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Responsible Methadone Advocacy
First the ground rules!
- In every thing NAMA does the rights and dignity of the individual patient
take precedence. It is never, ever, OK to violate that rule no matter how
important the issue.
- NAMA has not and will never serve as an apologist for poor treatment.
- Everyone whether you want to be a NAMA Certified Methadone Advocate (CMA)
or not should take the training course. It is a great all around methadone
course that will give you a great foundation in all aspects of
methadone treatment. You don't have to be a patient.
- There are three requirements if you want to be a NAMA
CMA. (1) You must agree to abide by the Code of Ethics, (2) support the
goals of methadone advocacy, and (3) take the NAMA
CMA Training Course.
During the course of this training and after you are a Certified Methadone Advocate (CMA) you are going to come across
the phrase "responsible methadone advocacy".
What does it mean? We will explain.
Well meaning patients, with a freshly downloaded copy of the new
guidelines and without proper training and mentoring are showing up at programs
around the country demanding change. While their intentions are good they
need training and mentoring and support. We have all heard the old chestnut that a
little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Unfortunately, when it comes to methadone
treatment it has tremendous validity.
We are delighted that
more patients are becoming interested in the regulations surrounding their treatment but dismayed
that their knowledge is not complete. Our dismay is compounded by the fact that
fledgling advocates are left to their own devices rather than being properly
mentored
We, at the National Alliance of Methadone Advocates, have
come to realize that just as the providers have had to re-evaluate themselves
and their positions regarding the new guidelines, we, as methadone advocates
have had to re-evaluate ourselves.
We have come to realize that some of the problems surrounding
methadone treatment not only aren’t being solved by methadone advocates they
are being made worse. In fact, in the last year NAMA has had to divert significant
resources towards rectifying problems exacerbated by well meaning
but misguided methadone patient advocates.
The Board of Directors of NAMA
has come to the conclusion that if responsible
patient advocacy is to remain a positive force in helping to expand quality
methadone treatment in America it has to be just that, responsible.
Towards that
end the board has created the NAMA Training and Certification Committee. The goal of
the committee is to encourage the growth of responsible methadone advocacy. What
we have done is establish an ethical code, goals, training, and a
certification procedure for methadone (MAT) advocates*. The plan calls for national
training and certification, mentoring of patient advocates, and the
establishment of a mechanism for continued training and certification. So that
professional standards, once established can be maintained.
It is a huge challenge and one that would be much more
difficult to achieve without at least tacit support from the wider methadone community.
The rewards are obvious. There are many things about methadone maintenance
treatment that can only be advanced by responsible patients including the ending
of methadone stigma.
The training isn't just for patients. The people who are
doing the training are experts in their fields. We have already
spoken to counselors, administrators, and physicians who have inquired about
taking or sending clinic staffers to the training. The Addiction and Methadone part of the training alone should be
required for every clinic employee in the nation.
Yes, this course is designed for methadone advocates.
However, NAMA feels a methadone advocate is just someone who believes in methadone treatment. Using
that definition every person attending the AATOD Conference in fact
every person employed in this industry should at least
consider taking the methadone advocate training course.
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