Introduction In many twelve-step programs newcomers are either consoled or chastened by being told that it can take three to five years to “get out of the woods.” It’s a way of saying that recovery takes time. Later, at about the five-year mark, after attending a considerable number of meetings and working the steps and…
Last week, Radio Boston featured an interview with Dr. Lance Dodes, author of “The Sober Truth: Debunking the Bad Science Behind 12-Step Programs and the Rehab Industry.” Here, two Harvard Medical School professors of psychiatry respond, arguing that Dr. Dodes misrepresents the evidence and that 12-step programs have among the strongest scientific underpinnings of any…
By Michelle ConwayMorningside Recovery Alcohol is one of the most popular recreational drugs available in the United States. Alcoholism and alcohol abuse occur when an individual drinks excessive amounts on a regular basis. Several factors play a role in the development of alcohol dependency, including one’s genetics, social environment, emotional health, and early childhood discipline.…
By John M. Majer, Ph.D., Leonard A. Jason, Ph.D., & Joe Ferrari, Ph.D. There has been increased interest among social scientists in understanding Twelve Step groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA) in the past two decades. It seems as though things took off in the mid-1980’s shortly after Edward I, Khantzian,…
If summer, for you, means the chance to find a beach and lose yourself, for once, in a piece of writing longer than an email, never fear — we’ve done the hard work for you and checked out a whole bunch of this year’s hottest reads. It just so happens that in one way or…
A Book Review by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussatwww.spiritualityandpractice.com/books NaikanGratitude, Grace, and the Japanese Art of Self-Reflectionby Gregg Krech Gregg Krech is Director of the ToDo Institute, an education and retreat center near Middlebury, Vermont. He is a practitioner of a method of self-reflection, attention, gratitude, connections, kindness, and compassion developed in Japan during the…
You Can’t Make Me – Or Can You? Posted July 14, 2014 in Addiction Treatment Methods by Anne Fletcher Consider a woman court-ordered to a 90-day residential rehab stay which, upon completion, would take the place of her jail sentence for driving while under the influence and criminal damage to property. Although her religious practices were…
By CHRISTIE D’ZURILLA contact the reporter Though Robin Williams quit cocaine and alcohol unassisted in 1982, he looked to rehab for help years later Robin Williams’ public life had a quiet personal current running through it for decades: his struggles with cocaine and alcohol abuse. The comedian and actor, who turned 63 in July, was…
by Dorothy H. I got sober on Sunday, March 27, 2011. I woke up with a hangover and no excuses for my behavior. I saw my alcoholism for the first time and it was selfish, abusive, and ugly. It had busted out my front teeth when I was nineteen years old while on a binge.…
Why Women Drink — and How They Can Regain Control By Gabrielle Glaser Steinem may have been hasty. We know that many women report drinking more often in recent decades, that they are drinking more when they do, and that the physiological impact and social meaning of it all is different for women than for…