I feel like I've seen this before in Deegan's writing, but this table focusing on recovery culture vs. non-recovery culture in mental health services is pretty amazing. Again, it highlights many of the concerns about methadone and other meds, but it also shines a light on some failings of drug-free treatment. What a great too … Continue reading Non-recovery vs. recovery culture
Category: Treatment
Identity, mental illness and recovery
“Once I became my diagnosis, there was no one left to recover.” Holy cow! This really captures something very important! It articulates what concerns me most about the rush to diagnosis for people in early recovery. It's much less any intellectual concern, concern that a medication might be unhelpful or some concern about purity of … Continue reading Identity, mental illness and recovery
Why Obama’s Deputy Drug Czar Dropped Out
The Fix snagged an interview with Thomas McLellan. It's definitely worth the time it takes to read it. He spends some time discussing the segregation of addiction services, at topic that he and I are not on the same page about. He briefly discusses his reasons for an abstinence orientation (for addicts): Do you expect there will … Continue reading Why Obama’s Deputy Drug Czar Dropped Out
Tab Dump
Parents of drug addicts need our help - A plea for drug policy depates to consider the needs of parents of addicts. For families carrying the burden of drug dependency, the public and political debate often centres on the rhetoric of how to send the right message to young people. It's an empty argument for those … Continue reading Tab Dump
et tu MI?
Cochrane (The same research group that found AA ineffective [rebuttals here and here], declared stimulants an effective treatment for cocaine addiction and provided oxygen for breathless headlines about the effectiveness of naltrexone for alcohol dependence [rebuttal here].) has done a meta-analysis of motivational interviewing (MI) and found it pretty underwhelming: We included 59 studies with a total of 13,342 participants. Compared … Continue reading et tu MI?
Methadone at The Fix
The Fix has an article arguing that methadone maintenance gets a bad rap and hints that critics should check their motives. (It's noteworthy that the writer has been pretty hard on drug-free treatment providers. Bill White has also voiced support for methadone but also strongly criticizing the poor quality and lack of recovery orientation.) There's … Continue reading Methadone at The Fix
In the news
The Times Colonist has a series on addiction that grapples with the questions of what services to provide (Namely, harm reduction vs. treatment.) in the context of scarce resources.
Recovery as a marathon
I have a piece over at The Fix: Addiction is not an acute illness—like, say, strep throat—that can be treated and cured. Addiction is a chronic illness and, like other chronic illnesses, requires long-term treatment, monitoring and support. Think of someone suffering from cardiac disease—let’s say your Uncle Bob. He has a heart attack and … Continue reading Recovery as a marathon
A Matter of Interpretation
Stuart Gitlow is underwhelmed by a Cochrane review of naltrexone for alcohol dependence. In the process of dismantling Cochrane's conclusion (Naltrexone appears to be an effective and safe strategy in alcoholism treatment), he questions the value of drink counting. The authors reviewed 50 studies with nearly 7,800 participants. The review summary indicates that more patients … Continue reading A Matter of Interpretation
If the only tool you have is a hammer…
So...the reason for benzo use in methadone programs is untreated anxiety disorders? Important information on epidemiology of BZD misuse among methadone-maintenance patients suggests that most methadone programs do not address co-occurring anxiety problems, and methadone treatment may trigger onset or worsening of BZD misuse. The first few minutes of this video includes a methadone patient … Continue reading If the only tool you have is a hammer…
Recovery Review 