Although the signs are good that journeys to residential rehabilitation in Scotland are about to get a lot easier, there are still some challenges to face. We could quadruple capacity, but if the pathways are not there or blocks exist, more places will make little difference. Not everyone is a fan of rehab and in … Continue reading Need rehab? How can we hinder you?
Tag: Drug rehabilitation
Drug deaths in Scotland: hope on the horizon?
This week in Scotland we’ve been reeling from the impact of the publication of the 2019 drug-related death statistics. The awful graphs are everywhere, their bright colours standing in sharp contrast to the horror they relate. Our feelings clamour for attention, a powerful mixture of anger, grief, bewilderment and shame. The newspapers are full of … Continue reading Drug deaths in Scotland: hope on the horizon?
Residential rehabilitation in Scotland: what’s going on?
For a significant number of people in recovery, rehab has been part of their journey, yet the truth is that we know very little about residential rehabilitation in Scotland. In the summer of 2020, the Scottish Government public health minister, Joe Fitzpatrick, set up a working group to explore the subject. I was asked to … Continue reading Residential rehabilitation in Scotland: what’s going on?
…let us work together
The last couple of days' posts, a recent conversation and some recent news (I'll let you guess which story.) reminded me of this post. It's from a couple of years ago and has a couple of minor updates. "If you have come here to help me, then you are wasting your time… But if … Continue reading …let us work together
Personal Failure or System Failure?
Bill White explaining why inadequate treatment may be worse than no treatment: What we know from primary medicine is that ineffective treatments (via placebo effects) or an inadequate dose of a potentially effective treatment (e.g., as in antibiotic treatment of bacterial infections) may temporarily suppress symptoms. Such treatments create the illusion of resumed health, but … Continue reading Personal Failure or System Failure?
…let us work together
"If you have come here to help me, then you are wasting your time… But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together." - Lila Watson Obviously, I've been thinking a lot about the buprenorphine maintenance, the NY Times series and the reactions since it was published. … Continue reading …let us work together
What makes treatment effective?
This will be my post in response to the NY Times' series on Suboxone. This post originally ran on 7/19/13 and addressed a lot of our concerns. * * * I've been catching a lot of heat recently for posts about Suboxone and methadone. (For the sake of this post, lets refer to … Continue reading What makes treatment effective?
Addiction and quality of life
David Best recently wrote a piece on addiction and quality of life. On the role of community in recovery: At the heart of the recovery movement is a shift of emphasis away from “treatment” as a model reliant on professionally delivered interventions. Rather, the movement sees the recovery journey an intrinsically social process and … Continue reading Addiction and quality of life
Hazelden and Betty Ford have merged
From USA Today: The Betty Ford Center and the Hazelden Foundation have formally merged to become the nation's largest nonprofit addiction treatment provider. ... Officials have openly discussed their struggle to compete with a boom in boutique centers, whose spa-like programs also treat gambling and sex addictions. Instead of a waiting list at the Betty Ford Center, … Continue reading Hazelden and Betty Ford have merged
As the ACA expands coverage for addiction, can the system deliver?
The AP recently ran an article looking at the horizon for addition treatment under the Affordable Care Act expansion in insurance coverage: The surge in patients is expected to push a marginal part of the health care system out of church basements and into the mainstream of medical care. Already, the prospect of more paying patients … Continue reading As the ACA expands coverage for addiction, can the system deliver?
