The Princess Bride Pain and addiction are intertwined. Prescribed medication for pain can be a route into addiction. In practice I regularly see people on multiple medications for pain, making treatment of their addiction challenging. Last year Public Health England found that one in four … Continue reading Pain management – cat among the pigeons