Claire D. Clark, “The Recovery Revolution” (Columbia UP, 2017)Claire D. Clark, “The Recovery Revolution” (Columbia UP, 2017)
New Books in Drugs, Addiction and Recovery
Before the 1960s, doctors were generally in control of the treatment of drug addicts. And that made a certain sense, because drug addicts had something that looked a lot like a disease or mental illness. The trouble was that doctors had no effective wa...
1:06:10•28 Jul 2017
Revolutionizing Recovery: Claire D. Clark on Therapeutic Communities
“And that made a certain sense, because drug addicts had something that looked a lot like a disease or mental illness.”
Picture this: it's the 1950s, and doctors are scrambling to find a way to treat drug addiction. Their solution? Federal 'narcotics farms' that were more like prisons than places of healing. In this episode of 'New Books in Drugs, Addiction, and Recovery', host Marshall Poe chats with Claire D. Clark about her eye-opening book, 'The Recovery Revolution: The Battle Over Addiction Treatment in the United States'.
Clark dives into the shortcomings of early addiction treatment methods and introduces us to the game-changing concept of therapeutic communities. These communities, inspired by the principles of Alcoholics Anonymous and spearheaded by figures like Charles Dederich, shifted the power of recovery into the hands of addicts themselves. The conversation also touches on the government's role in addiction treatment and how these therapeutic communities have evolved over time.
If you're curious about the history and future of addiction treatment in the US, this episode is a must-listen.
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