Over the past 30 years I have worked in and created nearly a dozen addiction, co-occurring disorder, and mental health hospitals, intensive outpatient programs, and residential treatment centers around the US and overseas. And guess what? Over the years I’ve seen a lot of things that bother me. Here’s a quick sample of what’s gone wrong over the last few decades in addiction healthcare. (And I’m sure that many of you have your own thoughts to add.)
- Extraordinary treatment programs have thrived, prospered and provided amazing care, only to be killed off by corporate greed.
- Programs have been closed by the government due to poor client care and/or insurance fraud.
- Marketing campaigns have masked the realities of expensive, poorly run programs.
- Unique and effective mom and pop treatment organizations, bought up by corporate entities, have homogenized and relaunched into look-a-likes, losing the dignity and spirit that made them special.
- Facilities have sold yoga, equine therapy, massage, and meditation as “required for good addiction treatment” when the fact is those are luxury extras rather than primary work.
- Programs lack clinical leadership or structure, with therapists (often part-time) doing whatever they feel is best without direction or an overall vision.
- Bachelor’s level clinicians are asked to perform master’s and PhD level work.
- Senior staff debates about whether to challenge wealthy clients on their clearly problematic acting out (rage, entitlement, etc. Often, they are forced to call the corporate office before such a confrontation because they are so fearful that a $60K client will get upset and leave treatment.
- An almost universal failure to provide adequate adjunct mental health resources.
To all this, I say enough. We can do better.
[For more on this story by Robert Weiss PhD, MSW, go to https://blogs.psychcentral.com...d-how-we-can-fit-it/]
Comments (0)