Into the Church Basement

💥💥💥Don’t tell anyone, but I went to a meeting last night.

Again, keep it quiet, but I have issues.

So I attend a certain type of meeting where we talk about how to best deal with said issues.

So I walk into the church basement and I join a crowd of people with “issues”.

The average age in the room was probably mid-50’s.

The average amount of time in recovery from “issues” was probably 20 plus years.

I’m sure there were a couple of newer and younger people in that room. But you had to pay close attention to find them.

But that is beside the point.

A fascinating story was shared.

The Story

This dude with a bunch of time “dealing with issues” was talking about struggling back in the day.

Like in the 1980’s.

Apparently he had some trouble before it “finally stuck”.

He said he was a chronic relapser (his term not mine), and “for years I was in and out and in and out”.

He talked about how bad it got.

As they say, jails and institutions and near death.

Meetings

Then he shared that there was a group of men from the “meetings” who “kept coming to see me”.

They would meet him at hospitals, come to see him in jail, they met him for coffee. He said “they just kept showing up”.

He was emotional when talking about it. It clearly touched him even 30 years later.

It Got Me Thinking

Who the hell came up with this “wait until they hit bottom” bullshit”?

What kind of person tells another person “you just need more pain” and “come back when you want it”.

How did this attitude become the prevailing attitude?

IT DOESN’T REPRESENT THE FOUNDATIONAL SPIRIT OF RECOVERY.

Back in the day Bill W and Dr. Bob would go out to hospitals looking for “alcoholics”.

They would literally walk up to the nursing station and say “you have any alcoholics we can help”.

They did not wait for people to show up.

I know we can’t reach everyone. But we can change our attitude.

“They need to hit bottom and come and get it” is a paradigm that needs to be transformed.

Think about it??? Rich.

ABOUT RICH JONES MA, MBA, LCAS, SAP
EVP & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, HERITAGE CARES

Executive Vice President (EVP) at Heritage Health Solutions, Inc.
Chief Strategy Officer Co-Founder at Youturn,
CEO at Wellness Partners Group
CEO/President at Jones Solutions Group
Former CEO at FAVOR Greenville

Visit Heritage Health at – Click Here

For Addiction Support Info – Click Here

Please Subscribe to the Recovery Cartel – Click Here

The post Who Came Up With This “Wait Until They Hit Bottom” Bullshit”? appeared first on The Recovery Cartel.

Great Things Will Be Happening

Thrilled to be part of this NIDA research project. Helping to lead the intervention team. Training and supporting peers in the NIDA “PILOT study”.

A 3-site randomized clinical trial evaluating effectiveness of assertive engagement peer support with #overdose survivors.

In 2017 we launched a specialized peer support model.

Founded on harm reduction principles and the evidence based assertive community treatment model that is employed in the mental health domain: our goal was connection and engagement regardless of participant “willingness” or adherence.

Assertive Community Engagement

We were responsible for adherence. We had to “figure it out”.

We called this model – assertive community engagement.

In 2019 a randomized clinical trial with Clemson, USC School of Medicine and Prisma Health indicated stunning level of efficacy (in terms of engagement / follow through in treatment).

I am thrilled that the ACE model is part of the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) PILOT study.

Taking peer recovery support to the next level !!!

At Heritage Health Solutions, Inc. and Heritage CARES the ACE model is the foundation of all we do. youturn

ABOUT RICH JONES MA, MBA, LCAS, SAP
EVP & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, HERITAGE CARES

Executive Vice President (EVP) at Heritage Health Solutions, Inc.
Chief Strategy Officer Co-Founder at Youturn,
CEO at Wellness Partners Group
CEO/President at Jones Solutions Group
Former CEO at FAVOR Greenville

Visit Heritage Health at – Click Here

For Addiction Support Info – Click Here

Please Subscribe to the Recovery Cartel – Click Here

The post NIDA Research Project – I’m Thrilled!!! appeared first on The Recovery Cartel.

Peer support is an evolving discipline. It’s a relatively new discipline. Standards are still being defined.

Like any other profession: there is great variability in terms of quality.

Completion of a training doesn’t equal effectiveness as a coach. We need time, supervision, and structure to hone our craft. It takes time to get good at coaching.

💥💥💥 “If you hone something, for example a skill, technique, idea, or product, you carefully develop it over a long period of time so that it is exactly right for your purpose”.

