Saskatchewan Federation of Police Officers 151 Shining a light on the lived experience of addiction in Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is currently in the throes of an addiction crisis and Dr. Kara Fletcher wants to humanize those living with substance use disorders. By Lynette Piper for SHRF and the University of Regina The person who reaches out for that jolt of morning caffeine or likes to unwind after work with a glass of wine may seem worlds away from the desperate soul who breaks into homes and steals to feed their voracious addiction. But Dr. Kara Fletcher thinks we’d do well to look at both a little differently. Fletcher, a social work assistant professor at the University of Regina’s Saskatoon campus, is on a mission to humanize the lived experience of those living with substance use disorders – a term she says is much kinder than “addict,” “junkie,” or “abuser” – in order to convey the understanding that we all experience challenges in life, and that we all rely on some form of coping method to deal with the stress. Fletcher, who is also the director of the Social Policy Research Centre, a registered social worker, and an accredited couples and family therapist, was recently encouraged to see how perceptions are changing when Joe Biden’s son, Hunter, was questioned by an ABC news anchor for “being in and out of rehab seven or eight times.” “I was so impressed with the way he took the anchor to task and told her to ‘Say it nicer’ – not in a combative way, but to educate her that he sought treatment for a health issue, like most people, and now was doing well.” Fletcher believes strongly that words matter. “I recently completed a study with 10 individuals attending outpatient treatment for substance use and 10 clinicians providing counselling. I heard multiple stories of how disempowering the language around substance use can be. If you’re not ‘clean,’ then you’re somehow dirty and morally reprehensible. In Hunter Biden’s case, it was almost like multiple episodes of treatment indicated a personal failure, when, in reality, relapse is simply a part of the journey.” Dr. Kara Fletcher is a U of R social work assistant professor on a mission to humanize the lived experience of those living with substance use disorders. (Photo by Matt Smith) continued
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