Dear Editor:
Gold star to Tom Littlewood, program director at Dan’s Legacy. His (Dec. 27) letter to the editor on the opioid crisis is right on target.
Solving the opioid crisis requires that we address the catastrophe of child and adolescent trauma that is pervasive in our society.
People use substances to manage their dysphoria. That’s a Latin word for “feeling bad.” One of the most common reasons people feel psychologically unwell can be traced back to trauma that was done unto them when they were innocent and unable to defend themselves. Whether the trauma was physical, emotional, sexual, neglect or chaos matters not.
I’m no expert when it comes to trauma, but I see it in my practice every day. And when it comes to providing long-term, effective treatment, we don’t have many options.
People with the financial means can get expert psychotherapy from many clinicians on the North Shore for $150-$250/hour, but those without means, i.e. the vast majority of those caught in the maelstrom of opioid addiction, do not get access to this care.
We can do better.
I don’t know the answer, but my best educated guess is as follows:
The government needs to provide funding to give people access to trained therapists, just like they do to psychiatrists. If you can find a psychiatrist who does trauma-informed psychotherapy on the North Shore, and does not have a one-year waiting list, let me know.
I know that asking for more money for health care is like yelling into the wind. But let me put it another way: increasing the funding for downstream responders like firefighters and police to do the job (I read it in the Vancouver Sun) is about the most expensive way, with the least return on investment. So it’s not that we need more money, we just need to redirect it, upstream, to those who can most effectively make a difference.
This would include trauma-informed clinical counsellors, social workers, psychiatric nurses, psychologists and family physicians.
If you want to look way upstream to prevent and treat the (most common) causes of substance abuse, this is where you look. This is where you put your money.
Dr. Anthony Ocana
Co-director, North Shore ADHD and Addiction Clinic
North Vancouver
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