National Council for Mental Wellbeing

Last night we took a friend out to dinner, celebrating 12 months of sobriety. He looks and feels great. Throughout Recovery Month, many of us will rightfully celebrate the triumphs and achievements of the millions of Americans who are in recovery. But, as we recognize those successes, we must also ensure people of color have […]

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America is worried about the wrong thing. This weekend, Saturday Night Live ran a commercial parody for a fictitious pharmaceutical product, Heroin AM, a product that combines heroin with cocaine and caffeine. The “commercial” depicted three white, middle class, suburban parents using the product to achieve “added productivity” while using heroin. Americans reacted by sending […]

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A recent Washington Post article got me thinking about how our criminal justice system deals with addictions and how even the best of intentions can have unintended consequences. The case the Post sets out is that California voters unknowingly made a bad bargain when they voted to reform the way the courts treat people with […]

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New players in addiction treatment means it’s only going to get more complex.

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    Behavioral health providers hear the call for culturally competent and responsive services. But, there’s another important call to action less discussed — the disparities caused by racism. There is a rising tide of public awareness about the effect of racial bias on public services and the lives of people of color. News stories […]

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Nearly a third of people who use drugs for the first time begin by using a prescription drug non-medically, and data suggests that one in 15 people who take non-medical prescription pain relievers will try heroin within 10 years. In 2014, I wrote about the difficulties policymakers are having coming to terms with the prescription […]

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It’s important when an article cuts through the noise and provokes our thinking. Last month it was a JAMA opinion piece, Bring Back the Asylum. This month, the most recent issue of The Atlantic includes the article, The Irrationality of Alcoholics Anonymous. Ezekiel Emanuel, one of the three authors of Bring Back the Asylum, is […]

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Despite knowing the dangers of smoking and losing my father and grandfather to lung cancer, I smoked for 25 years.  It took me 10 years of trying to finally quit. My husband has been on his journey even longer. Most recently, he began using eCigarettes as his newest weapon in what has been a long, […]

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Why is the National Council and the State Associations of Addiction Services merging? Our post-merger tagline—stronger together—helps answer the question.

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September is National Recovery Month, a time to shine a spotlight on the strides the addiction and mental health communities have taken in the prevention, treatment and recovery-support services for addictions and mental illnesses. But also a time to ask tough questions.

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