Category: Treatment

How AA and NA work, part 2

~ Jason Schwartz ~ 4 Comments

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

How AA and NA work

~ Jason Schwartz ~ 2 Comments

Here is a summary of the knowledge presented at last year's conference on AA and NA: The preponderance of evidence supports the causal pathway that AA attendance leads to abstinence (Kaskutas, Zemore). 12-Step affiliation significantly enhances the odds of sustaining abstinence for multiple years among polysubstance-dependent individuals (Laudet). 12-Step involvement yields benefits above and beyond meeting attendance (Kaskutas, … Continue reading How AA and NA work

Family Members: Codependent or Grief Stricken?

~ Jason Schwartz

A friend shared this post with me: "Codependency," describes a set of skills that were learned in that close relationship, become unsuccessful, and are vigorously pursued because members of the network have not yet identified and grieved their loss. To address these behaviors, fear and uncertainty need to be addressed. Persons with emotional attachment to those … Continue reading Family Members: Codependent or Grief Stricken?

CarePartners

~ Jason Schwartz

The University of Michigan is trying a new program to improve depression care by involving a friend or family member in their care. Patients who enroll in the CarePartner program enlist a trusted individual in their life to check-in on them and help manage depressive symptoms. The program entails the patient completing an automated telephone assessment … Continue reading CarePartners