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Humanizing Addiction
_Interview - Policy Position_
We interviewed Dr. Heather Barker, a medical professional who works at Indiana University Health drug abuse and rehabilitation centers.
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(This transcript has been edited and approved via IU Health and Dr. Barker to honor confidentiality agreements.)
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Good evening Heather, it's so great to connect with you, and I really appreciate you taking the time to share your opinions and experiences
when it comes to drug abuse in America. I want to reassure you that
my group and I are aware that you may not be able to share specific
patient names or details due to your confidentiality agreements at
Indiana University Health.
Hello Hadley, I’m more than happy to share my knowledge on this topic with you and your group. I have also emailed you some helpful links that may benefit your group's research as well.
Q: What do you believe the American perception towards drug use and addiction is? AND Why do you feel that the perception is the way you think?
A: This is a very interesting question and makes me instantly try to put myself in the shoes of someone who does not work with drug abuse patients on a daily basis. However, I wish the general public could see these individuals the way I see them. I truthfully believe that most people who are living in modern day America perceive individuals who struggle with drug addiction in a similar way: bums, scary, homeless, or even useless. I definitely can say that social media and the way the news and society poke fun at addicts and imply they are junkies impacts societies general outlook on individuals who struggle with drug abuse. So I guess what I am trying to say is that I believe society has a negative outlook on individuals who struggle with drug abuse in America, and I believe this negative outlook directly stems from the way social media portrays drug abuse. Personally, I work with individuals who struggle with drug addiction everyday and have come to realize they are some of the most sensitive, caring, and hopeful human beings. Most of them are not scary, or violent, or even homeless. Although, there is the obvious crowd we have that does fall into those categories coming in from downtown Indianapolis, most patients I work with look like any of your friends down at IU. Normal, lively, passionate and young individuals who are struggling and most people around them typically don’t even know.
Q: Do you think the issue of drug usage and addiction has been incorrectly categorized into a criminal issue through the general public’s eye?
A: As I just mentioned, society’s idea of what these victims of drug abuse appear to be is completely skewed. However, in my experience I would not particularly say that many of my patients complain about appearing as a “criminal” to others but many of my patients actually mention more of their emotional response when it comes to the topic of how they are perceived or being rejected by their loved ones. Although, I cannot mention specific patients stories I will give you a general Idea of how I typically see this topic brought up within my patients. Although, there will always be the few criminally involved individuals who have been in and out of jail and are rightfully deemed as a “criminal”, just a criminal that is also a drug addict and needs help to basically how do I say this….ummm...stop being a criminal? Anyway, most of my patients tend to communicate the rejection and embarrassment they feel when it comes to their addiction, not many mention feeling as though they are criminalized within society or by their loved ones, however keep in mind this is off of my personal experiences here in Indianapolis, I’m sure many drug addicts struggle with the sense of feeling as though others look at them as a so called criminal.
Q: Do you believe that your patients would prefer America addressed their drug usage and addiction in other ways than criminalization/addiction?
A: This is a great question and I truthfully have a pretty straight forward answer for you on this one, Hadley. I think that every single individual who struggles with drug abuse in America would greatly benefit from society looking at their addiction or so called abuse as an illness. Just as a similar hot topic I can relate this to in terms that may be easier would be the concept of looking at mental health disorders such as anxiety as a illness such as lupus or crohns. Basically what I am trying to say is these issues and this drug abuse truly is an illness that patients need treatment to heal. When you mention the way society criminalizes these individuals I definitely notice an increased struggle in my patients who have struggled with addiction in the past and have been put in Jail instead of a treatment center prior to coming to our facility. So to sum up my point here, if society were to look at individuals who struggle with drug addiction the same as someone who may have cancer or a disease, would putting this ill person in jail cure their ailment? No.
Q: How do you see your patients who have struggled with addiction affected by the American stance towards drug use? Does the criminal perception of their issues discourage or encourage them?
A: As I mentioned before, I work with patients who have been in and out of jail, just got out of jail, are currently in jail, as well as individuals who have never stepped foot near a jail. I can definitely say that my patients who have been in jail previously struggle with their recovery process much more than an individual that comes to me as their first outreach and resources of help. I tend to find my patients who have spent time in jail following the beginning of their drug addiction are more hesitant, difficult, and truthfully exhausted to help with their healing process. I would say I have observed my patients who have not been in jail are more optimistic when it comes to the healing process, therefore I guess what I am implying is that they typical are more successful when it comes to healing.
Q: Through your personal experiences with patients who struggle with
drug addiction, what do you believe is the best way to approach the issue
to encourage the patients to improve rather than
embarrass or discourage them?
A: Definitely, so as I have implied within my previous answers and statements earlier in the interview I find that patients who are perceived to be ill and brought to us to be treated as a patient at the hospital or doctor would be tend to react better and have a higher success rate when it comes to recovery. I have observed individuals who have previously been in criminal trouble when it came to the drug they were addicted to had a much harder time recovering as they had to spend many years in a facility that in many, made their mental state much worse.
Q: Have there been any monumental moments in your career with a patient that opened your eyes to what the issue with the perception of drug abuse is to the patients' will to improve?
A: Hmmmmm, I definitely have seen a lot of patients with lots of different backgrounds and stories, however as I stated I cannot mention specific patients stories or information. But, what I will say is that with the hundreds of patients I have worked with, I’ll compare lets say, ummmm, two teenage boys Okay? So lets say they’re both 19, from Indianapolis, and are struggling with drug addiction. One of the boys has previously been in jail and is coming to me for help after he was released, the other boy is coming to me without ever being penalized criminally for his drug addiction, however he is encouraged to come into our clinic by his loved ones for treatment. The boy who is encouraged to seek help and not put down for his addiction recovers successfully and does not fall back into his addiction. However, the boy who was previously in jail struggle with his recovery
Q: After working with patients who struggle with drug abuse for years, are there any specific things you believe society could change to help motivate change in these individuals?
A: Yes yes yes, as I have tried to imply within my answers throughout this interview I really believe that if society were to perceive the issue of drug abuse and individuals who struggle with drug addiction in a more humane way, they are humans who are struggling with and illness referred to as addiction. This illness can be healed, and the healing process clearly is not aided by placing the individual in jail. I hope I have answered your group’s questions to your standards
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