Our goals are:

✅ help advance the evolution of peer support. Specifically, develop assertive engagement specialists. Refine that specialty.
✅ enhance the experience with technology
✅ redefine “family recovery coaching”
✅ establish ourselves as the nation’s premier provider of peer support services.

ABOUT RICH JONES MA, MBA, LCAS, SAP
EVP & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, HERITAGE CARES

Executive Vice President (EVP) at Heritage Health Solutions, Inc.
Chief Strategy Officer Co-Founder at Youturn,
CEO at Wellness Partners Group
CEO/President at Jones Solutions Group
Former CEO at FAVOR Greenville

Visit Heritage Health at – Click Here

For Addiction Support Info – Click Here

Please Subscribe to the Recovery Cartel – Click Here

The post Peer Support Is Evolving!!! appeared first on The Recovery Cartel.

The Recovery Rapper

Facebook and other social media does mess my with mood…. Stuff like the Recovery Rapper. 💥💥💥

Not on a “social” level. But on a professional level.

I busted my ass… grad school, every certification you can think of, HOURS AND HOURS of supervision and continuing education…

Basically devote my life to learning more…

Buy Me Some Followers?

But it turns out I didn’t need to do all that. I could have just found a treatment center to buy me followers, and pay for ads and I could have been the most influential person on Facebook…

Does professional expertise matter at all anymore?

In this age of “come one come all recovery coaching”….. does professional expertise and experience mean anything?

Another question…

Serious question. In terms of the business model….

DOES THAT RECOVERY RAPPER SHIT WORK?

Does that shit “acquire” patients?

Maybe people are so full of fear that any self-proclaimed expert is sufficient… it’s all so very depressing.

When addiction came for my family….

Thank God I did not need to Google “help with addiction” or jump on Facebook to get direction.

Avoid The Underbelly

I can lean on people I’ve known for some time.

And I maintain a very slim list of quality programs. And, we have the right insurance (now) and high recovery capital.

We have a fighting chance to avoid the underbelly of this industry.

But unfortunately that is not the case for so many people.

ABOUT RICH JONES MA, MBA, LCAS, SAP
EVP & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, HERITAGE CARES

Executive Vice President (EVP) at Heritage Health Solutions, Inc.
Chief Strategy Officer Co-Founder at Youturn,
CEO at Wellness Partners Group
CEO/President at Jones Solutions Group
Former CEO at FAVOR Greenville

Visit Heritage Health at – Click Here

For Addiction Support Info – Click Here

Please Subscribe to the Recovery Cartel – Click Here

The post DOES RECOVERY RAPPER SHIT REALLY WORK? appeared first on The Recovery Cartel.

THE REMEDY WILL REQUIRE A RADICAL SHIFT

The remedy will require a radical shift in focus and thinking. The remedy will require some risk!

We have made some progress. What’s the next step?

The fundamental problem we have is utilization not efficacy.

We argue over what pathway to recovery is the best. In the meantime, they all have one thing in common: NO ONE USES THEM.

10% ENGAGEMENT???

Think about something: we work in an industry that has accepted “MAX 10% Engagement”.

That is na “Maximum 10%” will get help. Even the recovery support profession focuses (mainly) on the “willing 10%”.

The typical recovery coach is trained to serve the willing 10%.

But look closer. Look at other behavioral health “helping professions”. Same thing.

THE REMEDY – PROFESSIONALS???

Maybe a little higher (depression = 20 to 40%) or maybe a little lower (clinical EAP utilization = 3%)

BUT… generally speaking. We don’t even TOUCH (let alone help) the majority of people in need.

As a society we are firmly attached to the “come and get it when you want it” model of behavioral health care.

THE REMEDY – APPS

Most apps trade on that model. Every “wearable” trades on that model. The “new rehab” down the street trades on that model.

The breakthrough medication trades on that come and get it model. On and on.

In the meantime. The majority don’t want it and never, ever will come and get it.

And hence … we stand no chance.

Because we are trying to solve the wrong problem.

PROBLEM

You ever hear the joke: How many psychologists does it take to change a lightbulb?

Answer is 1 … but the lightbulb has to “WANT to CHANGE”.

It’s in our bones.

We only help people who want help… and that will never get it done.

The post THE REMEDY – WHAT’S IT GONNA TAKE??? appeared first on The Recovery Cartel.

THE JOY IS IN CREATING—NOT MAINTAINING – Coach Lombardi

I stumbled across this quote last night and I strongly agree with Coach Lombardi.

