Transcript Reflections on the U.S. Recovery Movement

Keith Humphreys, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychiatry, Stanford University
Research Career Scientist, Dept. of Veterans Affairs
What Brought Prior Recovery
Movements to Grief?
 The usual “isms” + some addiction-specific ones
 Destructive internal squabbles
 Seizing defeat from the jaws of victory
The Usual Isms + Some AddictionSpecific Ones
 Being in Recovery Doesn’t Immunize People from
Racism, Sexism and Classism
 Recovery has its own isms
Type of Drug
Ill-chosen Badges of Honor
Route to Recovery
How Has the Current U.S. Recovery Movement
Avoided These Problems (So Far)? Part I
 More than anything else, the conscious, sustained
commitment to diversity in all forms has been critical
 This includes the concept of “many pathways to
recovery”
How Has the Current U.S. Recovery Movement
Avoided These Problems (So Far)? Part II
 A core of highly skilled, diverse leaders who can put
the movement’s needs above their own
 Agreed on a few simple but important ideas
 Changes in the broader culture
Two Nations Separated by
Different Cultural Myths
 “Any child can grow up to be President of the United
States!”
 “Let me hear your accent, and I will tell you what your
father did for a living.”
Expectations of the State and
Professional Helpers
 “Leave it to the professionals”
 “If you want something done right…”