From Research to Recovery: Linking Science and Treatment in Addiction Medicine

Sean Koon, MD

Chemical Dependency Recovery Program

Kaiser Permanente, Fontana

The Dichotomy of our Science and Practice At conferences such as

this, we often delve deeply into cell biology and neuroscience to understand this disease process

Yet, many of us will return a world of group therapy, recovery slogans, surrender, denial, relapse, 12-steps, and even issues of spirituality

Neuroscience and the Commerce of Choice Motivational neural circuits – reward

us for life sustaining behaviors Drugs of abuse have a substantial

effect on brain pathways of motivation and learning

Neuroscience and the Commerce of Choice

Homeostasis vs. Allostasis and compulsion in addiction

Conflict between logical value and the urgency of immediate value

Neuroscience and the Commerce of Choice

VS.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

“Millstones” and the Angst of Addiction

A painful discord between the patient’s core values and their behaviors, resulting from compulsion and “poor trades”

Between these opposing “millstones”, integrity, self-esteem and hope suffer:

INCOMPREHENSIBLE DEMORALIZATION

“Millstones” and the Angst of Addiction How do you relieve this friction?

– DENIAL

– CODEPENDENCY (get by with a little help from your friends)

– MORE USE

If personal loss “outpaces” the effectiveness of these three, then “rock bottom” is felt

If these three are effective, rock bottom is not felt until greater loss occurs

“Rock Bottom”

“Sick and tired of being sick and tired”

Incomprehensible Demoralization

The addiction grows and demoralization continues– Despair

– Concealment

– Isolation

Addiction and the Ripple Effect

In the brain, compulsion begins to win over good judgment in the commerce of choice

The addict suffers between these “millstones” of values and compulsions

Addiction and the Ripple Effect

The enablers are caught between the millstones of their co-dependency needs vs. their personal suffering

Addiction and the Ripple Effect

The community is conflicted between marginalization of the addict vs. intervention

Addiction and the Ripple Effect

Even the government has its own millstones: justice vs. mercy

Addiction and the Ripple Effect With roots in biology, it becomes a disorder

with moral, social, family, spiritual, mental health, legal, and medical elements

Ironically, each of the above disciplines also contributes to the solution

Why Treatment? Medical: Addresses medical consequences and educates the

patient Mental Health: Treats organic or substance induced mood

disorders Family: Engages and treats the family system. Treats

codepency. Occupational: helps employers assess and deal with workers

with addiction Legal: Cooperates with the legal system and provides an

effective alternative to incarceration in non-violent offenders Spiritual: addresses spirituality, shame, and demoralization Social: deals with isolation and engages the patient into

recovery community. Encourages resocialization

WHY

12 Step Program Slogans Research Correlates

“Old Playmates and Old Playgrounds”

Conditioned place preference, associative learning

“H.A.L.T.”

“Gratitude is an attitude”

Negative affective states increase propensity to relapse

“One drink is too many and a thousand is not enough”

Priming effect

“Stinking thinking” Cognitive distortions increase probability of relapse. CBT

“Get out of the drivers seat” Impaired decision making in addiction

“A drug is a drug is a drug” Cross addiction

“Easy does it”

“One day at a time”

Stress as a precipitant to relapse

Why Spirituality ? Spirituality at it’s core implies connection

within (integrity of value and action) as well as a connection without (community and “higher power”).

Addiction is a disease of disconnection, it causes a rift within the addict, as well as a rift between the addict and everything else

How it works: The Cast of Recovery

Unmanageability Honesty, openness, willingness allows the

faulty inclinations to be exposed Community:

– Accepts– Forms around– Aligns and redirects the impaired choices– Continues to Support

Surrender, sponsorship, group therapy, “one alcoholic helping another”

Treatment is Excessively Beneficial: You get more than you came for…

Foundations of Addiction Medicine

“Evidence and Art”

CSAM

2004