Heroin hijacks the brain

Here is a recently written NPR article about prescription opiates and heroin. The article talks about psychological and physical dependence and how opiates act on the brain. The article also addresses the shortage of treatment providers and expertise in treating addiction.

It’s good that NPR, the New York Times and other major media outlets are shining a light on the problem of addiction. Hopefully more young people going to college will choose addiction treatment as a career — however, in order for this to happen, educational organizations will have to offer more comprehensive courses.

Addiction treatment is usually subsumed under psychology, and while there’s a connection between psychology and addiction, psychology is not the end of it. Getting a degree in psychology doesn’t prepare a person for addiction treatment as a career. Addiction is a specialty treatment that requires specialized knowledge and understanding. More universities are offering degrees in addiction counseling, but I’ll bet that most people have no idea that such a degree is even offered.

For addiction to be such a huge healthcare problem, draining the economy of billions of dollars and wasting lives like no other healthcare concern, you’d think that society would pay more attention to the problem and treatment of the problem. Addiction has been associated with the legal and penal systems more so than with medical treatment systems.

This has to change if we’re going to deal effectively with addiction. This is from the NPR article:

And the country is facing a shortage of addiction treatment facilities and specialists; the shortage ranges wildly from one state to another. Treatment for opioid addiction includes a variety of services: medication, talk therapy, job support, all stretched out over years. Detox isn’t enough.

Detox in revolving door facilities has been the fate of too many addicts. It’s time to treat addiction with comprehensive Recovery Management Plans and the necessary community resources.