Do You Have a Back Door?
A counselor, treating those with alcoholism or other drug dependency, shared that she had recently been asked a question by a potential client. “Do you have a back door?” Its meaning was clear to the clinician and should be clear to everyone in long term recovery. Stigma is alive and well in many of our communities.
In spite of the fact that research validates what has been known by most of us for years – drug addiction is a brain disease – many people still view it as a moral failure.
The failure to recognize addiction as a brain disorder impedes people from seeking treatment. While progress has been made in understanding most mental illness, substance use disorders remain a condition that brings shame to those with the affliction, thus the need to use a back door when seeking treatment.
We know this because
- Insurance companies refuse to offer treatment at the same level as other diseases
- Public funding for those with substance abuse disorders has not increased in 19 years! *
- Many of our laws and policies punish people with substance use disorders, including such practices as denying loans or voting rights, and welfare guidelines which require indiscriminant drug testing.
- People ask, “Do you have a back door?”
*Send your letters of support for public funding to me at
Project Vox
31900 Utica Rd., Fraser, MI 48026
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