- Joined
- Dec 13, 2022
But to describe Talbott as harsh but "better than regular rehabs at helping doctors get their licence back" makes me wonder if the patients were just as prone to lies and deceit and utility-based actions as your garden-variety junkie...and that the glow of the place (possibly like Hazelden) maybe got scammers who sucked it up and checked the boxes (if they didn't despair, it sounds) back to life when they shouldn't have been. I know you said otherwise, but getting a license back is an entirely different thing than getting serious.
Talbott historically has had a reputation for being appalling. Hugely expensive, very long stays required and unlike Hazelden, they tended to ignore the evidence base. They were good at helping people get their license back because Doug Talbott, the founder, devised the AMA's programme for treating drug dependent physicians (which involved hugely intensive/intrusive aftercare that went on for years) and he was also the founder of the American Society of Addiction Medicine -- consequently, for a long time, his programme was regarded as the gold standard for 'professionals', but I knew a doctor who'd been through the programme back in the 90's and what he described sounded like a hellscape to me.
I'm somewhat disinclined to accept Stanton Peele's accusation that the programme was causing doctors to kill themselves when they failed though. Though it did seem to have a high suicide rate, I'm not sure how you'd decide whether that was attributable to the programme or whether it was a function of the specific client group and the impact of stigma on their previously high status.
This guy's blog has a good account of his experience with Talbott.
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