Unanswered Questions on the Evolving Role of Lived Experienceย 

Lived experience has long been a significant component of addiction treatment and recovery. In recent years, its prominence has only grown as mainstream medicine seeks to infuse lived experience into the standard of care for not only substance use disorder (SUD) treatment, but across the larger behavioral health field. However, as the field evolves, determining … Continue reading Unanswered Questions on the Evolving Role of Lived Experienceย 

The war against โ€˜pathology pornโ€™: How can we make recovery research strengths-based and generative

by David Best, Sharynne Hamilton, Noreen Demeria, Tom Karl The problem  Assessments for drug and alcohol treatment are generally miserable affairs. For both parties. As a result of worries about governance, risk, safety, funding etc, the person seeking help is often confronted by a โ€˜professionalโ€™ armed with a questionnaire that is made up of standardised … Continue reading The war against โ€˜pathology pornโ€™: How can we make recovery research strengths-based and generative

Am I in recovery?

A recent paper on collegiate recovery experiences highlights an important dynamic in recovery advocacy, recovery science, and recovery policy. I've commented a lot on the conceptual boundaries of recovery in the blog -- the relationship between addiction (or SUD or other compulsive behaviors) and recovery; whether recovery is a process, a direction, or an outcome; … Continue reading Am I in recovery?

Partnering in pursuit of truth and recovery

Bill Stauffer recently shared Bill White's keynote from this week's Consortium on Addiction Recovery Science. It's a great speech and there's a lot to absorb. I'm sure more will be said about it on this blog. White frames recovery research as emerging from a gaping hole in professional/clinical and scientific/research knowledge related to recovery. To … Continue reading Partnering in pursuit of truth and recovery

The allegory of the lake: The implications of an Inclusive Recovery Cities model for prevention and early intervention

Position Paper: Centre for Addiction Recovery Research (by David Best) Rationale and background: The inclusive cities model was originally conceptualised by Best and Colman (2018) based on the idea that recovery is an achievement that should be celebrated in order to: Challenge stigma and exclusion Increase visibility of recovery and access to community resources In … Continue reading The allegory of the lake: The implications of an Inclusive Recovery Cities model for prevention and early intervention

BC safer supply associated with an increase in hospitalizations (but not deaths)

JAMA Internal Medicine just published a study on the impact of a safer supply program. First the background: In March 2020, British Columbia became the first jurisdiction globally to launch a provincewide Safer Opioid Supply policy that allows individuals at high risk of overdose to receive pharmaceutical-grade opioids free of charge prescribed by a physician … Continue reading BC safer supply associated with an increase in hospitalizations (but not deaths)

Lessons from Rehab

Residential rehab for drug and alcohol problems is a long-established treatment. Recent research has added to the evidence base. In this article, Dr David McCartney passes on the lessons learned from rehab at LEAP, taken from evaluation, research and experience.