Substance use disorders (SUD) are the most stigmatized disorders within psychiatry and healthcare at large. Stigma is a multifactorial construct characterized as “attitudes, beliefs, behaviors, and structures that interact at different levels of society (i.e., individuals, groups, organizations, systems) and manifest in prejudicial attitudes and discriminatory practices.” It’s well-established that healthcare professionals generally hold negative attitudes toward patients with SUD; this bias emerges in medical school and worsens progressively through residency into independent practice. Communication is essential and the language used to describe individuals with SUD has the power to promote or dispel stigma. In this workshop we highlight the relationship between stigma and the language of addiction with particular emphasis on how stigmatizing language can negatively impact patient care. We provide participants with tools to empower them to counteract stigmatizing language by using clinically accurate terminology. Specifically, we discuss the changing landscape of addiction language and how terms have evolved over time, outlining current best practices in non-stigmatizing addiction vocabulary. Participants will have an opportunity to work together in an interactive small group setting where they will work through clinical vignettes to identify stigmatizing addiction language and replace it with clinically accurate alternatives; this activity will be followed by large group debriefing and question and answer session. Past president of the American Medical Association, Patrice Harris, MD, MA, will be featured and will offer a unique perspective on the role of psychiatrist advocacy through language within the news media and how this can propagate or reduce addiction stigma.
Alëna Balasanova, MD, Chairperson
Dr. Alëna A. Balasanova is an associate professor at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) in the Department of Psychiatry and also holds an appointment in the College of Allied Health Professions. She is dually board certified in psychiatry and addiction medicine. After obtaining her undergraduate degree from The Johns Hopkins University, Dr. Balasanova went on to earn her M.D. at Harvard Medical School and completed residency training at Boston University Medical Center. As the Director of Addiction Psychiatry Education for the Department of Psychiatry in the College of Medicine, Dr. Balasanova has developed novel educational programs for medical students, residents, fellows, and allied health professionals. Dr. Balasanova was the founding director of the Outpatient Addiction Psychiatry Clinic and also developed and now co-directs the inpatient Addiction Psychiatry Consultation Liaison Service, both at the Nebraska Medical Center. Dr. Balasanova’s professional interests lie at the intersection of medical education and stigma reduction. She has presented and published nationally and internationally on addiction psychiatry education and destigmatizing substance use disorders; in recognition of this work, Dr. Balasanova was awarded the prestigious American Medical Association Foundation Award for Health Education in 2020, the American Psychiatric Association Irma Bland Award for Residency Education in 2022 and Nancy Roeske Award for Medical Student Education in 2023. Dr. Balasanova was also named the Nebraska Medical Association Young Physician of the Year in 2021 and received the Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award from the Gold Humanism Honor Society earlier this year.
Daryl Shorter, MD, Presenter
Dr. Daryl Shorter is a Diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and is Board Certified in both General and Addiction Psychiatry. A graduate of Rice University (BA Sociology) and Baylor College of Medicine (MD), Dr. Shorter completed General Psychiatry residency at The Ohio State University Medical Center and Addiction Psychiatry fellowship at New York University/Langone Medical Center. Dr. Shorter is an Associate Professor in the Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Baylor College of Medicine. He also serves as the Medical Director of Addictions and Recovery Services at the Menninger Clinic as well as the Program Director of the BCM Addiction Psychiatry fellowship. Dr. Shorter is the author of numerous peer-reviewed publications and book chapters focusing on medication treatment of substance use disorders and addictions training in graduate medical education. In addition to his work at Menninger, Dr. Shorter is the psychiatrist of record at The Montrose Center, Houston’s LGBTQ+ Behavioral Health and Community Center, where he supervises Addiction Psychiatry fellows who provide mental health and substance use disorder treatment services. He speaks widely on topics related to mental health, the LGBTQ+ community, and addictions treatment.
Ayana Jordan, MD, PhD, Presenter
Ayana Jordan, MD, PhD, is an endowed Barbara Wilson Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, Addiction Psychiatrist and Associate Professor in the Department of Population Health at New York University (NYU) Grossman School of Medicine. As Principal Investigator for the Jordan Wellness Collaborative (JWC), she leads a research, education, and clinical program that partners with community members to provide optimal access to evidence-based treatments for racial and ethnic minoritized patients with mental health disorders.
Through her multi-faceted work, she provides addiction treatment in faith settings, studies health outcomes for people with opioid use disorder in the carceral system, and trains addiction specialists to provide culturally-informed treatment.
Dr. Jordan is dedicated to creating spaces and opportunities for more people of color, specifically Black women in academia who are vastly underrepresented. She has numerous peer-reviewed publications, has been featured at international conferences, and is the proud recipient of various clinical and research awards. The fundamental message of equity and inclusion has informed her research, clinical work, and leadership duties at NYU and beyond.
Patrice Harris, MD, Presenter
Patrice A. Harris, MD, MA is the CEO and Co-Founder of eMed, a digital healthcare company. She is a board-certified psychiatrist from Atlanta and has diverse experience as a private practicing physician, county public health director and patient advocate. She has deep experience and expertise in public policy on both legislative and regulatory fronts and at all levels of government. Dr. Harris was the 174th President of the American Medical Association and the first African American woman elected to that position. She is a visiting professor of psychiatry at the Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and serves as Chief Health and Medical Editor of Everydayhealth.com.
Dr. Harris led the AMA’s efforts to end the opioid epidemic and served as chair of the AMA Opioid Task Force from its inception in 2014 to 2021. Dr. Harris led the Task Force as it worked across every state to eliminate barriers to treatment, provide patients with access to affordable, non-opioid pain care, and fight the stigma faced by those with substance use-disorders.