I came out of the public treatment system (with a couple years of private treatment work thrown in there). 13 plus years in very traditional clinical settings.

Systems that were focused on maintenance rather than creativity.

Is the “recovery support system” focused on maintenance or creativity?

Hundreds of “peer support staff” all trained via the same model. A “Medicaid approved” manual.

Tons of “trainer the trainers” all following the same protocols.

People training others out of some manual. With little personal experience or intuition involved.

The movement is moving into “maintenance.

I Would Contend:

1. We have NOT arrived at best practices in recovery coaching. It’s still a new discipline in need of continuous evolution.
2. Recovery coaching should have “sub-specialties”.
3. Recovery coaching requires different skills across different settings.
4. There is still an over-emphasis on a willing participant. Action-stage of change. Complete and follow a recovery plan.

I hope there is more to come. I hope we have another huge evolution in care.

Also, I have zero interest in maintenance of systems. Create new things or quit and start an coffee shop.

Maybe both 😎

Rich Jones | Recovery Cartel

The post THE JOY IS IN CREATING—NOT MAINTAINING Vince Lombardi appeared first on The Recovery Cartel.

Biden Addiction Recovery Funding

I don’t celebrate Biden’s “addiction funding” if it’s focused solely on your standard systemic model. Based on the typical paradigm.

And, I think this goes way beyond “harm reduction dollars”.

Could we force a fundamental shift in funding and approach. Even if it was on a small scale. From “individual focus” to “family focus”

The Family “Unit”

The “unit” to be reimbursed should be the family as a whole. Not the individual. That would get me fired up.

Let’s think about it.

The “overdose epidemic”, alcohol, suicide. What have become known as deaths of despair.

This reality confronts the theory that underlies our systemic response.

Typical Response

✅ We wait for a client to engage in a specific modality of treatment once they experience a sufficient amount of suffering to become properly motivated.

Also the default, far too often, is to tell the family to stay out of it.

✅ In any given circumstance, the typical response of rehab to meetings to long term recovery may be appropriate. And I am very grateful when that happens.

And, perhaps, there are cases where the family should stay out of it.

But the reality is ….

We can’t wait for motivation produced by suffering. We can’t wait for bottom.

The Long Haul

✅ OVER THE LONG HAUL, family members become continuing care coordinators.

Once the patient leaves rehab it’s back onto the family. They will be responsible for intervening and responding.

I guess some of us are equipped to do that. Strangely enough.

But for the most part, family members are searching in the dark without a flashlight.

Train & Educate The Family

✅ Therefore, we should train and educate the family to intervene. This is just as important as detachment.

Families must become subject matter experts and system navigators.

✅ Better yet, every single family should have a case coordinator that actively engages for at least 5 years.

Qualified Family Recovery Coach

A specially trained and qualified family coach. Regardless of the status of the patient.

Paid for by insurance, Medicaid/Medicare and the state drug and alcohol authorities.

💥💥💥THE FAMILY SHOULD BE THE IDENTIFIED PATIENT(S). NOT THE INDIVIDUAL. 💥💥💥

THAT WOULD PRODUCE CHANGE.

Age of Despair

✅ There is theory … and then there is reality. In the substance use disorder world.

The 2 things don’t match. Not anymore.

Not in the day and age of fentanyl, fake pills, tainted meth and cocaine….

🙏 Not in this age of despair.

The Truth

It’s just the truth. And everyone knows it’s the truth.

Even the people who publicly disagree with me, privately know it’s the truth.

We are plugging holes. Plugging leaks in the sailboat.

We are sinking.

Will you stick around to see us go down?

Courage

Who has the courage to flip the script? Which of the payers will step out and change this tragic predicament overnight?

A move like that…. would be exciting.

The post NOT SURE ABOUT THIS BIDEN ADDICTION FUNDING HYPE appeared first on The Recovery Cartel.

81,000 + New Record Overdose Deaths

The complicating factors surrounding the current COVID-19 situation and substance use disorder treatment and recovery seem insurmountable. Again, this last year, another record number of overdose deaths. 81,000 + (as per C.D.C. Dec 2020 report – Overdose Deaths Accelerating During COVID-19)

There will be money coming to help.

But how will it be allocated? Will it reach the most vulnerable?

For example, there is a baseline, fundamental misunderstanding of community based recovery support.

Independent Recovery Support

Fact: Independent recovery support is an essential part of the continuum. “INDEPENDENT” and authentic recovery support.

