At the methadone clinic I go to one of the requirements a patient must meet in order to receive take home doses is regular attendance at NA meetings. To me this seems like an obvious clash of treatment philosophies, and more destructive to ones recovery than constructive.

Years ago, before I got on a methadone program, I attended NA meetings every night, had a sponsor and a home group, and managed 8 months clean. I was a typical NAer, I made friends, I went to fellowship events, and I was supported and encouraged by the group. I did my best to adhere to their idea that one must stay clean at all costs, that the mind will come around if the body stays clean. "Bring the body and the mind will follow," are words that I often heard. But after 8 months my mind had not caught up, and I headed into a 3-4 year relapse that ended after I got on the methadone program.

In an effort to meet my take-home requirements, and move through the "incentive system" as the clinic calls it, I returned to my NA home group a year or so after I began methadone treatment. I was met with mistrust and and downright rudeness. I asked if there was a home group policy about people taking methadone, because I knew that many NAers don't agree with taking medication of any kind, including antidepressants and even antihistamines! My question was answered with more questions: "How long do you plan to be on methadone?", "Do you want to get off it?", and then: "If you're trying to get off it I guess It'll be OK [to come to meetings]." At one meeting I was told "come back when you get off methadone." I also found out that if I did attend NA meetings I wouldn't be allowed to participate or speak because of a rule that is read aloud at the start of each meeting: "If you have used today please listen quietly and speak to someone after the meeting." The policy for all NA groups I have found is that people who are in methadone treatment programs are considered to be "using" and therefore not eligible to speak or participate in meetings.

The solution that the staff at the methadone clinic offered was for me to keep my methadone treatment a secret, just don't tell anyone they said. I was appalled! This just goes to show how little the methadone treatment staff really knows about recovery and the theories behind different methods of treatment. The whole reason NA works is because one doesn't keep secrets! The addict goes to meetings and does his best to lay himself bare and open to the scrutiny of his fellow addicts. The group is then able to recognize when the addict is setting himself up for relapse, and they can try to point him back on course. NA is a big safety net. If lie to them and then I need help, I'm going to fall right through the hole I made.

In short, one reason methadone treatment and NA don't mix is this: If one can't speak at meetings, one doesn't get the net, if one keeps secrets, the net doesn't work.

The problem with requiring methadone patients to attend NA meetings is that it is an unproductive waste of time (for the reasons above), but more destructive is the message that is sent to patients who are trying to move ahead in the "incentive system." By requiring NA attendance methadone program staff are impressing upon patients the notion that METHADONE IS BAD, and that the views held by the NA community are valid. This can be very confusing for the methadone patient, and dangerous for recovery. The patient may rush to detox from methadone, setting themselves up for relapse. The patient may lose faith in their treatment program and wonder if the methadone staff is untrustworthy, and the patient may lose faith in recovery all together.

By asking methadone patients to regularly subject themselves to the humiliation of being told that they are not really recovering, to being held apart within the NA community, is confidence-eroding and belittling, and not in accord with the process of recovery.

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