Publications
BFI Staff Publications
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The Self-Medication Hypothesis (SMH) is Unsupportable and Harmful
May 6th, 2013 / Abused Drugs / Betty Ford Institute
The self-medication hypothesis (SMH) of addictive disorders was put forth by Edward Khantzian in 1985. He postulated that persons with psychiatric disorders use substances to relieve psychiatric symptoms and that this pattern of usage predisposes them to addiction. He further suggested that the substance chosen is based on its unique pharmacological properties. (An individual with attention deficit disorder would prefer amphetamines to alcohol due to their therapeutic (calming) properties, an individual with anxiety would prefer alcohol to amphetamines due to its anxiolytic properties,...
May 6th, 2013 / Abused Drugs / Betty Ford Institute
The self-medication hypothesis (SMH) of addictive disorders was put forth by Edward Khantzian in 1985. He postulated that persons with psychiatric disorders use substances to relieve psychiatric symptoms and that this pattern of usage predisposes them to addiction. He further suggested that the substance chosen is based on its unique pharmacological properties. (An individual with attention deficit disorder would prefer amphetamines to alcohol due to their therapeutic (calming) properties, an individual with anxiety would prefer alcohol to amphetamines due to its anxiolytic properties,...
Betty Ford Institute Offers Students Long-distance Learning Opportunity
April 8th, 2013 / BFI Staff Publications / Joan Connor Clark
Medical students halfway across the country recently learned about the disease of addiction through a Betty Ford Institute first: video-conferencing. Kali Hopkins, a student at the Indiana University School Of Medicine and an alumnus of the SIMS (Summer Institute for Medical Students) program, expedited the presentation with Betty Ford Institute Medical Education Coordinator Joseph Skrajewski. Betty Ford Center Physician Dr. Harry Haroutunian combined two lectures – “Disease of Addiction” and “We are not Immune” – to give the 45 first and second-year medical students...
April 8th, 2013 / BFI Staff Publications / Joan Connor Clark
Medical students halfway across the country recently learned about the disease of addiction through a Betty Ford Institute first: video-conferencing. Kali Hopkins, a student at the Indiana University School Of Medicine and an alumnus of the SIMS (Summer Institute for Medical Students) program, expedited the presentation with Betty Ford Institute Medical Education Coordinator Joseph Skrajewski. Betty Ford Center Physician Dr. Harry Haroutunian combined two lectures – “Disease of Addiction” and “We are not Immune” – to give the 45 first and second-year medical students...
Spiritual Change Predicts Less Drinking
November 27th, 2012 / BFI Staff Publications / Betty Ford Institute
This study looked at alcohol-dependent individuals, both in treatment and not, to investigate the effect of spiritual and religious (SR) change on their drinking outcomes - independent of AA involvement. Alcoholics (N = 364, 2/3 male) were identified from two abstinence-based treatment centers, a moderation drinking program, and untreated individuals from the local community. Those from treatment settings were interviewed after 1 week but not later than 4 weeks in treatment. SR changes observed at 6 months were used to predict 9-month drinking outcomes. The specific SR changes examined...
November 27th, 2012 / BFI Staff Publications / Betty Ford Institute
This study looked at alcohol-dependent individuals, both in treatment and not, to investigate the effect of spiritual and religious (SR) change on their drinking outcomes - independent of AA involvement. Alcoholics (N = 364, 2/3 male) were identified from two abstinence-based treatment centers, a moderation drinking program, and untreated individuals from the local community. Those from treatment settings were interviewed after 1 week but not later than 4 weeks in treatment. SR changes observed at 6 months were used to predict 9-month drinking outcomes. The specific SR changes examined...
The Betty Ford Center Hosts Medical Students For Addiction Education Program
June 8th, 2012 / BFI Staff Publications / Abbey Hood
Sixteen of the most accomplished medical students from throughout the country completed a survey about addiction on an early Monday morning in the Tamkin Building at the Betty Ford Center. They answered this preliminary survey as a part of their orientation for the Summer Institute for Medical Students (SIMS). The survey is designed to assess the students’ knowledge about addiction before they begin SIMS-a weeklong program hosted by the Center to educate medical students on the disease of addiction. “As a physician, I am comfortable talking to addicts about their addiction and/ or...
June 8th, 2012 / BFI Staff Publications / Abbey Hood
Sixteen of the most accomplished medical students from throughout the country completed a survey about addiction on an early Monday morning in the Tamkin Building at the Betty Ford Center. They answered this preliminary survey as a part of their orientation for the Summer Institute for Medical Students (SIMS). The survey is designed to assess the students’ knowledge about addiction before they begin SIMS-a weeklong program hosted by the Center to educate medical students on the disease of addiction. “As a physician, I am comfortable talking to addicts about their addiction and/ or...
Call for More Research on Parent’s Addiction Recovery and Its Effect on Children
October 5th, 2011 / BFI Staff Publications / Betty Ford Institute
Jerry Moe’s keynote speech at the September 2011 NAADAC conference has been covered in this article in Joined Together.
October 5th, 2011 / BFI Staff Publications / Betty Ford Institute
Jerry Moe’s keynote speech at the September 2011 NAADAC conference has been covered in this article in Joined Together.
