Fentanyl Overdose and the Opioid Epidemic By Thaddeus Camlin, PsyD. As if the opioid crisis wasn’t already bad enough, fentanyl’s infiltration of the epidemic is acting like an accelerant to an already uncontained wildfire.  Fentanyl surged to public awareness after being attributed to the demise of music legend Prince which was determined to be due to a fentanyl overdose.  Beyond its notoriety for being the Prince Slayer, fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid whose analogues can be up to 10,000 times more potent than morphine. First made in 1960, building off of the creation of demerol, fentanyl entered mainstream medical practice as an anesthetic.  The fentanyl patch, lollipop, and sublingual spray were introduced to palliative care in the 1990s, and by 2012 fentanyl was the ...

FBI Raids Rehabs in SoCal and Florida Rehab Unraveling By Thaddeus Camlin, Psy.D. Light is now exposing the shadiness that cloaks the world of rehab.  Recent FBI raids in south Florida and southern California are revealing a network of conmen making fortunes off the vulnerability of people with substance use problems and their families.  A relentless pursuit of profit over product and a lack of regulation and oversight fostered a treatment world where the unscrupulous were able to dominate the market and overshadow the treatment professionals with an ethical backbone and genuine desire to help people who are hurting.   Now, it appears the swan song is in full swing for the predatory miscreants tainting the healing efforts of the many honest addiction treatment providers. FBI rai...

Suicide and Addiction By Thaddeus Camlin, Psy.D. The recent success of the Netflix series entitled, 13 Reasons Why, along with the death of Chris Cornell, brought suicide into the forefront of American consciousness.  The relationship between suicide and addiction is well established – substance use problems are the #2 risk factor for suicide (depression is #1, and it frequently co-occurs with substance use problems).  Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States  This article will explore the difference between risk factors and warning signs for suicide.  It will then offer suggestions for what to do if you or a loved one struggles with the pain that pushes people to seek relief from extreme methods like addiction and suicide. Warning Signs Warning signs for su...

American Healthcare and Addiction Treatment by Tom Horvath, Ph.D., ABPP With the passage of “Trumpcare” in the House we have renewed our national focus on healthcare legislation. Rather than address the specifics of this bill, let’s step back and consider two often over-looked “big picture” factors when it comes to American healthcare and addiction treatment. 1) What is the role of government in healthcare? Although in the US we like to think of ourselves as “the best,” in healthcare we are best perhaps in only one way. The very best medical care in the world is available here, if you have the money to pay for it. The Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, Massachusetts General, Johns Hopkins, UCLA, and other renowned facilities attract wealthy patients from around the world. These cente...

How to Pick a Good Therapist by Thaddeus Camlin, Psy.D. One of my favorite professors often espoused that, “when it comes to therapists, the competition is at the level of mediocrity.”  Finding the right therapist can be quite an undertaking.  In the world of therapists there are countless therapeutic modalities, certifications, qualifications, and credentials.  This article hopes to help one navigate the multitudinous therapeutic acronyms, degrees, and services out there to find the right fit for you. Read on for information on how to pick a good therapist. The world of addiction and recovery presents some unique challenges to finding a good therapist.  Three primary types of providers make up the options for therapists when it comes to addiction: certified drug and alcohol coun...

Alcohol, Drugs, and Health: Highlights from The Surgeon General's Report Tom Horvath, Ph.D., and Thaddeus Camlin, Psy.D. Facing Addiction in America: The Surgeon General’s Report on Alcohol, Drugs and Health, released in November, has received considerable attention. The massive effort involved in creating this document is in itself worthy of respect. The opening pages list seven science editors, three managing editors, five contributing editors, 21 contributing authors, one science writer, 117 reviewers, and 10 other contributors (these individuals apparently being mostly involved in production). The professionals involved include many of the most important individuals in the fields of addiction and recovery. You may have heard the expression that a camel is a horse that was des...

by Thaddeus Camlin, Psy.D. The Surgeon General's Report and the US Prescription Drug Epidemic Trusted Physician or Neighborhood Drug Dealer? It is no secret that the United States has a serious problem when it comes to prescription drugs.  Heroin’s renaissance is puzzling to many, but the trail of evidence leads back to our own medical community.  This week’s article explores the current prescription drug epidemic in light of the recent Surgeon General’s report. The Surgeon General’s Facing Addiction in America report includes startling statistics that paint a grave picture of the current epidemic in the United States.  Opioids alone account for nearly 300 million prescriptions every year and have accordingly taken the crown for most prescribed medications in the U.S.  The addicti...

David H. Jacobs, Ph.D. 1945-2016 In Memoriam Our brilliant and beloved colleague, David Jacobs, died last month. He had been with Practical Recovery since 2003. David was a therapist’s therapist. In our era most therapists rush to learn the latest evidence-based techniques. David was not opposed to new ideas, but his focus was on continually refining the basics of the psychotherapeutic art: listening well, responding authentically, developing a relationship that is simultaneously a working relationship and to some extent a personal one, all in service of fundamental change, perhaps in both parties. I believe that all of us at Practical Recovery benefited from our collaboration with this therapeutic sage. We will miss him deeply.   With the permission of his wife the home...

by Tom Horvath, Ph.D., ABPP How can the United States improve addiction treatment? The ultimate goal of support for overcoming problematic addictive behavior is to improve individual health and well-being while reducing societal costs associated with the behavior.  Several countries (e.g., Portugal, Switzerland, the Netherlands) are much more effective than the US in providing this support, which can include professional services (treatment) as well as a variety of non-professional and informal support. Calling for Change in US Addiction Treatment In the US a rational, medical and psychological approach would improve a system that has been overly influenced by the punitive aspects of drug prohibition and the diversity-suppressing dominance of the 12-step spiritual approach (which ha...

by Tom Horvath, PhD, ABPP Why individual sessions in addiction treatment are important One of the most frequent complaints I hear from clients who have attended other treatment facilities is “I almost never had an individual session.” Why are frequent individual sessions unusual in US addiction treatment, and why are they important? Groups led by drug and alcohol counselors save money A business reason to provide treatment primarily in groups is to lower costs. All businesses want to save on labor costs. In many cases groups are oriented around a well-established curriculum, designed to help clients “get the program.” Getting the program typically involves accepting the perspective that “I have a disease, I need to go to meetings for the rest of my life, I can never drink again, my ...