The disease perspective discourages many people from seeking help and implies that addiction is a disease. Suppose you have had a “few too many,” and you have done so a few too many times in recent weeks or months. You might also be interested in: Addiction is Learning, Not Disease Most people, under these circumstances...

Racism, dogmatism, and sexism are the judgments that one race, set of beliefs, or sex are superior. I am introducing the term “recoveryism,” defined as the judgment that one approach to recovery is superior. Recoveryism often gets even more extreme: there is only ONE approach to recovery. Any other “approach” is just pseudo-recovery. Individuals who try these pseudo-recoveries will...

Research shows that substance use disorder (SUD) patients who attend 12-step mutual help groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous experience reduced healthcare costs and better outcomes. However, many individuals with SUD never attend 12-step meetings, while others who attend initially do not follow through. The reasons for non-attendance and dropout of 12-step meetings have not been...

Traditional Chinese medicine revolves around herbal remedies and acupuncture for addiction recovery. Might these ancient therapies be successfully used in modern addiction treatment? Chinese and American researchers studied the existing evidence and concluded that, although more testing is need, some traditional remedies can compliment modern medicine for promoting addiction recovery (Lu et. al., 2009). What We...

The United States has the world’s highest incarceration rate. Approximately 10 million individuals are sent to prison each year, and more than half of them have a history of substance abuse. Further, more than 200,000 have a history of heroin addiction. A recent study suggests that the prison system could improve addiction treatment offered to inmates. Nunn...

Resolving the core of drug abuse David Jacobs, Ph.D. When I see a “drug abuser” in addiction treatment my primary concern is to help the individual understand how the past remains in the present and to consider how that past and present might be changed, with the goal of ending the costs that arise when drugs are...

Detoxification from addictive substances A. Tom Horvath, Ph.D., ABPP Detoxification (“detox”), or withdrawal, is the period of time it takes your body to adjust to being without a substance which it is used to having regularly.  During this time period, a previous bodily “homeostasis” is restored, one based on not using the substance or substances. ...

Residential addiction treatment: Possibly helpful, probably not essential A. Tom Horvath, Ph.D., ABPP The reason almost all health insurance companies have stopped paying for residential addiction treatment is that the effectiveness of residential treatment and outpatient treatment has been compared many times, with no advantage being found for residential treatment.  The July 1986, issue of the American Psychologist contains...