Here are a few sentences to ponder, as we process the latest data on the overdose crisis: Most drug epidemics don’t simply disappear: they transform themselves into something else. For example, periods of excessive stimulant use are often followed by periods of rising alcohol, sedative and opiate use. There are drug-facilitated cycles of stimulation, introspection, … Continue reading the evolving drug tastes of society
Tag: Mental Health
Nora Volkow on More Realistic And Pragmatic Addiction Treatment
(This post was originally published on 2/6/2022) Source: NIDA There is and can be no ultimate solution for us to discover, but instead a permanent need for balancing contradictory claims, for careful trade-offs between conflicting values, toleration of difference, consideration of the specific factors at play when a choice is needed, not reliance on an … Continue reading Nora Volkow on More Realistic And Pragmatic Addiction Treatment
12-Step Facilitation is the eighth most frequently used therapeutic approach in treatment facilities
There are a lot of problems in addiction treatment, but 12-step hegemony is not the problem that advocates and media coverage would lead one to believe. There's a widely held belief that 12-step culture exerts a smothering pro-abstinence stranglehold on public health and policy responses to substance use. It's a strange phenomenon when one considers … Continue reading 12-Step Facilitation is the eighth most frequently used therapeutic approach in treatment facilities
Addiction, Stigma, and Liberation
(Originally posted August 14, 2022) I recently stumbled on this educational page about stigma from the National Harm Reduction Coalition. It's well done and illuminates the assumptions and goals for their stigma reduction efforts. They frame responding to drug use as a choice between liberation and stigma, with harm reduction as the path to liberation. … Continue reading Addiction, Stigma, and Liberation
Multiple pathways as a disruptor: from what to what?
"Multiple pathways to recovery" has been popularized by the new recovery advocacy movement (NRAM) and Recovery Oriented Systems of Care (ROSC), but the concept has been around since at least 1944. The September 1944 issue of Alcoholics Anonymous' Grapevine published an article by Philip Wylie, describing his solo recovery supported by psychologists and reading. Bill … Continue reading Multiple pathways as a disruptor: from what to what?
Unanswered Questions on the Evolving Role of Lived Experience
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 Experience
The war against ‘pathology porn’: 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 ‘professional’ armed with a questionnaire that is made up of standardised … Continue reading The war against ‘pathology porn’: 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
Recovery Review 