Friday, March 25, 2016

Addictions Can Not Be Cured as Diseases

Addiction treatment is a cash cow for the Psychology Industry, which has argued, in most cases successfully, that treatment of the “disease” ought to be covered by health insurance.  The state of Minnesota has declared alcoholism to be a treatable disease and adopted legislation against the firing of employees who are unable to perform their jobs because of drunkenness.  They must be treated at the employer’s (or insurer’s) expense, even though most of the data show treatment to be ineffective.  A survey of Fortune 500 companies indicated that 79 percent recognized that substance abuse was a “significant or very significant problem” in their organizations.  However, when asked whether the treatment programs did any good, “the overwhelming majority saw few results from these programs. In the survey, 87 percent reported little or no change in absenteeism since the programs began and 90 percent saw little or no change in productivity ratings.” . . . 

It seems that, whatever the results, addiction treatment is identifiably a business that ignores its failures.  In fact its failures lead to more business.  Its technology, based on continued recovering, presumes relapses. Recidivism is used as an argument for further funding rather than as evidence of an ineffective treatment.


Dr. Tana Dineen in, “Manufacturing Victims: What the Psychology Industry is Doing to People,” pg. 214-215


This demonstrates the whole problem of treating addictions as diseases — addictions are not illnesses, rather they are a result of poor choices and can be ended by choosing to end them.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

The same can be said of some cancer treatments, yet we don't stop trying. New evidence is being found with research that is making your argument archaic.

Glenn E. Chatfield said...

Anonymous,

You are wrong. Cancer IS a disease, it IS a bonafide medical condition. Addictions are not diseases or real medical conditions (although they can cause medical conditions). Addictions are habits formed of behaviors which can be walked away from. Cancer is a disease which is not chosen or just walked away from.