Denial: The Primary Roadblock to Addiction Recovery
Getting a loved one to go to drug and alcohol rehab isn’t always easy. Some people may not be ready to admit that they have a problem, let alone spend…
Substance Abuse
Book Review: Mastering the Addicted Brain
I have worked in the substance use disorder field for about forty years. It can be a contentious field at times, with varying factions proclaiming that their way for recovery…
How NOT to Argue with Your Kids About Marijuana
Excerpted from A Parent’s Guide to Teen Addiction: Professional Advice on Signs, Symptoms, What to Say, and How to Help (Skyhorse Publishing) by Laurence M. Westreich, M.D. Marijuana, the illegal…
6 Questions You MUST Ask Before Checking into Rehab: An Interview with VH1 Addiction Counselor Bob Forrest
The gentleman on the other end of the telephone line has seen the best and worst of humanity and has soared and stumbled, struggled and survived. He emerged from the…
The Controversy in Treating Partners of Sex Addicts
In “From Victimhood to Victorhood” (published in the May/June 2015 issue of The Therapist), Alex Katehakis writes that a “major shift has occurred in treating partners of sex addicts”. The…
How EMDR Therapy Heals Trauma and Addiction
Life experiences, either negative or positive, have a significant impact on our thoughts, beliefs, and behaviors. Adverse life experiences such as abuse, neglect, violence, or emotional distress may have serious…
Addiction and the “Why Can’t They Stop?” Enigma
Why can’t they stop? This is perhaps the most elusive question posed when it comes to addiction. The answer is just as elusive — fleeting, incomprehensible, and illusory, like a…
Book Review: Blinded by Hope
The words, “You’ve suffered no hardship,” ring in Meg McGuire’s ears as she watches her forty-three year old son receive a sentence to four years in prison. It is then that she…
Book Review: Addiction Treatment
Spanning across all socioeconomic statuses, races, cultures and ages, addiction is one of the largest and most insidious problems our society faces today. And yet, for the medical doctors who…
The Trauma of Children of Addicts and Alcoholics
Living with an addict (including alcoholics1) can feel like life in a war zone. The addict’s personality changes caused by addiction create chaos. The family dynamics are organized around the…
Do You Drink or Abstain? There Is No Right Answer
A research question was posed that elicited a far different series of responses than was anticipated: “I have a question for those for whom alcohol is a part of your…
Book Review: The Affliction of Addiction
Addiction is arguably one of the largest problems we face today, and one that does not discriminate based on class, gender, or socio-economic status. In his new book, The Affliction…
Book Review: Holistic Healing for Addiction
As someone who has finally emerged from years of self-hatred and depression fueled by personal trauma, the cover and title of the book, Holistic Healing for Drug & Alcohol Addiction:…
Book Review: Changing to Thrive
Change is hard. If it wasn’t, the diet pill industry alone would go out of business overnight. People who are desperate to make a change look for that quick fix…
Maintaining Sobriety When Home for the Holidays
The family expects it of you. You’ve ruined Christmas dinner for the past three years. Despite your protests each year that “this year it will be different,” it wasn’t. You…