The Business of Recovery

This is one of the best documentaries I have seen recently, after a great number of duds. Before I saw it, I used to think that checking into a rehab was the natural thing to do for somebody having a serious addiction. Apparently many rehabs in the United States, including the famous Betty Ford Center, are glorified (but very expensive) care homes which do little more in terms of therapy than taking you to an AA meeting in the evening. In other words, you could get the same therapy for free, while Alcoholics Anonymous and their 12 step program are a lot less effective than is widely believed.

By the way, at one point a woman claims that defibrillators (which she pronounces somewhat like "defibulator") cost a mere US$200. Just for the record, they cost upwards of US$1400.

I had a close relative with addiction, and I can confirm that, even when profit is not an issue, it's the dark ages. It really is faith- based rather than "what works". So many people will throw their little spiel at you, whether it's something they're doing for a business or whether it's a show they've seen on TV. A shocking number of people will put the blame on you for not being willing to set up a "hot chair" type of "intervention". You sort of have to become an instant wizard.

Other than what this documentary propagates, I think it is of little consequence whether addiction is seen as a disease or not.