Delivering Addiction Care Outside Traditional Settings

Ayana Jordan, MD, PhD, discusses how precision psychiatry must expand beyond biology to address the social, cultural, and structural realities shaping addiction and mental health care for historically underrepresented patients. The conversation explores how trauma, poverty, housing instability, health literacy, and stigma interact with substance use and serious mental illness—and why traditional clinic-based models often fail to meet patients where they are.

Dr. Jordan describes the work of the Jordan Wellness Collaborative, including partnerships that integrate addiction treatment into primary care, community settings, and faith-based institutions. She explains how peer facilitators, housing support, and trusted community spaces can dramatically improve engagement, retention, and outcomes. Looking ahead, she reflects on how emerging tools—from AI-supported care models to novel treatments for addiction—may further transform access and equity in psychiatric care.

Ayana Jordan, MD, PhD, is the Barbara Wilson Professor of Psychiatry at NYU Grossman School of Medicine and Principal Investigator of the Jordan Wellness Collaborative.

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TOPICS

• Expanding precision psychiatry beyond biological models
• Structural barriers to care: housing, literacy, and stigma
• Addiction treatment for historically underrepresented communities
• Integrating care into primary care, community, and faith-based settings
• The role of peer facilitators and lived experience in treatment
• Trust, safety, and engagement for patients with complex needs
• Future directions: AI, novel addiction treatments, and workforce training

This discussion is for educational purposes and does not substitute for individual clinical judgment or patient care.

Senior Producer: Jon Earle