Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

What can a famous actress teach us about curing addiction?

Mark Leeds, DO
Physician
December 18, 2019
69 Shares
Share
Tweet
Share

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing famous television and film actress, Claudia Christian. She has played significant roles in many notable movies and shows, including lead roles in the long-running sci-fi series Babylon 5 and the Disney film, Atlantis: The Lost Empire. In our podcast interview, we discussed treating alcoholism using the FDA-approved drug, naltrexone.

Why listen to an actress about medical treatment for addiction? First of all, doctors generally get very little addiction training in medical school. And, if doctors do choose to study drug and alcohol addiction, many graduate programs focus on the Alcoholics Anonymous 12-step model, which is abstinence-based and often at odds with the latest in scientifically proven modern medical therapies.

Claudia Christian, on the other hand, has spent most of the past decade working closely with researchers in the field of addiction, particularly relating to alcoholism. She has immersed herself in the world of the scientific study and application of medication-assisted treatment for alcoholism. Additionally, she has formed a non-profit organization, The C Three Foundation, to promote the use of medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for alcohol use disorder.

The U.S. health care system has many obstacles built-in that slow and prevents progress in the field of addiction treatment. Powerful pharmaceutical corporations can shape the thinking of U.S. physicians. Entrenched policy and tradition based on William Griffith Wilson’s Alcoholics Anonymous program also hold us back. Even our most prestigious credentialing organizations in the field of addiction treatment promote 12-step facilitation as being an evidence-based treatment for addiction. Selection bias significantly limits observational studies of 12-step fellowships. The reality is these peer support programs have a much lower success rate than we are led to believe.

As Ms. Christian points out, the clash of the hard scientific study performed over many years around the world at major research centers with US abstinence-based policy prevents us from taking a serious look at other methods of treating addiction. Her focus is on a way of treating alcoholism based on the work of Nobel laureate, Ivan Pavlov, with the application of modern drug therapy to extinguish addiction to particular substances and behaviors from the brain. This method, known as The Sinclair Method, or TSM, was developed by Dr. John D. Sinclair.

Doctors have had significant success in treating alcoholism with TSM, and there is evidence that similar protocols may be useful in treating binge eating, gambling addiction, and even cocaine and amphetamine addiction. Claudia Christian has spoken publicly about TSM, which is merely using naltrexone to treat alcoholism for many years now. Her TEDx talk on YouTube has over 2.2 million views. Yet, the application of this protocol is still relatively unknown to most doctors. Many doctors are afraid to give their patients a prescription for naltrexone, a very safe opioid blocker that has no abuse potential and may even soon be available over the counter.

Why are we not taking this application of MAT more seriously? We are in the midst of an addiction epidemic with opioids and alcohol being the deadliest of all addicting substances. It is time to consider the possibility that the institutions of addiction treatment in the US are not leading us in the right direction. What would help to get more doctors to listen to Claudia Christian? Maybe she should go to medical school. We have seen doctors become famous actors, why not the other way around? Perhaps then, we would listen.

Mark Leeds is a family physician, can be reached at his self-titled site, DrLeeds.com, and podcasts at The Rehab. He can also be reached on Twitter @leedsosteopath.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

Prev

Burnout is death by a thousand cuts

December 18, 2019 Kevin 5
…
Next

The thought cancers that almost took my life

December 18, 2019 Kevin 0
…

Tagged as: Pain Management, Psychiatry

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Burnout is death by a thousand cuts
Next Post >
The thought cancers that almost took my life

More by Mark Leeds, DO

  • Making America great again with harm reduction

    Mark Leeds, DO
  • The doctor trap: What it is and how to escape it

    Mark Leeds, DO
  • This physician loves his podcast. Here’s why.

    Mark Leeds, DO

Related Posts

  • A physician’s addiction to social media

    Amanda Xi, MD
  • Why aren’t you treating opioid addiction?

    Kathleen A. Hallinan, MD
  • Addiction doesn’t just ruin the addict’s life

    Leah Stalnaker
  • Structure case conferences as a primary way to teach and learn

    Robert Centor, MD
  • The dangers of opioid addiction in the medical industry

    Anonymous
  • What baseball can teach doctors

    Michael L. Millenson

More in Physician

  • The Iranian diaspora’s fight for liberty: Overcoming challenges in the largest women’s rights movement of our century

    Montreh Tavakkoli, MD
  • The harmful effects of shaming patients for self-education

    Maryanna Barrett, MD
  • The power of self-appreciation: Why physicians need to start acknowledging their own contributions

    Wendy Schofer, MD
  • Skydiving and surgery: How one doctor translates high-stress training to saving lives

    Alexandra Kharazi, MD
  • Don’t be caught off guard: Read your malpractice policy today

    Aaron Morgenstein, MD & Laura Fortner, MD
  • The dark side of medicine: an urgent call to action against greed

    Don Gaede, MD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • The real cause of America’s opioid crisis: Doctors are not to blame

      Richard A. Lawhern, PhD | Meds
    • It’s time for C-suite to contract directly with physicians for part-time work

      Aaron Morgenstein, MD & Corinne Sundar Rao, MD | Physician
    • The struggle to fill emergency medicine residency spots: Exploring the factors behind the unfilled match

      Katrina Gipson, MD, MPH | Physician
    • What is driving physicians to the edge of despair?

