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The Library of Congress considers the 1939 book Alcoholics Anonymous (a.k.a. “A.A. Big Book”) to be one of the “eighty-eight books that shaped America.” As the book celebrates its 85th year experts in the alcohol and substance use disorder field, Mashal Khan, M.D., Weill Cornell Medical Center, Michael McCormick, D.O., Release Recovery, and Amy Swift, M.D., Silver Hill Hospital reflect on the book’s “Doctor’s Opinion” chapter, which had novel ideas for its era, and give insights into today’s medical and scientific understanding.

Dr. William Silkworth (a.k.a., “Silky” or the “Little Dr. Who Loved Drunks”) developed his theories from treating thousands of patients, including Alcoholics Anonymous cofounder and writer of the 12 Steps of recovery, Bill Wilson. Over forty-one million English language copies of the A.A. book, including Dr. Silkworth’s original “Doctor’s Opinion,” have been printed and the book has also been translated into seventy-two languages. At first, Dr. Silkworth’s name was omitted from the A.A. book to protect him from potential ostracization by the medical field for his endorsement of the fledgling A.A. program.

Dr. Silkworth was Bill W.’s doctor at Towns Hospital, and later led the treatment program at Knickerbocker Hospital. The doctor believed recovery was helped by participation in A.A. When Bill W. shared with the Dr. that he experienced a spiritual awakening just days into treatment, the Dr. encouraged him to continue what helped relieve his prior hopelessness.

Panelists:

Amy Swift, M.D., became Deputy Chief Medical Officer of Silver Hill Hospital in New Canaan, CT, in April 2024, bringing two decades of research, education, and clinical experience specializing in addiction. Dr. Swift has a deep understanding of complex mental disorders and co-occurring substance use disorders. She was the Medical Director of Addiction Services at Mount Sinai Beth Israel Hospital in New York, where she oversaw the daily operations and performance of the clinical staff and the development and quality assurance of the hospital’s programming and worked with complex addiction patients. Dr. Swift is a leader in addiction psychiatry research. At the Icahn School of Medicine, she was a Principal Investigator on a federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) grant that developed an integrated training program to provide medical students with an educational foundation in medication-assisted treatment of opioid addiction. A devoted educator, Swift has published and presented extensively in addiction psychiatry and related fields. She is a graduate of New York Medical College, and her residency and fellowship were with Mount Sinai, Beth Israel, Addiction Psychiatry.

Mashal Khan, M.D. is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medicine and Associate Program Director for the Addiction Psychiatry Fellowship. As the psychiatrist on the Liver Transplant Team, he evaluates organ recipients and donors and provides them with transitionary care. He utilizes his expertise and understanding of addictions to improve outcomes for individuals with Alcohol Liver Disease. His area of interest and clinical focus include technology-assisted interventions for substance use disorders and management of alcohol use disorder in patients with alcohol liver disease. Dr. Khan is a Xi’an-Jiaotong University School of Medicine graduate and trained at Maimonides Medical Center, where he served as Chief Resident. Following his residency training, he completed a Fellowship in Addiction Psychiatry at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Mount Sinai St. Luke’s-West. He is board-certified in general and addiction psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. His most recent publication was the book “Technology-Assisted Interventions for Substance Use Disorders” for which he served as an editor. In the book  “Absolute Addiction Psychiatry Review,” he authored the chapter “Steroids, Dissociatives, Club Drugs, Inhalants, and Hallucinogens.”

Michael McCormick, D.O., is Chief Medical Officer for Release Recovery, which is based in Westchester and New York City and provides addiction recovery and mental health services. Dr. McCormick is a trained surgeon whose passion for helping those with substance use disorders prompted him to switch careers to addiction medicine, where he now has a decade of experience. Prior to Release Recovery, the Dr. had an 8-year tenure at Caron Treatment Center in Wernersville, PA, where he served as Medical Director for Signature Programs, led Caron’s Healthcare Professionals Assessment Program, and served as the physician in charge of the Opioid Treatment Program. When working with patients, Dr. McCormick leads with love, tolerance, empathy, and an absence of judgment.