A METAPHOR FOR THE SPIRITUAL JOURNEY

The Journey is a rock musical I initially wrote to simply tell a story about addiction and recovery. But over the years it's evolved into an entire...

What does it mean when we say that someone's drug or alcohol use is a ... "problem?"

The first step towards successful substance use intervention is getting clear about what it...

Last week I shared a video that pointed to what in my estimation is one of the biggest reasons for poor outcomes in substance use treatment. And that's the fact that clients are often...

I got a call the other day from the producer of a TV news show that's going to air a segment on emerging trends in addiction treatment. He said he was given my name as a “leader” in the...

If you have a loved one being treated for a drug or alcohol problem, there's a good chance you've heard—or will hear—one or more of the statements listed below at some point...

"We're aware that our daughter's been using alcohol and marijuana—definitely more than we're comfortable with. But we're just not sure what to do about it." 

That's what the mother of a...

The other day I listened to a client talk about her experience of checking her husband into rehab:

"They said they would call. And I went home and waited. A week went by, nothing. I had no idea...

Happy New Year!

I thought I'd start the New Year out with something sort of fun...

Now, I know some of you aren't even old enough to remember Monty Python. But for those of you who do, you'll...

I've worked in the addiction treatment industry for a long time—like over 30 years. 

But I've actually been AROUND the treatment industry longer than I've been a professional in...

"What's this got to do with drug use?"

I get a lot of mileage out of the short video above in my work with substance use disorder clients. 

I simply ask them to watch it, and then tell...

There's no denying that substance abuse treatment “success rates” can be alarmingly poor. It is an all-too-common scenario to see a client go through residential treatment for a month...