Ep. 99: The Cruel, Voyeuristic Quackery of Rehab TV Shows
Added 2020-01-29 16:19:21 +0000 UTCOver the last 20 years, the topics of substance use and treatment have become the stuff of televised entertainment: heart-wrenching stories of desperation and redemption, of suffering and survival. Shows like A&E’s Intervention and VH1’s Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, which depict people with substance use disorders and their experiences navigating recovery in rehab, have gone a long way to shape our common narratives about what addiction is and how it should be addressed.
The central conceit of these shows is that anyone struggling with addiction must follow the same road to recovery: stay at a for-profit treatment facility for approximately one to three months, requiring, among other things, complete abstinence from drugs and/or alcohol, no matter how excruciating or dangerous. While these methods are effective for some, they’re profoundly harmful for others.
In promoting this one-size-fits-all approach to treatment—which can be accompanied by punitive and often humiliating experiences—these shows reinforce techniques and philosophies that are not only scientifically debunked, but also have the potential to endanger people’s lives. Meanwhile, they serve as an advertising platform for these for-profit rehab centers themselves, many of which have been shown to be prohibitively expensive, ineffective, and, in some cases, deadly.
On this episode, we examine the pseudoscience, myths, and fundamentally quasi-christian self-help ideology promulgated by this genre of television; the ways in which these shows exploit addiction for the sake of story; and the relationship between rehab television and the multibillion-dollar for-profit treatment industry.
Our guest is journalist and author Maia Szalavitz.
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Guest
Maia Szalavitz is a reporter, whose three decades of writing on addiction, drug policy and neuroscience has appeared everywhere from High Times to The New York Times, The Washington Post to The Guardian, VICE to TIME, Scientific American to The Atlantic. She is the author of many books, including the New York Times bestseller, Unbroken Brain: A Revolutionary New Way of Understanding Addiction. You can follow her on Twitter @maiasz.
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Show Notes
Health in Justice Action Lab | Northeastern University School of Law
A New Definition of Addiction Makes Rehab and Recovery More Effective
Maia Szalavitz | June 15, 2016 | Big Think
8 Ways America’s Scandal-Plagued Rehab Industry Needs to Clean Up Its Act
Maia Szalavitz | February 15, 2016 | The Influence (AlterNet)
Zachary A. Siegel | September 1, 2017 | Medium
The Irrationality of Alcoholics Anonymous
Gabrielle Glaser | April 2015 | The Atlantic
For Mark Willenbring, Substance Abuse Treatment Begins With Research
Gabrielle Glaser | February 22, 2016 | The New York Times
How to find good addiction treatment, according to experts
German Lopez | October 9, 2019 | Vox
What Science Says To Do If Your Loved One Has An Opioid Addiction
Maia Szalavitz | July19, 2016 | Five Thirty Eight
The Tragic, Pseudoscientific Practice of Forcing Addicts to ‘Hit Rock Bottom’
Jesse Singal | May 31, 2016 | The Cut
How A&E Got Rich Off of Recovery
Joe Lynch | March 25, 2011 | The Fix
Rehab television shows: intervention or exploitation?
Amy Kaufman | January 2, 2011 | The Los Angeles Times
Intervention: The Oral History of A&E’s Reality Show About Substance Abusers
Gwynne Watkins | July 18, 2013 | Vulture
How some Southern California drug rehab centers exploit addiction
Teri Sforza et al. | November 5, 2018 | Orange County Register
State shuts down Pasadena-based ‘Celebrity Rehab’ center over death, repeated violations
Jason Henry | August 4, 2018 | Pasadena Star News
Synanon's Sober Utopia: How a Drug Rehab Program Became a Violent Cult
Matt Novak | April 15, 2014 | Gizmodo
Can Drug Addicts Drink Alcohol? Can Alcoholics Smoke Weed? What You Really Don't Know About Recovery
Maia Szalavitz | June 4, 2012 | The Fix
Hazelden Introduces Antiaddiction Medications into Recovery for First Time
Maia Szalavitz | November 5, 2012 | TIME
William L. White and William R. Miller | January 2007 | Counselor
Pros and Cons of the Minnesota Model of Addiction Treatment
New Beginnings | December 11, 2017
Most people who drink excessively are not alcohol dependent
Press Release | November 20, 2014 | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Press Release | January 18, 2005 | National Institute on Alcohol Abuse Alcoholism (NIAAA)
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Transcript
For a full transcript of this episode, go here.
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Comments
Ugh, that book is awful! My brother gave it to me because we used to listen to his radio show.
2020-03-13 21:52:55 +0000 UTCGreat ep. wanted to recommend Straight Life by Art Pepper. Had an excellent (and harrowing) account of the goings on of Synanon.
Robert Granniss
2020-02-02 02:55:32 +0000 UTCExcellent and necessary episode. Dependence is treated differently to other disease because drugs, gambling, food etc are perceived as something people do for fun. The drug user or habitual gambler or binge eater isn't seen as someone afflicted; they're simply indulgent and lazy, lacking the self-discipline to deny themselves a good time. From that perspective, shame and punishment seem like appropriate responses.
Coupcumber
2020-01-30 07:20:19 +0000 UTC(This isn't Paul but Vikki, his wife. He pays for this patreon, because I love the pod!) Anyways, when I was in a MSW program, everyone had to take a drug and alcohol course. Take a wild guess at whose book we read? Cracked by Dr. Drew Pinsky. My classmates and I even had to do projects based on the book.
Vikki and Paul
2020-01-29 18:40:42 +0000 UTC