These are organizations that are not run by the government, not run by clinical providers, NOT part of the larger state drug and alcohol system or the local county “authority”.

Recovery Community Organizations, Recovery Housing, Recovery High Schools, and Collegiate Recovery Organisations for example.

Short-Changed

When the funding is “run” through the traditional infrastructure (single state authority/Drug and Alcohol Commission) these grassroots organizations get short-changed.

With the exception of a small number of states–less than 5% will ever work its way “down” to street level organizations.

Back in Washington, SAMHSA and the officials are given reports that 20% or more went to “recovery”.

But NO ONE in Washington even knows what that means.

They think putting a peer support staff in the IOP group is funding “recovery support”.

For example, there are very, very clear definitions of Recovery Community Organizations.

There is an Association of Recovery Community Organizations. 150 plus members.

YOU CAN NOT BE A CLINICAL PROVIDER AND BE AN RCO.

It’s literal in the definition of an Recovery Community Organization.

But no one in Washington (or in any given state government) understands that and people just go on blindly.

Thinking the money went to “recovery”.

Funding Needs To Hit The Streets

There will be no progress in this fight until a massive amount of funding hits the street.

Until a massive INDEPENDENT recovery system is funded. And I simply do not see that happening.

It would require too many people to give up too much power.

Solutions

We will need a coalition of wealthy funders, and or social-entrepreneurs.

We need them to come together and fund a scalable model OUTSIDE of the confines of the bureaucracy. youturn exists to be part of that solution.

FAVOR Greenville exists to be part of that solution.

It’s exhausting. But I feel like incremental progress will not get it done.

The post Record Number of Overdose Deaths, AGAIN! appeared first on The Recovery Cartel.

The Body Broker

The new movie Body Broker movie trailer is too much. Such a depressing industry.

We can say: “it’s only a few bad apples”…

But, it seems to be more than a few and that is not an acceptable response.

Now a movie comes out in February to put it all on disgusting display.

Random Thoughts

It prompts some reflection and random thoughts:

1. If I share “ideas” on my Facebook page they get circulated within a group of people who are already “recovery informed”. And in most cases, relatively opinionated. People who are “certain” about their recovery philosophies and convictions. People who will not move off their square and, in some cases, will become agitated with alternative ideas.
   
2. Generally speaking, “open-mindedness” seems to mean: open-minded as long as its within the range of acceptable ideas. And the term “moderation” is NOT approved. Harm-reduction is subject to ridicule. Medication is also NOT approved. Unless your parent company decides to get in the business. Then it is approved.
   
3. I’m not going to change anyone’s mind. For the most part, those people who adhere to traditional thinking and traditional pathways are not going to be converted to alternative ideas.
   
4. So what is the purpose? I’m not a fan of being ridiculed and I get no pleasure out of the arguments that flare up.
   
5. I do like “venting” and I am probably an attention-seeker. Perhaps I have a personality disorder?
   

Expand The Bubble

All that to say, my group needs to develop a new page and be intentional about expanding the bubble.

To reach people who have limited “recovery” exposure.

Focus on healthy lifestyle and people interested in thriving beyond the parameters of recovery. There is no need to preach to the already converted.

Especially when the already converted are sectarian. (just kidding).

My personal page should be “personal” and I will post only well filtered pictures and stories of me and my perfect family. 🙂

Not that you care… but now you know!

See you soon…. or not.

The post The Body Broker appeared first on The Recovery Cartel.

The Referee Should STOP THE FIGHT:

We are getting beat down by addiction. A knock out on most days. Some days the referee should step in and stop the fight.

It’s getting painful. It’s getting old.

Why are we losing the fight? Why are we getting our asses kicked on such a consistent basis?

We are told these outcomes are due to “lack of access to treatment”. Or perhaps its due to the fact that “insurance parity has not been enforced“.

Access to treatment and insurance parity are a small part of the conversation. However, the fundamentally flawed “addiction and recovery” paradigm seems like a more interesting and compelling topic.

I want to comment on 2 noteworthy articles sent my way. These articles are “old”, however, they are very instructive.

Alcohol Deaths:

The first was focused on the mortality rate directly related to chronic alcohol misuse. 

An in-depth study found that the number of people “drinking themselves to death” has more than doubled.

