Reimagining the system

All this work is personal.

For every person who decides to work with people affected by substance use issues, it becomes personal, even if it doesn’t start that way. We all are touched by this work. Some of us can’t imagine doing anything else. And yet, there are so many who we fail.

We fail those who work in this field. We demand more and more from the people who have the hardest jobs. We fail those we serve, both the individuals and the people who love them. We fail every day when we accept the unacceptable. In the wealthiest country in the history of our planet, just ten percent of people with substance use disorders are provided treatment. Of this ten percent, only ten percent receive anything resembling evidence-based care. One in 100. One percent.

In recovery circles, we are often admonished to accept the things we cannot change. Over time, I have become aware of a few things that I cannot accept. One of these is the sorry state of affairs for individuals and families looking for help. They are told they “aren’t ready” or that they aren’t doing it right. They are often offered ineffective solutions based in tradition and charisma rather than compassion and evidence. I have lost people I love due to these approaches, and yet I am living proof that they work for some.

Our goal at Your Path is to bring the best of both worlds; the world of wisdom traditions as old as time and the world of cutting-edge science and medicine. We believe that they are pieces of a conjoined whole. We aim to treat everyone we work with as if they were our loved ones, asking them to guide us during their care. We believe that this approach — which is not just our approach, but the work of many, many people before us — has the ability to change not just the treatment of individuals, or families, or organizations, but entire communities and systems of care.

This bold vision has been made possible by the work of all the recovery pathfinders whose shoulders we stand on. We hope you join us as we walk the long road toward a more compassionate, healing system.