Topic: treatment models

The benefits of the program are framed mostly in terms of harm reduction– what doesn’t happen.

As any case manager knows, making a referral can be a challenge, since many fall by the wayside during transition to another provider, different therapist, etc.

From a patient’s viewpoint, physicians can be somewhat blase’ about risks associated with a medication.

Reliable stats on relapse can be hard to come by, but return-to-heroin rates appear to run above 80% (and in some cases, higher).

I never saw much difference between a lawyer or a doctor bitching about his job in group, and the same behavior from a CPA or a techie or a long-distance trucker.

In that respect, you could say that our ally in change is addiction itself.

The system that was supposed to help them was unwittingly undermining their recovery.

We spend a great deal of time in treatment seeking to increase patient motivation, but these programs do not rely on a motivated patient.

It also suggests that the ‘return to heroin’ rate among former maintenance clients may be even higher.