Overdose Deaths:

Another article was focused on the “overdose epidemic”. Researchers at Georgetown University and University of Pennsylvania believe that number is well understated:

But new research published in PLOS ONE from the University of Pennsylvania and Georgetown University suggests that drug-associated mortality in this country is actually more than double that.

The answer to such a complex problem is unclear.

However, it is crystal clear that the answer is NOT more of the same.

These articles are out of date. The current news is even more depressing. The CDC reports record high overdose deaths during the past 12 month tracking period (June 2019 to May 2020). Of course, these numbers are exacerbated by COVID-19. However, this is beyond the pale.

More Of the Same?

We do not need to double down on the models that have produced these results. The current system (the status quo model, the legacy model etc..) predates all of us.

It started well before most of us enter the field. None of us invented this “punish them until they want it model”. We inherited it.

Why then, are we so beholden to something with which we have no ownership?

It’s not about particular people or particular programs. It’s the philosophy and the paradigm that is most problematic.

Paradigm Shift:

“A paradigm is a standard, perspective, or set of ideas. A paradigm is a way of looking at something. The word paradigm comes up a lot in the academic, scientific, and business worlds. … When you change paradigms, you’re changing how you think about something”.

Where substance use disorders are concerned, must of what are told has been insufficient. In some cases, dead wrong. Everything from etiology to treatment.

The entire process is conceptually misinformed.

This is what happens when you get something wrong at a fundamental level. Eventually, it all breaks down.

In business you go bankrupt. In healthcare a million people die.

Why stubbornly hold onto an idea that is patently wrong?

A Thought Experiment:

Let’s pretend you are a football coach. Your job is on the line. Your team is 0 and 7 heading into the halfway mark of the season.

Your quarterback has thrown on average 3 interceptions per game and your offense is ranked dead last.

As you head into game 8: Are you going to keep that same starting quarterback in the game?

Are you going to maintain the same offensive system that has produces dismal results?

Or are you going to yank the quarterback, question everything and use every trick you can to salvage the season?

Of course, you are going to “question everything”.

We may not be able to replace systems as easily as we can replace quarterbacks.

However, we can identify some of the real barriers to progress. Why are we stuck in such a rinse and repeat cycle with mental health and substance use disorders?

1) THERE IS ZERO CHANCE OF INTERNALLY DRIVEN CHANGE: 

DISRUPTIVE INNOVATION, results in invention and transformation. NEW THINGS

“Innovation, on the other hand, results in improvement of existing products or service.

“Innovative practices” are frequently used to hold off disruption. The existing system does NOT want disruptive innovation. Because, the existing system does not want to be “replaced”.

Innovation is a term used to fool people into thinking we have something new to offer. When in fact, we have a repackaged and tuned up version of the same old thing.

Stay with me. Disruptive innovation requires a business model to support new ideas and new services.

You can’t scale something unless you get the idea out to millions of people. And you can’t get it out to millions of people unless you can pay some bills.

The Mac is just a hobby if Apple does not find a way to sell it.

In all industries there are barriers to entry. The status quo resists change.

No legacy system is going to willingly step aside.

No one is going to say:

“Please eliminate my way of life and destroy all these jobs”.

2) Healthcare resists disruption in an especially effective way. Behavioral healthcare is even more opaque than “general healthcare”.

The HEALTHCARE industry (substance use/mental health especially) has some extra tricks and maneuvers they bring to the table.

There are 3 healthcare-specific barriers that make the paradigm shift even more difficult.

A) Misunderstanding around innovation.

As highlighted above, disruptive innovation implies “new” products and services.

These products and services are founded on new paradigms and new principles. Disruptive innovation requires a new way of seeing the problem.

On the other hand, SUD and MH “centers for innovation” are actually centers for improvement.

Even technology driven “innovation” could be more accurately described as improvement.

Apps, software, tracking and monitoring devices, wearables, “bi-lateral text messaging”, automated asynchronous messaging represent improvement.

The success of the intervention is still based on the “willing, compliant and sufficiently docile” client. The so-called “new thing” is still built on the model of assumed client motivation.

B) HIGH REGULATION and complexity of systems. 

A maze of regulation, (disguised as “patient protection”) is especially effective in minimizing invention and slowing distribution of new things.

Directly related to regulation are the OPAQUE SYSTEMS FOR REIMBURSEMENT.

Many times, the publicly funded system creates monopolies. The state system almost always does business with state system providers.

There is a clear philosophy of keeping the money “in-house”.

At the private level, lack of reimbursement stifles creativity.

C) Finally, the trump card. 

