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"Age of First Use?" What the Hell Does THAT Mean? Go to any intake or assessment for drug and alcohol use**, and one of the questions you’ll be asked is “What was your age of first use?” The question might seem trivial. Because it’s when your use got problematic that is the concern, right?  Yes. Right. And no. The age...[ read more ]

The Science of Woo: Contemplative Movement This is the next in my series “The Science of Woo: How the practices of spiritual disciplines, positive psychology, and other “out there” ideas are backed by science.” You can read earlier posts in the series below: I covered forgiveness. Here you can read about the science of gratitude. And you can LMAO yourself...[ read more ]

The Science of Woo: Forgiveness Today – Easter – is a perfect day to feature Forgiveness in my series on the topic of “The Science of Woo.” There are ideas that transcend one religion and are found in all religions, and the idea of Forgiveness is one of those ideas. I am never surprised when those ideas are found by...[ read more ]

Motivating Recovery in a High Functioning Person with a Substance Use Disorder As a professional who specializes in treating high functioning persons with a substance use disorder (SUD)**, I spend a lot of time assessing what motivates people to seek treatment, and what motivates people to stay engaged with habits and activities that support the bio/medical/psych/social/neural changes necessary for contented...[ read more ]

Defense Mechanisms Intellectualizing, Rationalizing, Cockiness, Justifying, Explaining, Analyzing   In my ongoing series of posts featuring the defense mechanisms used by persons with a substance use disorder (SUD), we've covered: Passive/mild styles: Denying, Lying, Silence, Withdrawing Dismissive techniques: Minimizing, Humor, Compliance Aggressive tools: Manipulating, Accusing, Judging, Projecting and Threatening, Blaming, Shouting, Defiance Today, we'll consider the cerebral set. These are common...[ read more ]

Defense Mechanisms (Denial Series) Humor, Compliance, Minimizing In a series of blog posts, we are highlighting and discussing in detail defense mechanisms of persons with a substance use disorder.** To help concerned family members and loved ones understand the forms that "denial" takes, we are looking at the various ways an addicted brain finds to protect the addict’s use of...[ read more ]

What To Do When Your Family Member Comes Home From Substance Abuse Treatment Welcoming a family member home after substance abuse** treatment is an emotionally charged time. Family members are usually excited, encouraged, and hopeful. They are also usually hesitant, guarded, and uncertain. Use my 6-point checklist below to help guide your decisions and interactions in the early days and...[ read more ]