SAMHSA released the 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) Annual National Report this week. One of the sections that's gotten a lot of attention on Twitter is Substance Use Treatment in the Past Year. The item that seems to have received the most attention is Reasons for Not Receiving Substance Use Treatment. … Continue reading Reasons for not receiving substance use treatment

Action is in italics. What one lacks is held in circles. One asks for what one lacks.

Since its inception in the late 1990s, a central goal of the new recovery advocacy movement has been assuring the representation of recovering individuals and families in the decision-making venues that affect their lives. As this movement matured, the complexities of achieving such representation became increasingly apparent. Dynamics within and beyond communities of recovery can … Continue reading REFLECTIONS ON RECOVERY REPRESENTATION (BILL WHITE AND BILL STAUFFER)

Why consider the change process, and what is the application of the ideas I will present? Clinical addiction professionals are trained in sequential change (Stages of Change, 12 Steps, etc.) rather than continuously wholistic, organic and dynamic change processes.Should we always assume and work within a staged approach?Clinical addiction professionals are trained in symptom reduction … Continue reading The Change Process

This piece, entitled "Britain has to overhaul its attitude to drug use – moralising isn't the solution," popped up in my email and more than once in my twitter feed. Various versions of this argument are very common in drug policy circles, and I'd suggest (again) that it's the wrong direction to try to take … Continue reading Moralizing has no place in drug policy?

Something went awry with yesterday's post, so I'm reposting and adding a video shared in a comment. This interview with Keith Humphreys is well worth the time, particularly if you don't have first hand experience with 12 step recovery. https://soundcloud.com/stanfordmed/study-aa-best-for-alcohol-abstinence For more info, visit David McCartney's post on the Cochrane Review discussed in this interview. … Continue reading One of the fun things about science is that it can overturn your prejudices (trying again)

This interview with Keith Humphreys is well worth the time, particularly if you don't have first hand experience with 12 step recovery. For more info, visit David McCartney's post on the Cochrane Review discussed in this interview.

It is an age-old story, out of area well-meaning experts descend on a community bearing big ideas, big money and big projects to improve things for the natives. They build a road, dam, or a well or a school and fundamentally change the dynamics of things that were working in those communities before their arrival. … Continue reading A Cautionary Tale of Out of Town Experts, White Elephants and Erosion of Authentic Communities

Anil Seth is a neuroscientist whose main research interest is consciousness - a vast topic beyond the intent of this writing. I once attended a conference lecture Anil gave on consciousness during which Anil described a phenomenon I found very striking and I have never forgotten. To skip my verbal description of what Anil showed … Continue reading “One-Kind-Fits-All” Denial, All the Time