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

Language, social justice, access to care, symbolic capital, and recovery advocacy

(source: cultural iceberg from lcw) Many times over the years I've expressed frustration with the field's emphasis on language while it's not clear to me that a whole lot of progress has been made in access to recovery-oriented care of adequate quality, intensity, and duration. (See here, here, here, here, and here.) I just finished … Continue reading Language, social justice, access to care, symbolic capital, and recovery advocacy

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

2024’s Top Posts – #4 – 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 2024’s Top Posts – #4 – The war against ‘pathology porn’: How can we make recovery research strengths-based and generative

2024’s Top Posts – #9 – A War on Recovery?

STAT just ran another article in its "War on Recovery" series and continues its narrative of casting recovering people in Narcotics Anonymous and non-agonist recovery pathways as the villains. There's an important story undergirding this article (and the previous article attacking recovering people in NA) -- that there are important gaps in social support for … Continue reading 2024’s Top Posts – #9 – A War on Recovery?

Opioid settlement funds will be “a really nice tailwind”

The NYT recently published an article on allegations of ethics violations and fraud in Acadia Healthcare's methadone clinics. It's a big deal because Acadia is big, really big. "The for-profit chain of 165 methadone clinics — the country’s largest — has generated more than $1.3 billion in revenue since 2022." The allegations include not providing … Continue reading Opioid settlement funds will be “a really nice tailwind”

Occam’s Razor and the Industries of Addiction

Addiction is immensely profitable for purveyors of drugs and their related businesses, both in the illicit and legitimate markets. As I wrote about last year, in  Portraying Abstinence Recovery as Puritanical Is in the Interest of Those Who Sell Addictive Drugs, industries selling addictive drugs have long targeted high-risk groups including youth and people in … Continue reading Occam’s Razor and the Industries of Addiction