The Honour of All: Twenty-Five Years of Inspiring Recovery from Alcoholism
October 5th, 2011 / BFI Staff Publications / Betty Ford Institute
Patrick Haggerson’s narrative about positive effects of “The Honour of All” documentary is featured in Counselor Magazine .
October 5th, 2011 / BFI Staff Publications / Betty Ford Institute
Patrick Haggerson’s narrative about positive effects of “The Honour of All” documentary is featured in Counselor Magazine .
Changing the Family Legacy
May 25th, 2011 / BFI Staff Publications / Jerry Moe MA
A long-held tenet in the treatment and recovery worlds is that alcoholism and other drug addictions are a family disease. Everyone in the family, including children, gets hurt by this cunning, powerful, and baffling illness. All too often it becomes a family legacy that gets passed from generation to generation. Where does it stop? Children’s programs provide a unique opportunity to interrupt the multigenerational transmission of addiction. They can teach youth important life skills, empower adults with parenting strategies that they can include in their recovery process, and heal and...
May 25th, 2011 / BFI Staff Publications / Jerry Moe MA
A long-held tenet in the treatment and recovery worlds is that alcoholism and other drug addictions are a family disease. Everyone in the family, including children, gets hurt by this cunning, powerful, and baffling illness. All too often it becomes a family legacy that gets passed from generation to generation. Where does it stop? Children’s programs provide a unique opportunity to interrupt the multigenerational transmission of addiction. They can teach youth important life skills, empower adults with parenting strategies that they can include in their recovery process, and heal and...
To Understand Shame is to Understand Addiction and maybe even Life Itself
November 11th, 2010 / BFI Staff Publications / Garrett O'Connor MD
Shame, as the conductor of the affective orchestra in humans, is a powerful, elusive and tricky emotion that can protect or destroy the organism – depending on the circumstances. Often referred to as the pathological affect of abandonment, indignity, alienation and failure, the healthy function of shame, which is to protect and motivate the self to move in a positive direction by deeply disturbing it, goes largely unrecognized. This protection, however, comes with a high premium in pain and suffering for alcoholics and other addicts who, because of their frequently shameful lifestyles and...
November 11th, 2010 / BFI Staff Publications / Garrett O'Connor MD
Shame, as the conductor of the affective orchestra in humans, is a powerful, elusive and tricky emotion that can protect or destroy the organism – depending on the circumstances. Often referred to as the pathological affect of abandonment, indignity, alienation and failure, the healthy function of shame, which is to protect and motivate the self to move in a positive direction by deeply disturbing it, goes largely unrecognized. This protection, however, comes with a high premium in pain and suffering for alcoholics and other addicts who, because of their frequently shameful lifestyles and...
Patrick Haggerson Published in Counselor Magazine
August 16th, 2010 / BFI Staff Publications / Betty Ford Institute
Patrick Haggerson, MA, CADC-II, ICADC, first visited Alkali Lake in British Columbia in 1999 as a guest speaker at the community's annual recovery celebration event. He continued to make these annual trips for many years, and what began with his participation in this annual event evolved into a strong bond between the community and the Betty Ford Center. When the community's therapist retired in 2005, Patrick took on that role and continues to make monthly trips to Alkali Lake. In addition to individual therapy sessions, he offers family workshops; art therapy groups; a...
August 16th, 2010 / BFI Staff Publications / Betty Ford Institute
Patrick Haggerson, MA, CADC-II, ICADC, first visited Alkali Lake in British Columbia in 1999 as a guest speaker at the community's annual recovery celebration event. He continued to make these annual trips for many years, and what began with his participation in this annual event evolved into a strong bond between the community and the Betty Ford Center. When the community's therapist retired in 2005, Patrick took on that role and continues to make monthly trips to Alkali Lake. In addition to individual therapy sessions, he offers family workshops; art therapy groups; a...
Dr. Garrett O’Connor Published in Addiction Professional
August 11th, 2010 / BFI Staff Publications / Betty Ford Institute
"Doctors' role in the prescription abuse crisis" is the subject of an article by Garrett O'Connor, MD, President of the Betty Ford Institute, in the July/August 2010 issue of Addiction Professional magazine . Dr. O'Connor says that as a consequence of inadequate education about addiction in medical school and residency training, a significant majority of physicians in the U.S. wittingly or unwittingly contribute to the prescription drug epidemic because they lack the skill, knowledge and training to diagnose and treat addictive disease. These deficiencies are exacerbated by prejudice...
August 11th, 2010 / BFI Staff Publications / Betty Ford Institute
"Doctors' role in the prescription abuse crisis" is the subject of an article by Garrett O'Connor, MD, President of the Betty Ford Institute, in the July/August 2010 issue of Addiction Professional magazine . Dr. O'Connor says that as a consequence of inadequate education about addiction in medical school and residency training, a significant majority of physicians in the U.S. wittingly or unwittingly contribute to the prescription drug epidemic because they lack the skill, knowledge and training to diagnose and treat addictive disease. These deficiencies are exacerbated by prejudice...
What is Recovery? A Working Definition from Betty Ford Institute (2007)
June 7th, 2010 / BFI Staff Publications / Betty Ford Institute
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June 7th, 2010 / BFI Staff Publications / Betty Ford Institute
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