Recovery Rejection: How to End Recovery Community Stigma Against MAT Clients

June 18, 2021
11:15 AM PDT - 12:00 PM
Presented by:Pete Nielsen

This workshop addresses the root causes of this division in the house of recovery. It begins with CCAPP CEO, Pete Nielsen addressing the alarming lack of knowledge that clients have about their own medication choices and options by using a unique graphic produced by the California Consortium of Addiction Programs and Professionals and Harbage Consulting. As part of the MAT Toolkit, this laminated one-page tool allows clients to see medication options, alongside a column that describes ways in which the medication may impact their lifestyle, so that conversations between practitioner and client can be more in-depth and decisions about medication can be truly client driven.  

Armed with proper knowledge about their medications, clients can then be taught ways to advocate for themselves with others in recovery who may be mistrustful, prideful about their own abstinence, or just plain jealous that some else “gets to still use.” Each of these common objections will be thoroughly considered through role play and review of the Wellness Recovery Action Plan’s, Ten Steps to Being an Effective Self-Advocate 

Because resistance within families, whether they be families of origin or recovery residence housing, can be extremely damaging to acceptance of MAT, David Sheridan, Executive Director of the National Alliance for Recovery Residences (NARR) will review new standards that help families with medication management, medication storage, and potential misuse. With practical advice about how to work with medication within a household, participants at the workshop will be prepared to answer practical questions many families and members of congregate living programs may have. He will present a model policy for MAT clients in “sober living” and will discuss legal and ethical issues surrounding “dispensing,” “dosing,” and “storage.” 

 

Learning Objectives: 

Graphic tools for making MAT decisions more “client driven” will be understood from the perspective of the client.  

Participants will learn precise techniques to empower clients to effectively explain MAT to other recovering people in ways that are consistent with traditional recovery norms. 

Long term hurdles to MAT integration involving recovery housing pushback and family mistrust will be discussed and broken down so that societal acceptance can be improved.  

Strategies for overcoming MAT anonymity in a 12-step world will be outlined to encourage recovery supports from historically effective mutual aid groups.

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