Tag: Medicine

Diagnosing ADHD in detox?

~ Jason Schwartz ~ 3 Comments

Unreal. Someone's got an awful lot of faith in their diagnostic skills. Diagnosing ADHD with addicts in a detox unit? Really? And, now that it's published, it's "evidence". Rates of undiagnosed attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in London drug and alcohol detoxification units Background ADHD is a common childhood onset mental health disorder that persists into … Continue reading Diagnosing ADHD in detox?

Motivational Interviewing works, but no better than other treatments

~ Jason Schwartz

Cochrane conducts a meta-analysis of motivational interviewing (MI) and concludes that it's no more effective than other treatments. More than 76 million people worldwide have alcohol problems, and another 15 million have drug problems. Motivational interviewing (MI) is a psychological treatment that aims to help people cut down or stop using drugs and alcohol. The … Continue reading Motivational Interviewing works, but no better than other treatments

Acomprosate – A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study

~ Jason Schwartz

Recently published and found no "evidence of efficacy for acamprosate compared to placebo". However, "A goal of abstinence was significantly associated with improved drinking outcomes". Efficacy of Acamprosate for Alcohol Dependence in a Family Medicine Setting in the United States: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study Background Acamprosate has been found to enhance rates of complete … Continue reading Acomprosate – A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study

Beware of misleading headlines

~ Jason Schwartz ~ 6 Comments

A new article discussing the expanding use of medications in addiction treatment has the following sub heading: Experts are pushing for a truly medical approach to treating addiction as a disease rather than relying solely on longtime unproven therapies like 12-step programs. Unproven? Twelve Step Facilitation (TSF) is the treatment of choice for addicted physicians and they … Continue reading Beware of misleading headlines

Following the evidence

~ Jason Schwartz ~ 5 Comments

Ouch: Abstract: This paper raises the question about whether the data on the medications we call antidepressants justify the label of antidepressant. The authors argue that a true antidepressant should be clearly superior to placebo, should offer a risk/benefit balance that exceeds that of alternative treatments, should not increase suicidality, should not increase anxiety and … Continue reading Following the evidence

GlaxoSmithKline’s corruption

~ Jason Schwartz ~ 2 Comments

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

The medical model and recovery

~ Jason Schwartz ~ 1 Comment

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