      Edward T. Creagan, MD | Physician
    • Beyond the disease: the power of empathy in health care

      Nana Dadzie Ghansah, MD | Physician
    • The psychoanalytic hammer: lessons in listening and patient-centered care

      Greg Smith, MD | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • The real cause of America’s opioid crisis: Doctors are not to blame

      Richard A. Lawhern, PhD | Meds
    • Nobody wants this job. Should physicians stick around?

      Katie Klingberg, MD | Physician
    • The vital importance of climate change education in medical schools

      Helen Kim, MD | Policy
    • The fight for reproductive health: Why medication abortion matters

      Catherine Hennessey, MD | Physician
    • Resetting the doctor-patient relationship: Navigating the challenges of modern primary care

      Jeffrey H. Millstein, MD | Physician
    • The Titanic sinking: a metaphor for the impending collapse of medicine

      Aaron Morgenstein, MD & Corinne Sundar Rao, MD & Shreekant Vasudhev, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • The Iranian diaspora’s fight for liberty: Overcoming challenges in the largest women’s rights movement of our century

      Montreh Tavakkoli, MD | Physician
    • Surviving clinical rounds: tips and tales from a pediatric hematologist-oncologist [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The harmful effects of shaming patients for self-education

      Maryanna Barrett, MD | Physician
    • The power of self-appreciation: Why physicians need to start acknowledging their own contributions

      Wendy Schofer, MD | Physician
    • The endless waves of chronic illness

      Michele Luckenbaugh | Conditions
    • Skydiving and surgery: How one doctor translates high-stress training to saving lives

      Alexandra Kharazi, MD | Physician

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

Leave a Comment

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

CME Spotlights

From MedPage Today

Latest News

  • Drug Shortage Leads to Firing Squads; FTC Non-compete Backlash; Illegal Laughing Gas
  • Abortion Is Not Murder in the Eyes of the Law
  • Introducing Allergenic Foods Early Tied to a Reduction in Later Allergies
  • Isotretinoin REMS Still Needed, But Its Burden Could Be Reduced, FDA Staff Says
  • Children Do Well With Fewer Opiates After Surgery

Meeting Coverage

  • Children Do Well With Fewer Opiates After Surgery
  • Advances in Diagnosis and Management of Severe Cutaneous Adverse Reactions
  • Orismilast Clears Skin in Moderate-to-Severe Psoriasis
  • New Combinations Promising in Advanced Urothelial Carcinoma
  • No Survival Benefit With CRT Versus Chemo for Locally Advanced Endometrial Cancer
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • The real cause of America’s opioid crisis: Doctors are not to blame

      Richard A. Lawhern, PhD | Meds
    • It’s time for C-suite to contract directly with physicians for part-time work

      Aaron Morgenstein, MD & Corinne Sundar Rao, MD | Physician
    • The struggle to fill emergency medicine residency spots: Exploring the factors behind the unfilled match

      Katrina Gipson, MD, MPH | Physician
    • What is driving physicians to the edge of despair?

      Edward T. Creagan, MD | Physician
    • Beyond the disease: the power of empathy in health care

      Nana Dadzie Ghansah, MD | Physician
    • The psychoanalytic hammer: lessons in listening and patient-centered care

      Greg Smith, MD | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • The real cause of America’s opioid crisis: Doctors are not to blame

      Richard A. Lawhern, PhD | Meds
    • Nobody wants this job. Should physicians stick around?

      Katie Klingberg, MD | Physician
    • The vital importance of climate change education in medical schools

      Helen Kim, MD | Policy
    • The fight for reproductive health: Why medication abortion matters

      Catherine Hennessey, MD | Physician
    • Resetting the doctor-patient relationship: Navigating the challenges of modern primary care

      Jeffrey H. Millstein, MD | Physician
    • The Titanic sinking: a metaphor for the impending collapse of medicine

      Aaron Morgenstein, MD & Corinne Sundar Rao, MD & Shreekant Vasudhev, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • The Iranian diaspora’s fight for liberty: Overcoming challenges in the largest women’s rights movement of our century

      Montreh Tavakkoli, MD | Physician
    • Surviving clinical rounds: tips and tales from a pediatric hematologist-oncologist [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The harmful effects of shaming patients for self-education

      Maryanna Barrett, MD | Physician
    • The power of self-appreciation: Why physicians need to start acknowledging their own contributions

      Wendy Schofer, MD | Physician
    • The endless waves of chronic illness

      Michele Luckenbaugh | Conditions
    • Skydiving and surgery: How one doctor translates high-stress training to saving lives

      Alexandra Kharazi, MD | Physician

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today iMedicalApps
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Leave a Comment

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...