I was recently invited to give a talk on recovery housing research and found myself wondering where the term “social model” came from. I found this account, which claims it was coined by a book published in 1973, Recovery from Alcoholism: A Social Treatment Model. That book’s principal author, Bob O’Briant, would go on to … Continue reading What a Radical 1970s Program Got Right about Treating Addiction
Tag: addiction
Is the California Recovery Pathway of Benefit or Bane?
“I am perfectly cured of the whisky habit, thanks to you and erthoxylon coca, but I can scarcely keep from forming a coca habit, becoming a “coquero”” – An 1889 letter from a patient to Dr W.H. Bently, Slaying the Dragon, the History of Addiction Treatment and Recovery in America - William White. Pg 146 … Continue reading Is the California Recovery Pathway of Benefit or Bane?
“Recovery pessimism is the lie that must be forever expunged from cultural consciousness”
Bill White has a new monograph out: Post Traumatic Growth and Flourishing in Addiction Recovery: A Critical Review and Commentary. Readers will know that I've long been concerned about the erosion of the boundaries of recovery. My concerns center around a few issues. Background Recovery Management introduced recovery as a disruptor to the status quo … Continue reading “Recovery pessimism is the lie that must be forever expunged from cultural consciousness”
Recovery Centered Research Requires Accepted Definitions of Recovery –
An Interview with Justin Bell, the Frontiers of Recovery Research Interview Series What is this series of interviews? In April of 2024, I had the distinct honor of being asked by author and thought leader of the new recovery advocacy movement, William White, to present his words publicly. It was the keynote to open up … Continue reading Recovery Centered Research Requires Accepted Definitions of Recovery –
Towards a Recovery Bill of Responsibilities: Stewardship of the Recovery Commons
This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of both Operation Understanding and Freedom Fest ’76, two of the most significant events in our history. The moment when some of the most respected Americans stood up publicly to be counted as members of the recovery community and to make recovery visible in our society. They stood up … Continue reading Towards a Recovery Bill of Responsibilities: Stewardship of the Recovery Commons
Covering Drugs
Visit http://www.coveringdrugs.org I often think about how difficult it is to find good information about addiction, drug use, recovery, drug policy, and advocacy around all these matters. There are so many sources providing incomplete and incorrect information, often very persuasively. I've spoken with so many family members and members of the media struggling to find … Continue reading Covering Drugs
An Interview with Caroline Beidler – The Future of Family Recovery as a Coproduced Collaborative Process of Resiliency: The Frontiers of Recovery Research Interview Series
What is this series of interviews? In April of 2024, I had the distinct honor of being asked by William White author and thought leader of the new recovery advocacy movement, to present his words as the keynote to open up the first annual NIDA Consortium on Addiction Recovery Science (CoARS) conference. The paper was … Continue reading An Interview with Caroline Beidler – The Future of Family Recovery as a Coproduced Collaborative Process of Resiliency: The Frontiers of Recovery Research Interview Series
Authenticity and Actualization: Stronger Through Our Brokenness, Together
"Know thyself"(γνῶθι σεαυτόν) – Inscribed on the Temple of Apollo at Delphi 4th century B.C.E For millennia, philosophy has grappled with our capacity to reach our fullest potential, barriers to these ends and the conditions under which we are most likely to actualize. William James (1842-1910), often called the "father of American psychology," well over … Continue reading Authenticity and Actualization: Stronger Through Our Brokenness, Together
Moving Beyond Macro Level Dysfunctional Dynamics – Supporting Addiction Recovery Efforts in America
On Tuesday, January 13th in the evening, around 9:30 PM on the east coast or 6:30 PM on the west coast, thousands of emails went out across America from SAMHSA, the nation’s mental health and substance use condition federal authority. Attached was a form letter notifying service providers, their staff and the people they served … Continue reading Moving Beyond Macro Level Dysfunctional Dynamics – Supporting Addiction Recovery Efforts in America
Will We Ever Move Beyond an Acute Crisis Orientation? The Absence of Recovery Research and Emerging Drugs
“What remains in diseases after the crisis is apt to produce relapses.” ― Hippocrates Our SUD evidence base tends to be myopic and crisis oriented. It is focused on first aid and short-term stabilization rather than on developing sustained recovery over time. Nowhere is this more evident than in our response to emerging drug combinations … Continue reading Will We Ever Move Beyond an Acute Crisis Orientation? The Absence of Recovery Research and Emerging Drugs