Podcasts Culture Point of Inquiry Hooked on a Stigma: Maia Szalavitz on Understanding Addiction

Hooked on a Stigma: Maia Szalavitz on Understanding Addiction

Published: May 23, 2016, 10:19 p.m.

Maia Szalavitz is an author and award-winning journalist specializing in science, public policy, and addiction treatment. Most famous of her several books was her 2006 expos\xe9, Help at Any Cost: How the Troubled\u2013Teen Industry Cons Parents and Hurts Kids. Her latest book is Unbroken Brain: A Revolutionary New Way of Understanding Addiction. \xa0

As a recovering addict herself, Szalavitz knows about the stigma of addiction first hand. She spent much of her teen and young adult life addicted to drugs like heroin and cocaine, but now with over 20 years of sobriety under her belt she\u2019s dedicated a large portion of her career to investigating and reporting addiction treatment. Szalavitz\u2019s research suggests that addiction is actually an emotional learning disorder, which, if true, could revolutionize not only the way we treat addiction but also the way we perceive addiction treatment.\xa0 \xa0