“The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word 'crisis.' One brush stroke stands for danger; the other for opportunity. In a crisis, be aware of the danger--but recognize the opportunity.” ― John F. Kennedy Societies, like people rise to challenges when faced and decay when hard tasks are avoided. Healing for people and … Continue reading Looking Beyond Crisis, Our Opportunities Are All About Connection!

It seems like more is being said about drug policy than ever before. I've been posting thoughts about drug policy here for years. However, as I read comments from others, I often wonder whether we're talking about the same things. To be honest, I haven't given a lot of thought to the conceptual boundaries of … Continue reading Unpacking “drug policy”

There are a lot of problems in addiction treatment, but 12-step hegemony is not the problem that advocates and media coverage would lead one to believe. (Keep in mind that 12-step facilitation is an evidence-based treatment.) It's worth asking why this is so frequently misrepresented. National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services (N-SSATS): 2020

Photo by Yelena Odintsova on Pexels.com Yesterday, I attended a memorial service for a former co-worker of many years. We worked together at Dawn Farm, an addiction treatment and recovery support program, where one of Robin's roles was to teach GED classes. She was kind, warm, patient, and never harbored any doubt about our clients' … Continue reading Reflections on GED classes as part of Recovery Management

“All systems are perfectly designed to get the results they get.” – Don Coyhis What would happen if we treated substance use with comprehensive, individualized care and support over the long-term? We don’t entirely know; we have never fully tried that approach for the general population. We do know that the kind of care provided … Continue reading Moving Beyond a System of Care Designed to Fail Us

Across our nation, far too often patients are treated rudely or provided inferior care when their healthcare provider learns that they use drugs, have a history of using drugs or are in recovery. Stigma is often the primary barrier for people seeking help. To shift these negative perceptions and improve care within our healthcare systems, … Continue reading It Is Time We Seize the Opportunity to Address SUD Stigma in the U.S. Healthcare System

Today is the 10 year anniversary of my organizational workplace making the switch to a tobacco-free campus. Prior to the change I was involved in organizing and leading our attempts to address tobacco smoking. After we made the switch to a tobacco-free campus, I looked back and realized those earlier efforts were like our organization … Continue reading Tobacco-free campus: 10 year anniversay and retrospective of the change

(Screen captured from https://ophelia.com/rehab-relapse on 01/21/2022) Ok... let's talk. A company called Ophelia Health has launched a new marketing campaign focusing on the message "F*CK REHAB". On the one hand, there's A LOT to criticize in the addiction treatment world. At the provider level, there is a long history of really bad, predatory, poor quality, … Continue reading Zero Sum, Destructive Treatment Marketing