What will be,will be: An Interview with Jurgen Hargens

Graham Martin met Jurgen Hargens at the International Editor's meeting prior to the Second International Conference on Family Therapy in New York, in October 1985, and was struck by his passionate idealism, his development of an international journal almost single-handed, and his forceful defence of the need for a journal which focussed on systemic issues.     

42 CFR Part 2 final rule: OTP input into PDMP,more enforcement and easier

The final rule “modernizing” the country's confidentiality regulation, which originally required treatment providers to obtain patients' consent in writing to the release of their substance use disorder (SUD) treatment information, was published last week. Consent for release of information would apply to a broad category of health care operations, care coordination and case management. And methadone patients could have their treatment information put into state data systems; since 2011, that has not been allowed. Finally, the freedom of law enforcement to place and use confidential informants inside treatment programs has been expanded.     

What's happening with OTPs: Report from AATOD

October's conference of the American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence (AATOD) in Orlando featured some important policy developments and initiatives for opioid treatment programs (OTPs).     

Nuggets from AATOD: New CSAT director comments

Here are more reports from last month's American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence (AATOD) conference in Orlando — in particular, insights from Louis Trevisan, M.D., the new director of the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).     

2020: A year many hope will never be repeated

Last year began auspiciously: new money for treatment, a focus on expanding prevention and an increasing recognition that focusing on opioids only is not helping the multifactorial substance use disorder (SUD) problems of the country. But in March, COVID‐19 appeared, pushing SUDs to the side in terms of attention.     

Parrino perspective from 2019 AATOD conference: Positives and negatives

Opioids have put the American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence (AATOD) front and center when it comes to medication‐assisted treatment with methadone in particular, but also with buprenorphine and naltrexone. Mark W. Parrino, AATOD president, told the 2,000 or so attendees at the AATOD conference in Orlando last week about the positives and negatives that have occurred in the past year. Amid all the festivity and “magic” of Disney and the deluxe Coronado Springs Resort, there are very serious issues facing the field in terms of growth and patient care.     

AATOD in Florida: The view from the SSA

Florida was the focus of the first plenary session of the conference of the American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence (AATOD), held last week in Orlando. It's customary for the host state of this gathering, which happens every 18 months, to showcase its successes, and indeed, there have been successes for opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment across the country. But Florida, the epicenter for pill mills a decade ago, is an important case study.     

'The world will be saved by beauty': The Revival of Romantic Theories of the Symbol in Pavel Florenskii's Works

Abstract

From a study of Pavel Florenskii's (1882–1937) works on the symbol from the 1920s, it is suggested that Florenskii's understanding of symbolism bears witness to the revival of romantic theories at the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth centuries. The continuity between romantic theories of the symbol and Florenskii's understanding of the symbolic image has not previously been noted. However, the closeness of Florenskii's writings and Viacheslav Ivanov's on the symbol has been noticed, while Ivanov's indebtedness to the German romantics has long been known. Thus, another relatively little studied dimension of Florenskii's work is uncovered and, in particular, his involvement with Russian Symbolism and with its main theoretical spokesman. Florenskii's understanding of the symbol is seen in the context of developments growing out of the October Revolution, but also, more broadly, as a response to the crisis of modernity. The romantic definition of the symbol, as accepted by Florenskii, is an attempt to restore the lost sense of belonging to 'higher' reality through the ontological identity between 'being' and 'thing'. The mission of art in this project is of fundamental importance and it can be summed up in the famous words of Dostoevskii's character, Prince Myshkin, in The Idiot: 'beauty will save the world'.     

“It will help me in life,that my life will be better”: Future Challenges for Children of Migrant Families

Not much attention has been paid to the children of migrant families in the receiving Israeli society. Our research focuses on how migrant children cope with future orientation and challenges how those children perceive their future course of life. This study speaks with the voices of the children, as represented in their personal stories and interviews, and reveals their interpretation of their futures, their integration in the receiving society, and the significance they accord to the events, activities and experiences they have undergone. Our findings reveal that in the area of future life course the children expressed a positive approach to school, to matriculation, to work and fulfilling future ambitions. In contrast in the area of existential life course children expressed a negative view and most of them reported that it is difficult for immigrant families live in Israel, and therefore they would prefer to migrate to another country.     

I was,I am,I will be: Identity and time perspective before and during COVID-19

The ways in which youth reach a stable identity, a core developmental task of emerging adulthood, are intertwined with their perceptions of the past, present, and future. Additionally, these dynamics are embedded in and are strongly influenced by the socio-historical context and concurrent events, such as COVID-19. This study examines how different groups of emerging adults (university students and workers) engage in identity processes in educational/vocational and interpersonal domains and frame their perspective of time before (N = 299, M_age = 21.90; 51.4% females) and during the pandemic (N = 497; M_age = 23.11; 68.2% females). Significant differences in identity processes and time perspective emerged between the two cohorts. Moreover, significant associations between identity and time perspective were found to be similar across different identity domains and cohorts.     

Recovery Month will take place: Faces & Voices of Recovery will run it

Last week, we reported that the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration is walking away from its sponsorship of Recovery Month (see “After 30 years, SAMHSA walks away from Recovery Month,” ADAW, July 8, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/adaw.32770 ). This is correct. However, what needs clarification is this: Recovery Month will still take place, hosted by Faces & Voices of Recovery. Philip Rutherford, director of operations of Faces & Voices of Recovery, told ADAW in an email last week that the organization “is excited to host the Recovery Month website, previously found at recoverymonth.gov .” The new site “will contain a repository for the 2020 Recovery Month digital assets, like graphics and display banners for anyone to download and use, and more. Equally as important, organizations will be able to post information about their events on the Recovery Month calendar.” These materials have “been a staple of the event for years, and Faces & Voices is pleased to be able to keep it going.”