The redoubled focus on recovery within our federal administration is heartening. This is an area in which history is instructive. Many years ago, advocates from the recovery community, including those in my own home state of Pennsylvania met with SAMHSA and educated them on the value of creating a funding stream for recovery community on … Continue reading An Open Letter to SAMHSA and the SSA’s On Inclusion – Our History and A Cautionary Tale
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Interview 12 – Betty Currier – Recovery Review Blog Series – Reflections on the Historic 2001 Recovery Summit in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and the start of the New Recovery Advocacy Movement
Forward: I am quite sure I had never met or spoken with Betty before this interview. She is 83 years young and her zest for life and learning came through the telephone line loud and clear.She was modest when sharing her significant life accomplishments. I felt like some additional context on what Betty contributed to … Continue reading Interview 12 – Betty Currier – Recovery Review Blog Series – Reflections on the Historic 2001 Recovery Summit in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and the start of the New Recovery Advocacy Movement
The tortuous routes to rehab
I’ve been reading a bit recently about the challenges of healthcare funding in the United States - an ‘international scandal’ according to Noam Chomsky. And although the problems are not the same, those issues have become linked with my thinking on the difficulties of accessing funding for residential rehabilitation in Scotland. The Lord Advocate’s recent statement allows … Continue reading The tortuous routes to rehab
It is Time to Reform Our Care System Inclusively To Save Lives and Communities
This week, I am attending Mobilize Recovery in Las Vegas. Recovery advocates from around the nation, have gathered together here for a third year through the Recovery Advocacy Project. PRO-A the statewide recovery community organization of Pennsylvania has been honored to participate in it since its inception. The message here is that together, we can … Continue reading It is Time to Reform Our Care System Inclusively To Save Lives and Communities
Spirituality – steer away or steer towards?
We can no more do without spirituality than we can do without food, shelter or clothing – Bruce Lipton Despite the fact that there are plenty of us about, we don’t have as much information as we would like on people in long term recovery. In one study[1], Mark Galanter and colleagues took the opportunity … Continue reading Spirituality – steer away or steer towards?
The Opioid Settlement, Stigma, Disempowerment, and Nonconsensual Third-Party Releases
“We have to hammer on the abusers in every way possible, they are the culprits and the problem. They are reckless criminals.” - Dr. Richard Sackler The multibillion-dollar Opioid Settlement. The infamous first family of overdose deaths, the real criminals get awarded immunity. The “abusers” get hammered, once again. Families lost their chance at justice. … Continue reading The Opioid Settlement, Stigma, Disempowerment, and Nonconsensual Third-Party Releases
Are we losing our humanity in addiction treatment?
The shortest distance between two people is a story - Patti Digh I must have signed tens of thousands of prescriptions over the years for a variety of medical conditions from athlete's foot to diabetes. Not one patient, as far as I can remember, has congratulated me on my expertise around knowledge of the evidence … Continue reading Are we losing our humanity in addiction treatment?
Birth-Related Defects in the Alcoholic Family System
The topic of this article concerns defects in the alcoholic family system that are caused by the birth of a well baby. This article is not about defects found in a newborn. As we consider the topic of defects in the family system, for the purposes of this article, let’s consider the family system as … Continue reading Birth-Related Defects in the Alcoholic Family System
Recovery, activism, and character
Bill White recently wrote a powerful post about the intersection of recovery, character, and activism. First, on character as an essential element of recovery advocacy: What is the role of character reconstruction in addiction recovery? In recovery activism? I have repeatedly returned to these questions over the course of my adult life, especially as young … Continue reading Recovery, activism, and character
Alcohol deaths response – a whimper rather than a bang?
Given that there was a 17% year on year increase in fatalities and that the number of alcohol-specific deaths is a significant underestimate of deaths in which alcohol plays a part, I wondered in a tweet why there was a more muted reaction to the alcohol deaths than to the drug deaths. This touched a nerve it seems. A lot of responses were generated and I wanted to share some of the themes here.