Category: Treatment

Recovery Checkups

~ Jason Schwartz ~ 2 Comments

Bill White on efforts to develop and implement recovery check-up protocols: There is one sentence in the Standards that deserves particular acknowledgement:  "Recovery check-ups by addiction specialist physicians, just as those by primary care physicians or other providers, may promote sustained recovery and prevent relapse" (p. 13). . . . The "recovery check-up" language marks … Continue reading Recovery Checkups

Hope, empowerment, capability, connection and purpose

~ Jason Schwartz ~ 1 Comment

Hopeworks Community recently listed his core beliefs related to his recovery from mental illness: The idea was simple. There are a few core beliefs about recovery that make a difference. To the extent you are able to live them your recovery will be positively impacted. My list of core beliefs was simple: Life can get better. … Continue reading Hope, empowerment, capability, connection and purpose

The Doctor’s Opinion – Dawn Farm Ed Series

~ Jason Schwartz ~ 2 Comments

Research continues to shed light on the neurobiology of alcohol/other drug addiction. Modern research supports much of what was intuitively and experientially believed by the medical specialists who supported the Alcoholics Anonymous program in its earliest days.  This program will describe a physician's view of alcoholism, as presented in the literature of Alcoholics Anonymous and updated … Continue reading The Doctor’s Opinion – Dawn Farm Ed Series

Abstinence—The Only Way to Beat Addiction?

~ Jason Schwartz ~ 6 Comments

What killed Philip Seymour Hoffman? According to Anne Fletcher, it wasn't the doctor who prescribed him the pain medication that began his relapse, it wasn't the prescribers of the combination of meds found in his body, it wasn't his discontinuing the behaviors that maintained his recovery for 23 years, it wasn't a drug dealer, and … Continue reading Abstinence—The Only Way to Beat Addiction?

Social connection as a mechanism of change

~ Jason Schwartz ~ 3 Comments

A new blog looks at social connection as an important mechanism for facilitating recovery: ...if having plenty of quality social connections is good for the next person in the street, is it also true for people trying to recover from addictive disorders? Mark Litt and colleagues from the University of Connecticut conducted a randomised trial on alcoholics … Continue reading Social connection as a mechanism of change

Cultivating Mindfulness to Support Recovery – Dawn Farm Education Series

~ Jason Schwartz ~ 3 Comments

From the Dawn Farm Education Series: Recent research confirms the efficacy of mindfulness practices to support attaining and sustaining recovery from substance use disorders. This video includes an overview of theory and research supporting mindfulness practices for people with addiction as well as practical techniques to cultivate mindfulness and apply mindfulness practices. The presentation defines … Continue reading Cultivating Mindfulness to Support Recovery – Dawn Farm Education Series

Empathy: The First Step To Improving Health Outcomes

~ Jason Schwartz ~ 4 Comments

A Health Affairs post points to a study that higher levels of physician empathy predicted better outcomes for diabetes patients. A 2012 study from Italy analyzed the health outcomes of more than 20,000 patients with diabetes, who were assigned to three different groups of physicians (pre-evaluated for their levels of empathy). The physicians who demonstrated … Continue reading Empathy: The First Step To Improving Health Outcomes

Medication: The smart-pill oversell

~ Jason Schwartz ~ 1 Comment

Given the simultaneous explosion in ADHD diagnosis, prescribed use of stimulants and non-medical use of stimulants, maybe it's time to look at the cost/benefit ratio. We'll it's clear that the benefits aren't all that. What to make of it? Researchers are beginning to address this paradox. How can medication that makes children sit still and … Continue reading Medication: The smart-pill oversell