A healthy dentist is one of the most important ingredients in a successful dental practice. An ingredient not to be taken for granted. Professionals, dentists included, can and do experience illnesses and problems that can disrupt or impair a practice.

In addition to the vulnerabilities of the human condition–addictive disorders, psychiatric illnesses, infectious disease, family and relationship problems, or the many varieties of human misery–dentists have undergone a powerful process of socialization into their professional role that makes it difficult to seek help for themselves.

Stigma about addictive and psychiatric illnesses continues to be a problem despite significant advances in scientific understanding of these disorders.

Many people, especially those in positions of community visibility as dentists are, still struggle with shame when they associate problems with personal failure.

Dental societies are in an ideal position to provide resources and support, should they choose to take this opportunity, and the ADA has the information and expertise to help them do this.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Dentists can become more aware of their own vulnerabilities and enhance their personal and professional effectiveness, as well as evaluate ways they may support their staff and colleagues.

Research; J Am Dent Assoc. 2004 Jan;135(1):84-9. Safeguarding the health of dental professionals. Lavine SR, Drumm JW, Keating LK.

See also;

• Brief-TSF can assist people cease alcohol consumption.
• Twelve-Step Programs as an Adjunct to Psychotherapy and Psychopharmacology
• Subscribe to Twelve Step Facilitation by e-Mail

Natural Health, Natural Medicine: The Complete Guide to Wellness and Self-Care for Optimum Health by Andrew Weil Read more about this title…

Brief-TSF manual; How to help an alcoholic find freedom from alcohol.

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Help set the ghosts of alcoholism free

Psychopathological symptoms and personality traits in alcohol-dependent patients: a comparative study.

The aim of this paper was to describe the psychopathological and personality profile associated with alcohol dependence and to compare it with those of non-addictive disorders and the normal population.

The sample consisted of

• 158 alcohol-dependent participants attending a psychiatric outpatient clinic,
• 120 psychiatric patients with non-addictive disorders and
• 103 participants from the general population chosen to match the patient samples for age, gender and socioeconomic level.

All participants were assessed with different instruments related to

personality

• Impulsiveness Scale,
• Sensation-Seeking Scale and
• STAI,

psychopathology

• SCL-90-R,
• BDI and
• Maladjustment Scale and

personality disorders

• MCMI-II.

Patients from the clinical groups presented more symptoms of anxiety and depression than the healthy participants and had more problems adjusting to everyday life, but there were no differences between the two clinical groups.

Alcohol-dependent patients were more impulsive and sensation-seeking than the other two groups.

Histrionic, narcissistic and antisocial personality disorders were specific to the alcohol-dependent patients.

The implications of this study for further research are discussed.

Research report; Psychopathological symptoms and personality traits in alcohol-dependent patients: a comparative study. Adicciones. 2007;19(4):373-81. Bravo de Medina R, Echeburua E, Aizpiri J.

See also;

• Brief-TSF is designed to address these issues.
• Screening for Alcohol Problems
• What About This Spiritual Awakening Thing?

The impact of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) on professional treatment.

Several forces combined in the 1950s to profoundly change the way alcoholism was treated in the United States. Anderson, Bradley, and Hazelden staff combined strategies to revolutionize alcoholism treatment across the spectrum of social rehabilitation services and hospital-based care.

Prevailing psychiatric services, heavily influenced by psychoanalytic practices, were abandoned in favor of an emphasis on patient education, therapeutic group process, peer interaction, and the development of life-long support systems through AA.

The addition of the alcoholism counselors, many of whom were recovering AA members, was a key ingredient in aligning a closely identified professional with the alcoholic to foster integration of Twelve Step principles and practices in everyday life.

Dignity, respect, and hope for recovery became the cornerstone of the Minnesota/Hazelden Model. The resulting treatment model is recognized as an effective, evidence-based approach for alcohol and drug dependence. One of the strongest commendatory statements has come from the staff of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism who, in a report to the U.S. Congress, identified Twelve Step-based professional treatment as effective as other approaches and a model that "…may actually achieve more sustained abstinence" (2000, p. 448).

Clearly, AA’s impact on professional treatment cannot be underestimated. Perhaps Dan Anderson summarized it best: "Without the initial and sustaining impetus of [AA], none of our treatment efforts could have been realized"

Slaymaker VJ, Sheehan T. The impact of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) on professional treatment. Recent Dev Alcohol. 2008;18:59-70.

See also;

• ABC’s of Recovery
• Alcoholic Recovery for Gay and Lesbian People
• Definition of Codependency
• Spiritual Assessment

Medical students’ knowledge about alcohol and drug problems: results of the medical council of Canada examination.

PURPOSE: To determine knowledge of a national sample of medical students about substance withdrawal, screening and early intervention, medical and psychiatric complications of addiction, and treatment options.

METHODS: Based on learning objectives developed by medical faculty, twenty-two questions on addictions were included in the 1998 Canadian licensing examination.

RESULTS: The exam was written by 858 medical students. The average score on the addiction questions was 64%.

• Students showed strong knowledge of the clinical features of medical complications.

Specific knowledge gaps were identified for

• withdrawal treatment protocols,
• low-risk drinking guidelines,
• taking an alcohol history,
• substance-induced psychiatric disorders, and
• Alcoholics Anonymous.

CONCLUSION: Medical students are knowledge-deficient around key learning objectives in addictions. The deficiencies were in areas of basic knowledge that could be learnt with little difficulty.

Research report; Kahan M, Midmer D, Wilson L, Borsoi D. Medical students’ knowledge about alcohol and drug problems: results of the medical council of Canada examination. Subst Abus. 2006 Dec;27(4):1-7.

Brief-TSF includes training, as well as other matters, in taking an alcohol inventory and knowledge of Alcoholics Anonymous.

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If you were asked: ‘What are the most important things we know about addiction?’ what would you say? This paper brings together a body of knowledge across multiple domains and arranged as a list of 10 things known about addiction, as a response to such a question.

Editors note; These things apply equally to addiction, alcoholism, compulsive gambling, co-dependency and all such afflictions.

The 10 things are:

1. addiction is fundamentally about compulsive behaviour;
2. compulsive drug seeking is initiated outside of consciousness;
3. addiction is about 50% heritable and complexity abounds;
4. most people with addictions who present for help have other psychiatric problems as well;
5. addiction is a chronic relapsing disorder in the majority of people who present for help;
6. different psychotherapies appear to produce similar treatment outcomes;
7. ‘come back when you’re motivated’ is no longer an acceptable therapeutic response;
8. the more individualized and broad-based the treatment a person with addiction receives, the better the outcome;
9. epiphanies are hard to manufacture; and
10. change takes time.

The paper concludes with a call for unity between warring factions in the field to use the knowledge already known more effectively for the betterment of tangata whaiora (patients) suffering from addictive disorders.

Doug Sellman. Addiction; Volume 105 Issue 1, Pages 6 – 13, The 10 most important things known about addiction

See also; Twelve Step Facilitation is designed to support people returning to their community