212 - Insights on Addiction with Dr. I. Michael Kaufmann212 - Insights on Addiction with Dr. I. Michael Kaufmann
Ruthless Compassion with Dr. Marcia Sirota
Psychiatrist Dr. Marcia Sirota speaks with Dr. I. Michael Kaufmann about his journey through opioid addiction, treatment and long-term recovery, and his work supporting impaired physicians. Their conversation touches on stigma, accountability, coercion in treatment and the power of storytelling to make addiction and recovery feel deeply human.
48:41•25 Jun 2026
Drugs, Lies and Docs: Dr. I. Michael Kaufmann on Addiction and Recovery in Medicine
Episode Overview
- Addiction in doctors follows the same clinical patterns as in anyone else, but identity, shame and professional responsibility make seeking help especially hard.
- Firm, consequence-backed encouragement into treatment can sometimes be life-saving, particularly in safety-sensitive professions, without removing a person’s ultimate choice.
- Long-term follow-up, support and accountability over several years can dramatically increase sustained remission rates for those with substance use disorders.
- Programmes designed for health professionals work best when they treat the human being first and the clinician second, reintroducing work only when it is genuinely safe.
- Honest storytelling about lived experience can reduce stigma, foster compassion and help people better understand themselves and their loved ones in relation to addiction.
“I want to humanize, not stigmatize. I also want to help individuals feel compassion towards simply another human being who is suffering.”
Curious about how others navigate their sobriety journey? This conversation between psychiatrist Dr. Marcia Sirota and family and addiction physician Dr. I. Michael Kaufmann pulls you right into the messy, very human side of addiction and recovery—especially for healthcare professionals. Dr. Kaufmann shares his story “from both sides of the gurney,” growing up feeling different, becoming a rural family doctor, and then finding himself “in big trouble” with opioids just a few years into practice.
A colleague’s firm ultimatum – “Today’s the day… call this number” – pushed him toward treatment, an experience he says “saved my life” and ultimately shaped his career. You’ll hear how he went on to found the Ontario Medical Association’s Physician Health Program, a service supporting doctors and other health professionals with substance use problems, psychiatric issues and personal crises.
He explains why sustained, long-term support and accountability can lead to around 90% sustained remission in monitored clinicians, contrasting that with the far lower rates usually seen in the general population. The pair tackle tricky questions: Is it ever okay to “coerce” someone into treatment? Are doctors really different from everyone else when they become dependent on substances? Dr.
Kaufmann’s answer is a nuanced “yes and no” – the illness looks the same, but identity, shame and professional responsibility add extra layers. He also talks about his book, *Drugs, Lies, and Docs*, framed around his long-running teaching sessions where he combined clinical education with raw personal storytelling to “humanize, not stigmatize” addiction and highlight recovery as more than just getting better – but flourishing.
If you’re in healthcare, in recovery, or love someone who is, this conversation offers frank honesty, gentle humour and a strong message: there is help, there is accountability, and there is a way forward. What might opening your mind – and your heart – to these stories change for you?
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