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
“One-Kind-Fits-All” Denial, All the Time
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
Supporting Long term Recovery and the Tragedy of the Commons
Strengthening and supporting long term recovery for diverse communities across multiple pathways of recovery is a goal that would reap huge benefits for our entire society. As I have written about before, the single most important focus of substance use treatment and recovery policy in the United States should be on getting as many people … Continue reading Supporting Long term Recovery and the Tragedy of the Commons
Recovering community as political fiction
This was originally posted in 2011 and seems like a appropriate follow-up to yesterday's post. I suppose the notion that the the recovery community is a useful fiction can take us in multiple directions. If the recovery community is a fiction, then it's boundaries are also a fiction, not static, and can be changed (expanded) at … Continue reading Recovering community as political fiction
Building big tents and finding our lane(s)
Faces and Voices' blog has a new post arguing that social justice advocacy is in the recovery advocacy lane. I don’t get to pick recovery justice outside of the frame of social justice because recovery justice is social justice. This doesn’t mean I need to be an expert on all social justice issues, but I … Continue reading Building big tents and finding our lane(s)
The Road Ahead: Marginalization or Inclusion of the Faces and Voices of Recovery?
"What is past is prologue" as William Shakespeare once said. While this does not mean that history is fated to repeat itself, it does point to the tendency for patterns to echo. Understanding those patterns can help us understand the present and potential risks we face currently. Readers interested in learning about our history, the … Continue reading The Road Ahead: Marginalization or Inclusion of the Faces and Voices of Recovery?
Is It Too Late to Ask, “What Is Empathy?”
Is the person that is speaking relatively known or relatively unknown to us? Do we hear their words, or do we hear them (their person)? As we listen, how do we determine if we hear or neglect their words? As we listen, how do we determine if we hear or neglect their person? As we … Continue reading Is It Too Late to Ask, “What Is Empathy?”
Older Model 2.0, Newer Model 3.0
When I entered full time clinical work back in 1988, I entered the primary SUD (vs primary MH) side of a relatively large community agency with dozens of units and specialty programs spread across the city, and a dedication to innovative services. One of those innovative programs was a 24/7/365 mobile crisis intervention program called … Continue reading Older Model 2.0, Newer Model 3.0
Cognitive Bias and Public Health Policy
JAMA has an article on cognitive bias as it relates to public health policy for COVID-19. These cognitive errors, which distract leaders from optimal policy making and citizens from taking steps to promote their own and others’ interests, cannot merely be ascribed to repudiations of science. Rather, these biases are pervasive and may have been … Continue reading Cognitive Bias and Public Health Policy
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