Summary Of Hooked By Dr. Lonny Shavelson

Through examination of five addicts seeking treatment in the San Francisco substance abuse treatment arena in the late 1990’s, Dr. Lonny Shavelson provides a stark and thought-provoking insight into substance use treatment in the United States. His book, Hooked: Five addicts challenge our misguided drug rehab system, documents the journey of the five addicts: Mike, Darrell, Darlene, Glenda, and Crystal. Through examination of these stories as documented in Hooked, we can journey through the book and begin to examine the underlying structures which are creating blockages for addicts seeking treatment in the United States. In 1997 when the book starts, Mike Pagsolingan was a 34-year-old Italian man with a history of childhood sexual assault and PTSD who had been addicted to heroin and cocaine for 20-years (Shavelson, 2001). Mike asks for treatment and was referred to Walden House who requires him to jump through hoops before being accepted. After going through the rigorous and highly-structured Walden house program, Mike relapses and …show more content…
Unfortunately, the intake receptionist reacts poorly and Darlene was almost refused from treatment due to the argument which ensues. Evans-Lacko and Thornicroft (2010) state that for both substance use and mental health treatment, persons with co-occurring disorders are often: discharged early from treatment, refused admission into treatment, or have difficulty being referred to appropriate treatment. Although Darlene was repeatedly turned away from treatment, her interaction with the intake receptions displays a clear and present need for knowledge, training, policies, and procedures which help all workers in an agency recognize symptoms which can exist in the intersections of metal health, substance use, and trauma: insert trauma-informed