A renowned expert on the field of addiction treatment will be discussing the opioid epidemic next month in an event in Pensacola, Florida.
Dr. Marvin Seppala, one of the most prominent medical professionals in the field of pharmacological addiction treatment in the U.S., will be leading a CivicCon seminar to address the opioid epidemic and speak about his extensive experience working with individuals in recovery.
CivicCon was launched in September as an initiative aimed to strengthen the local community for a period of one year by creating civic debates as well as public engagements through events, workshops and discussion panels with national experts.
Seppala has been selected to lead a CivicCon seminar not only because he has spent decades leading evidence-based addiction treatment methods but also because he’s one of the healthcare professionals who essentially has had the ability to predict the opioid epidemic.
A book that was co-authored by Seppala over a decade ago estimated that opioid painkillers would become increasingly misused in the country.
Back in 2004, Seppala and the other authors of the book, titled “When Painkillers Become Dangerous,” stated that the misuse of opioid prescriptions to manage pain was a ‘dangerous practice.’ They also emphasized that the use of habit-forming prescription opioids such as oxycodone could likely ‘reach epidemic proportions.’
And recent numbers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have confirmed those predictions and revealed that opioids have been killing more and more Americans since 2000.
In response to the rising number of people affected by the opioid epidemic, Seppala launched a protocol for treating opioid use disorders — the Comprehensive Opioid Response with the Twelve Steps and popularly known as the COR-12.
The influential protocol was created to improve the opioid addiction recovery through evidence-based methods including behavioral therapy, motivational interviewing, group lectures as well as elements of medication-assisted treatment and 12-step programs.
Seppala also works as a professor at the Hazel Graduate School of Addiction Studies and as the chief medical officer at the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation — an advocacy and drug addiction treatment organization located in Minnesota that has provided education, research and clinical substance use disorder care for almost 70 years.
Opioid addiction treatment patients are able to choose to enter the COR-12 programs at the foundation that include medications such as naltrexone or naloxone or they may opt for a medication-free recovery program also based on COR-12 principles.
At the foundation, Seppala is in charge of… (continue reading)
Author: Livia Areas-Holmblad
Livia Holmblad is an editor at Addiction Now and covers breaking news, features and everything in between. She moved to SoCal after living in NYC for about 10 years, where she worked for VICE and SinoVision as a writer, editor, host, producer, and director. Born and raised in Rio de Janeiro. Contact Livia at liviah@addictionnow.com
