one of the things that we're doing in new york is that, we've taken the language that samhsa has promoted and we have sort of tweaked it. we have a one-pager, two-sided, that we are going to be taking to every meeting, every meeting with a provider, every convention, everywhere. because we do think that language is important and there is an opportunity. we are working with the treatment system on this whole move towards the recovery framework and language is very, very important. the whole idea that, that recovery is self-directed, we need to be able for people to self-talk. one of the things when john was talking about the disease, one of the things that i remember very clearly is, how the addict feels about themselves and how the language really impacts you, being called a junkie, being called an addict. you begin to believe that. you begin to, to enact that behavior. so it's, very, very important that while people are in treatment and not only treatment, the other pathways, the faith institutions. we want to get this information to them. the, the mental health system, the child welfare

you know, you've hit on something that i have observed over the last 13 years that i've been at samhsa and, and that is that just when you get comfortable using one terminology, along comes someone else and then they find, particularly not only in the substance use disorder field, but also in the mental illness field. right, john, i mean it's, it's just you know as difficult as we find the, the subject matter in, in the substance use disorder field, you know the mental illness side also presents with, i think, some similar circumstances. for sure. when you think about other disorders, for example, the thought, the one, the disorder comes to mind quickly when, as a first cousin of substance abuse disorder are eating disorders. now when you talk about eating disorders, we always, invariably, people use the term inside, outside of the field, they refer to it as an eating disorder, not as food abuse or, and don't refer to them as food abusers. and that has grown up just in, in a very consistent fashion. it's always been eating disorders, as far as i can remember it, it's never been anythin

the training that was developed by faces and voices of recovery in conjunction with funding from samhsa. people in the recovery community have been looking for a long time for language that they can use to really describe what it is that they've been through and what it is that they're trying to advocate for. so faces and voices of recovery has used the training as an opportunity create a video, a dvd, that can be you know sent around the country, can be put on the internet, can really be used in trainings and in workshops around the country so that more people have the terminology that's necessary to communicate our, our message to the broadest possible audience. there are three major sections of the dvd. the first is a 90- minute training video which takes you through faces and voices of recovery's media and message training, the actual core training itself. the second part of the dvd is a section called, "keys to successful interviews". that section really is helpful for people who are going to be going into an interview situation and they need to brush up on some basic skills. and t

and i'm, i'm just really grateful to the, the initiatives that samhsa and, and the federal government have supported around the access to recovery program, the recovery community support programs, that foster this peer-to-peer interaction where they're non-traditional approaches, but that, creating that peer-to-peer interaction, i think is just so critical. now it's not a slight on the academics or the, the clinical or the treatment professional, but there's that empathy factor between one person that has experienced this helping another person. and i think we need to promote more of that. so i'm, i'm a big believer that money isn't the answer to everything, but i believe that samhsa hit on something when they were funding those type of programs. and in doing so, those individuals that are helping each other, maybe they can help each other on the language front as well as how do they view themselves...absolutely. ...and how do i want to go back to john, john, talk to me about some of the articles where people can access more information, if i wanted to learn more about this. you menti

welcome to the 11th season of samhsa's road to recovery television and radio series . this episode will highlight the many accomplishments of the 2010 national recovery month observance and look forward to a successful 2011 campaign...so- join the voices for recovery: recovery benefits everyone. in 2011, national alcohol and drug addiction recovery month is expanding its reach to include the celebration and recognition of individuals, families, and communities who have overcome mental health problems and we have changed the name to national recovery month. recovery month offers help and hope not only for individuals receiving substance use and/or mental health recovery services but also for families, loved ones, friends, and communities. the benefits of treatment and recovery ripple across entire communities throughout our nation, proving there are effective treatments and people do recover. recovery month honors the millions of americans who are living happy, healthy, and productive lives in long-term recovery from substance use and mental health problems. it celebrat

i know that samhsa has a program that is targeted to women and children and pregnant postpartum. do you want to talk a little bit about that? you are correct when you mention that gender is an important part of cultural dynamics and cultural competence. one of the things that we recognized a long time ago was that we needed to make sure we had some gender-specific programming. and that also included programming that allows women to bring their children into the treatment environment and to allow women who are pregnant to deliver in the treatment environment. it works to their benefit and it also reassures the larger community that that woman who has an alcohol or drug problem will deliver a child who is free of alcohol and drugs. so that reassures the community and also gives that woman a greater sense of personal dignity and responsibility as a parent. because we're dealing with powerfully reinforcing psychoactive substances, that many times when people have the responsibility for children, but who have addiction problems, they are unable to maintain the necessary balance. by ha

well, one of the things that we at samhsa are stressing is that every person who has a mental health issue or substance use issue needs to also get a good physical health assessment. one of the things we know about the misuse of alcohol or drugs is that it does have an effect on the organic integrity of the body. so you may get liver disease, you may get gastritis, you may get heart disease, you're at greater risks for various infections like hepatitis c or hiv. and we want to make sure that anybody who is on the course of recovery has as much information as possible. there was one quote i read recently and a guy says, "i spent all this time using alcohol and drugs and shooting up, etc., etc., so i finally get into treatment only to discover that i have hepatitis c." so we want to have that as an integral part because that becomes part of the cultural dynamic. and especially from a religious point of view, because you start feeling that you've been visited by god in a negative way because after all, you finally get your life on a proper course, and boom, you've got to deal with eithe