When in doubt, status quo health providers can say that; “new ideas are dangerous”. “You will kill people if you keep doing things that way”.

The consumer and their family will be sent a clear message:

“Do you really want to risk your welfare or your loved one’s health on some silly idea”?

“Don’t try alternative treatment. Send him back to rehab for the 18th time like a sensible citizen”.

In the meantime, 81,000 people died of an overdose every year.

88,000 die of alcohol related issues every year. 47,000 people commit suicide.

I have been told:

“Rich, stop saying that stuff about alternative treatment. People hear you and they won’t go to rehab”.

This industry-driven “moral high ground” is twisted.

Some people act as if exploring recovery options automatically means death for the patient. 

Meanwhile, massive numbers are already dying under the “accepted model”.

[Note: the question of government funded innovation will ultimately be part of this discussion. Government certainly could fund innovation. However, it would have to occur outside the existing infrastructure. I have little confidence that anything so bold and courageous will come out of Washington DC. The existing institutional structures aren’t stepping aside anytime soon.

NOTE #2: For the record. Government has funded disruptive innovation in the past. Via channels outside the traditional bureaucratic infrastructure: Kennedy’s moonshot, the Marshall Plan, DARPA. And it worked.

3) The “Stigma Reinforcing” Addiction Entertainment & Exploitation Industry

Substance use disorders have apparently become entertaining. The examples are endless.

The televised public exploitation of people with substance use disorder is deeply damaging. It reinforces all the negative stereotypes.

People like Dr. Drew do more harm than good.

The underlying message is clear, addicts are second class citizens. They need to be sufficiently punished.

They need good old fashioned, one-size fits all, 12-step only treatment.

That’s the message. It’s not stigma reduction.

It’s unintentionally, or intentionally, stigma reinforcing. What a horrible thing.

It’s actually quiet revealing to consider the television show “Intervention” on the A&E channel. 

They are filming people in an “active disease state” and putting it on public display for everyone to consume.

The worst part, they frame the exploitation as “help”.

This is naive at best. Malpractice at worst. Unethical for sure.

How they get away with this is beyond me? It speaks to the lack of progress on stigma.

It speaks to zero accountability surrounding the treatment of people with SUD.

Far too many social media “marketers” (backed by rehabs who are desperate for admissions) become mini-celebrities.

Mini-celebrities that ultimately do harm on multiple levels.

Their “I will save you” message is horrible.

They prey on fear. They create fear in the families.

Their level of expertise seems to be of no concern to the people who employ them.

There is zero internal industry accountability.

Most of these people have no real knowledge or education to support their work in substance use and mental health.

They promote stigma via stereotypical story telling and slogan driven rants.

Not to mention their tragic “call now for help” obsession. The world is becoming more educated on SUD issues and the social media marketer is becoming a running joke.

However, we all suffer from association with this squad.

They refer to themselves as “recovery advocates” and the public can’t delineate between legit advocates and admission agents.

I do not want to be lumped in with these folks.

Television shows on addiction are trending up.

Independent documentaries as well. Independent documentaries tend to hold themselves to higher standards.

They show a more charitable side of substance use disorders.

However, they can go sideways on any given day as well.

Substance use disorder is a healthcare condition. It is not a carnival sideshow.

4) The behavioral health carve out:

“It is very difficult to trace the evolution of reimbursement for SUD and mental health issues.

Somewhere in the 1980’s or 1990’s managed care organizations took on substance use and mental health.

At that point, behavioral health was completely separated from the larger health plan.

In theory, this would lead to more focus SUD and MH specialty care.

In reality, this has lead to the alienation of people with SUD and mental health issues. In the real world, there is a hard stop between physical health and behavioral health.

This is not helpful. SUD and mental health is siloed off. In their own little world.

SUD and mental health should be a routine part of mainstream medicine.

However, on the whole, health systems avoid integrating SUD and mental health.

The opioid epidemic has forced some change. But nothing significant and certainly nothing permanent.

The carve out produces more stigma. The carve out also contributes to the “hit bottom” mentality that underlies the system.

We wind up working with only the most severe cases.

Services are “carved out” and therefore not even accessed until absolutely necessary. Truth be told, services are never accessed by most people in need.

What if we did shift the paradigm.

What would happen if we went to the doctor for help with SUD instead of rehab?

The post We Are Getting Beat Down. 81,000 Overdose Deaths. appeared first on The Recovery Cartel.