A recent letter to JAMA analyzes the National Survey of Drug Use and Health regarding the need for treatment: Among 657 583 participants, the prevalence of individuals needing SUD treatment increased from 8.2% in 2013 to 17.1% in 2023. AUD increased from 6.6% to 10.2%, while DUD increased from 2.6% to 9.6%. OUD more than doubled … Continue reading Substance use disorder sets off a cascade of category errors
Tag: Mental Health
Low Expectations Yield Low Rates of Recovery from Addiction
The primary limitation in life is our low expectations for ourselves and others. When we expect minimum results, that's usually what we get.” - John C. Maxwell How are we measuring our war against addiction in the United States? We have one single metric in the arena of public discourse on our progress. The increase … Continue reading Low Expectations Yield Low Rates of Recovery from Addiction
Drugs and alcohol in the NY Times
The NY Times had a couple of pieces on alcohol and drug problems this week. (credit: Jonas Bengtsson) First, an audio story about a Maine doctor operating a MOUD clinic in a county jail. Her commitment and advocacy are admirable. There are a couple of striking things to the story. First, she makes a case for … Continue reading Drugs and alcohol in the NY Times
Macro Level Moral Injury Within the SUD Care System – Our Unaddressed Imperative
Authors note - I first wrote on this topic in Recovery Review in 2021. It was also picked up by Treatment Magazine. Since then, overall overdose mortality rates have decreased slightly which is being reported quite broadly despite the fact that they are dramatically increasing in African American communities. Alcohol death rates have increased at … Continue reading Macro Level Moral Injury Within the SUD Care System – Our Unaddressed Imperative
Recovery Redefined: Shifts Across Domains and Contexts
I've posted several times about the changing boundaries of recovery. A recovery science pioneer's thoughts on the boundaries of recovery. On typologies for recovery. On questions about the boundaries of recovery-oriented models of care. On the changing definitions. On research regarding some college students being assigned a recovery label and questioning whether it's appropriate for … Continue reading Recovery Redefined: Shifts Across Domains and Contexts
Addiction Treatment and the Multiple Echoes of History – Lessons to Heed
“If you want a new idea, read an old book” - Ivan Pavlov In respect to efforts to expand addiction recovery in America, our new challenges often have historic parallels. It is also true that some of the very best ideas we may be able to harness to move our endeavors forward have roots in … Continue reading Addiction Treatment and the Multiple Echoes of History – Lessons to Heed
2024’s Top Posts – #1 – 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 2024’s Top Posts – #1 – 12-Step Facilitation is the eighth most frequently used therapeutic approach in treatment facilities
2024’s Top Posts – #2 – 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 2024’s Top Posts – #2 – Multiple pathways as a disruptor: from what to what?
2024’s Top Posts – #3 – 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 2024’s Top Posts – #3 – The allegory of the lake: The implications of an Inclusive Recovery Cities model for prevention and early intervention
Moderation or abstinence? The right endpoint for the right problem type
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vb2-R6nDzDc I've seen this segment from the PBS News Hour get some attention recently. Segment Summary The focus of the segment is the use, more specifically the lack of use, of naltrexone for alcohol problems. It rightly points out that the scale and toll of alcohol problems dwarf most other drugs. Deaths attributed to heavy … Continue reading Moderation or abstinence? The right endpoint for the right problem type
Recovery Review 