Medication-Assisted Treatment Needs Community Support
Communities like Portsmouth, Ohio, regularly make national news for waves of overdoses. On any given day, nearly 100 people across the country die due to opioid overdose. The problem always…
Substance Abuse
Discovering Your True Self — Who You Really Are
Codependents often wonder what is normal. They feel insecure and wonder how others perceive them. Many tell me they don’t really know themselves. They’ve become people-pleasers, editing what they say…
Preventing Interpersonal Violence in Relationships, Part 2
This is Part 2 in a series on interpersonal violence in relationships. Read Part 1 here. Risk Factors — People Who May Be Vulnerable to Dating Abuse It can be…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Are You an Almost-Alcoholic?
If you occasionally have too much to drink, you’re probably not at great risk for becoming an alcoholic. But you might wonder if you’re at risk of becoming an “almost-alcoholic”…
Alcohol Use Disorder: Fixing ‘Them’ Language
Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is characterized as a pattern of problematic drinking that causes significant health issues and distress in an individual’s life. Despite the many physical, mental, and social…
Mental Health Month: Normal Teen Angst or Adolescent Mental Illness?
May is Mental Health Month. Mental illness is not an adults-only issue. Almost half of all chronic mental illness begins by age 14; three-quarters by age 24. Yet the stigma…
