The details are simultaneously exactly what you'd expect and shocking. And some people wonder why we're reluctant to embrace the latest and greatest pharmacological fad. Keep all of this in mind next time someone suggests that medicalizing addiction treatment will improve professionalism, ethics and reliance on scientific evidence. Sham advisory boards: Glaxo also used sham … Continue reading GlaxoSmithKline’s corruption
Tag: Health
The medical model and recovery
Yesterday's post about the disease model and recovery got me thinking about complaints that treatment is not medical enough. It's worth noting that mental health treatment has a medical model and these patients believe it's been harmful to them. What they want is something more like the holistic lifestyle approach, peer support and talk therapy that one … Continue reading The medical model and recovery
“Disease” and recovery
“Once I became my diagnosis, there was no one left to recover.” Yesterday's Pat Deegan post led me to Dr. Daniel Fisher's work on mental illness recovery. He promotes an "empowerment" model of recovery that he contrasts with a "rehabilitation" model of recovery. According to this vision, one is capable of recovering from the mental … Continue reading “Disease” and recovery
Deconstructing “it works”
Healthcare, etc. has a great post deconstructing what it means to say a treatment works: What exactly does it mean when we say that a treatment works? Do we mean the same thing for all treatments? Are there different ways of assessing whether and how well a treatment works? I am sure you've guessed that … Continue reading Deconstructing “it works”
Coming of Age on Zoloft
An interesting take on anti-depressants from a writer who has benefited from them: The mainstreaming of medication has bred confusion about what’s normal. In some sectors, we’ve grown so vigilant about the possibility of having a mental disorder that this vigilance becomes counterproductive, a source of anxiety in itself. Every negative emotion becomes a potential sign or … Continue reading Coming of Age on Zoloft
The political left and prohibition
Andrew Sullivan picks up on Jack Meserve's discussion of the political left and prohibition: Meserve: Think of a few of the currently illegal vices: recreational drug use, gambling, prostitution. With some exceptions, the left has been in favor of legalization or decriminalization of these activities. Now think of legal vices: gluttony, cigarette smoking, alcohol use. … Continue reading The political left and prohibition
The truth is dangerous
How hard is it for the DEA to have an honest conversation about drugs? Below is testimony from the director. Note the incoherence. “Is crack worse for a person than marijuana?” Polis asked Leonhart. “I believe all illegal drugs are bad,” Leonhart answered. Polis continued, asking whether methamphetamines and heroin were worse for a person's … Continue reading The truth is dangerous
A Brief History of Queer Experience with Addiction and Recovery
There are a lot of generalizations about LGBT communities and treatment, but this is an interesting commentary on the place of addiction and recovery in the queer health agenda: As early as 1970, gay activists in recovery began to challenge AA in the flurry of queer-positive activity that followed Stonewall, petitioning AA for the right … Continue reading A Brief History of Queer Experience with Addiction and Recovery
Residential?
From the United States Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control: 11. Finding: Traditionally, U.S. Presidents – through ONDCP – have divided drug demand reduction into two main categories: prevention and treatment. However, the Obama Administration has added a third area: recovery. For the first time ever, in its 2010 National Drug Control Strategy, ONDCP focused on the need to invest in … Continue reading Residential?
What we spend on health
This infographic is from a report on obesity and it's set off a debate its accuracy. But it gets at a point I've made before. And, the more I learn, the clearer it becomes that this general principle applies to medical problems, mental health problems and addiction. To me, this doesn't make a case for … Continue reading What we spend on health
Recovery Review 