Recovery Flourishing as an Act of Rebellion!

This guest post was written by Mark Sanders, LCSW, CADC and is cross-posted from the Online Museum of African American Addictions, Treatment and Recovery Recovery Advocate, Senior Research Consultant and the substance use disorder profession’s number one historian William White has written another groundbreaking Monograph entitled, Post Traumatic Growth and Flourishing in Addiction Recovery. I predict this … Continue reading Recovery Flourishing as an Act of Rebellion!

What a Radical 1970s Program Got Right about Treating Addiction

I was recently invited to give a talk on recovery housing research and found myself wondering where the term “social model” came from. I found this account, which claims it was coined by a book published in 1973, Recovery from Alcoholism: A Social Treatment Model. That book’s principal author, Bob O’Briant, would go on to … Continue reading What a Radical 1970s Program Got Right about Treating Addiction

“Recovery pessimism is the lie that must be forever expunged from cultural consciousness”

Bill White has a new monograph out: Post Traumatic Growth and Flourishing in Addiction Recovery: A Critical Review and Commentary. Readers will know that I've long been concerned about the erosion of the boundaries of recovery. My concerns center around a few issues. Background Recovery Management introduced recovery as a disruptor to the status quo … Continue reading “Recovery pessimism is the lie that must be forever expunged from cultural consciousness”

Recovery Centered Research Requires Accepted Definitions of Recovery –

An Interview with Justin Bell, the Frontiers of Recovery Research Interview Series What is this series of interviews? In April of 2024, I had the distinct honor of being asked by author and thought leader of the new recovery advocacy movement, William White, to present his words publicly. It was the keynote to open up … Continue reading Recovery Centered Research Requires Accepted Definitions of Recovery –

Towards a Recovery Bill of Responsibilities: Stewardship of the Recovery Commons

This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of both Operation Understanding and Freedom Fest ’76, two of the most significant events in our history. The moment when some of the most respected Americans stood up publicly to be counted as members of the recovery community and to make recovery visible in our society. They stood up … Continue reading Towards a Recovery Bill of Responsibilities: Stewardship of the Recovery Commons

An Interview with Caroline Beidler – The Future of Family Recovery as a Coproduced Collaborative Process of Resiliency: The Frontiers of Recovery Research Interview Series

What is this series of interviews? In April of 2024, I had the distinct honor of being asked by William White author and thought leader of the new recovery advocacy movement, to present his words as the keynote to open up the first annual NIDA Consortium on Addiction Recovery Science (CoARS) conference. The paper was … Continue reading An Interview with Caroline Beidler – The Future of Family Recovery as a Coproduced Collaborative Process of Resiliency: The Frontiers of Recovery Research Interview Series

Authenticity and Actualization: Stronger Through Our Brokenness, Together  

"Know thyself"(γνῶθι σεαυτόν) – Inscribed on the Temple of Apollo at Delphi 4th century B.C.E For millennia, philosophy has grappled with our capacity to reach our fullest potential, barriers to these ends and the conditions under which we are most likely to actualize. William James (1842-1910), often called the "father of American psychology," well over … Continue reading Authenticity and Actualization: Stronger Through Our Brokenness, Together  

Moving Beyond Macro Level Dysfunctional Dynamics – Supporting Addiction Recovery Efforts in America

On Tuesday, January 13th in the evening, around 9:30 PM on the east coast or 6:30 PM on the west coast, thousands of emails went out across America from SAMHSA, the nation’s mental health and substance use condition federal authority.  Attached was a form letter notifying service providers, their staff and the people they served … Continue reading Moving Beyond Macro Level Dysfunctional Dynamics – Supporting Addiction Recovery Efforts in America

Public Interest or Industry Interest: the Economics and Politics of Minimizing Alcohol Harm

“Knowledge is in every country the surest basis of public happiness.” – George Washington, First Annual Message to Congress, 1790 Last January a report on alcohol and health was posted by the US Department of Health and Human Services for public comment, Draft Report: Scientific Findings of the Alcohol Intake & Health Study for Public … Continue reading Public Interest or Industry Interest: the Economics and Politics of Minimizing Alcohol Harm