The Keys to Self-Regulation
by Thaddeus Camlin, Psy.D. We know now through research, experience, and common sense that all so-called “addicts” are not the same, and that addiction is not an intractable, lifelong condition that cannot be overcome. At the heart of addictive problems a compromised capacity for self-regulation is often found. Self-regulation is not a genetic trait that […]
Jails, Institutions, and Death, pt. II
by Thaddeus Camlin, Psy.D. Earlier this year I wrote a piece arguing that 12-step programs are wrong when they claim that drug use invariably leads to jails, institutions, or death. The piece generated a decent amount of dissenting responses (even more than most of the stuff I write!). Impassioned retorts proclaimed that I built a […]
Johns Hopkins Opens Psychedelic Research Center
by Thaddeus Camlin, Psy.D. They said acid fries your brain and makes you jump off buildings. They said shrooms make your brain bleed and that’s why they cause hallucinations. They said pot makes people murder their families. I don’t know exactly who ‘they’ are, but boy were they wrong. The prestigious Johns Hopkins University just […]
AA: Who it Helps, Who it Harms, Who it Kills, & Why (Preface)
AA: Who it Helps, Who it Harms, Who it Kills, & Why, by Edward W. Wilson, PhD Kindle edition available on Amazon Print edition, 66 pages, available here. Preface by Tom Horvath, PhD (reprinted here by permission) The psychological development of children is well studied. We know what children at different developmental levels can […]
How to Provide Basic Addiction Treatment
by Tom Horvath, PhD., ABPP This blog is addressed to psychotherapists who do not view themselves as capable of providing addiction treatment. Many (if not most) therapists have this perspective. However, as I have suggested for many years, individual therapy (possibly supplemented by couple’s and family therapy) is the setting of choice for most individuals […]
Addiction is Learning, Not Disease
by Thaddeus Camlin, PsyD New England Journal of Medicine Article Says: Addiction is Learning, Not Disease One of the world’s most prestigious journals just published an article saying that addiction is not disease. Not surprisingly, an uproar is underway. Devotees to the disease model of addiction are not happy, but sometimes the truth hurts. The article […]
How Should We Spend Any Opiate Settlement Funds?
The “tobacco settlement” was reached in 1998 after five years of litigation. Tobacco manufacturers agreed to change some business and marketing practices, and to pay over $200 billion spread over 25 years (with continued payments thereafter) to reimburse 46 states for their expenses in treating tobacco-related illnesses. Opiate Settlements There are now hundreds of opiate […]
The National Recovery Study
by Tom Horvath, PhD, ABPP The US media often presents stories about substance problems. However, there are fewer stories about how individuals resolve these problems. The National Recovery Study (Kelly, Bergman, Hoeppner, Vilsaint, & White, 2017) was an effort to estimate how many in the US have resolved substance problems, and how they did so. […]
Addiction Treatment Can be Harmful
by Tom Horvath, Ph.D., ABPP. Clients often attempt to choose addiction treatment carefully. Typically, they search for a “program” suitable to their problems, at least as they understand their problems. Unfortunately, most clients are uneducated about addiction. They are not professionals, and the addiction treatment industry and media often present inaccurate information. Consequently, clients can […]
AA, SMART, LifeRing and WFS Found Comparably Effective
by Tom Horvath, Ph.D. According to a new ground-breaking study, individuals attending SMART, LifeRing and WFS now have scientific support for their choice to attend these groups. As with all new scientific findings, we have a reached a new vantage point from which to consider both next research efforts, and the clinical implications of what […]