Fifty Years in the Service of Addiction Treatment - An Evolution in Paradigm and Policy
David E. Smith
Publisher: Central Recovery Press
Summary
Authored by the physician who pioneered addiction medicine in the US, and who has been actively involved in that field for upwards of fifty years.During these five decades the treatment of the disease of addiction has evolved from being to criminal act to a recognized branch of medical practice, and the landmark 2012 US Supreme Court decision on healthcare reform that requires parity for addiction and mental health treatment is part of that remarkable transition.The emerging model of addiction treatment is to treat this disease like any other progressive, chronic, incurable, and potentially fatal disease, such as diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease.Based on the ever-increasing understanding of the neurobiology of addiction, there is a growing body of scientific research providing evidence that addiction is a brain disease.The medicalization of addiction treatment means that this disease is treated as a medical disease--a disease of the brain and its functions.Treating addiction like a brain disease reverses the disordered behavior. And nothing is more powerful to prove that point than recovery.The emphasis in treatment strategy is brain health. In other words, treatment should focus on getting and keeping the patient brain healthy.