Epilogue: Food for Thought – Future of Addictions
The field of addiction studies is a new one. Addiction treatment and addiction professionals did not exist prior to the mid-1900’s. There was a stigma around addiction and with a lack of research, this meant that those struggling with addiction were limited in the choice of options at the time.
Over the past several decades, our understanding & knowledge of this illness has increased significantly, and we expect that it will continue to grow tremendously in the coming years. A couple of decades from now we’ll look back and see how limited our knowledge, research and options as an addictions professionals were. Such an interesting opportunity to be in the addictions field as it continues to grow and change expedentially.
In closing this book, let’s discuss a few of the significant issues we see facing the field of addictions in the coming years. These topics are food for thought for anyone currently in the field or considering a career that deals with addictions.
- One of the trends we have noticed in recent years is an increased emphasis on the use of medications to treat addiction. The gold standard of opioid treatment is now rooted in medication-assisted therapy such as Suboxone or methadone. We believe that this trend will continue as further research uncovers medications that help support recovery from drugs such as cocaine and marijuana, which currently have no such options.
- Other developments may arise through new ways to treat chronic pain. The opioid epidemics of the early 21st century have created concern and awareness among elected officials and the general public about the overuse of prescription pain medicines. Scientists are now attempting to find ways of managing pain that do not have the same risk of abuse and addiction that come with traditional opioid medications. Such a breakthrough could be a major public health milestone, as opioid overdose has become one of the leading causes of death in the Canada, United States and globally.
- In terms of treatment approaches, we also see creative methods being used to offer improved services, such as case management, therapy, psycho-education and coaching models. Managed care remains a struggle for treatment providers, with an emphasis on evidenced-based, well-documented treatment. Agencies have also begun emphasizing case management approaches that connect clients with a myriad of community resources to support the recovery process.
- Recovery coaching and Sober coaching is still a fairly new model that utilizes a paraprofessional who can guide someone in recovery. Such an individual would have some training but would not serve in the role of a clinical staff member. In many ways, this harkens back to the roots of the field, when most counsellors were themselves in recovery and often newly-minted graduates of the very treatment program where they worked. Addictions treatment has become more medically-based and now requires higher levels of education, which are positive developments. At the same time, the importance of peer support cannot be underestimated. After all, it is one of the foundations of 12-step recovery, which has a longer history of success than any other approach. A recovery coach or Sober coach might fill this need while supporting the work of treatment professionals.
- One last issue we wanted to raise here is that the cultural norms around drug use are shifting. This is something that has changed as medicinal and even recreational use become the norm. Meanwhile, traditional tobacco products such as cigarettes are on the decline, even though e-cigarettes may be quickly taking their place, this presents it’s own challenges. As we continue to learn more about the dangers of alcohol, we don’t know if its prominent place in society will remain unchanged, or will it experience the same fate as cigarettes? These issues may have different answers from one year to the next, and even from one part of the country to the next.
