All Things Substance

The love of others, the law, nor the hope of a good future are enough to keep someone sober long term. Today we’ll talk about why that is and what to do about it.

The main skills we use every day in therapy sessions are what you need to start working with client substance use. You already HAVE the skills you need to work with substance use and today, I’m going…

Treating a medical symptom without looking for the cause is what its like to treat substance use without addressing mental health.  Mental health therapists are vital to recovering people. We are nee…

Why it's just not true that people who are using choose their substance over their loved ones. My heart, like yours,  has hurt for my clients. I’ve been livid with their family or friends and felt he…

I first “met” Jean, the person featured in today’s episode, while being a guest on her podcast, The Bubble Hour.  Jean has been hosting the Bubble Hour for several seasons and provided space for hund…

So what’s behind the client’s choice of substances? Why does one person choose alcohol vs marijuana? Why does one person choose pills instead of cocaine? There are actually specific reasons why peopl…

Treating chronic pain is challenging. Mental health definitely plays a role in people’s recovery  and is recommended by the medical community. Check out this week’s episode on  Apple Podcasts, Spotif…

Natalie is a mom of two, a wife and a therapist specializing in treating trauma and substance use. Her use history  is a little different from the things we usually see in outpatient therapy. She man…

What is normal marijuana use? How much should be used for medical purposes? We have a standard for alcohol, but we don’t have a set standard yet. I'll talk about these things and share my opinion as …

Marijuana issues that impact therapy aren't just about our clients. Sometimes it's us that can’t decide what we should do about marijuana. People are using it, should we do anything about that? Today…

What is normal drinking? This is a very common question I've been asked over the years. In today’s episode I’ll talk about what government entities say is “moderate” and talk about a few common scena…

Steps to take a substance use history can vary from therapist to therapist. Today I’ll give you the things I focus on when I’m exploring someone’s substance use history. Check out this week’s episode…

Helping an addicted loved one can be really difficult. What should a person do? What shouldn’t they do? I had an opportunity to talk with Dr. Kate Watson of the podcast Only Trying to Help about this…

Good therapy depends on both therapist and client to show up ready to work. Sometimes substance use can get in the way. We can do things to help make that hour more effective. 

We already use a mental health lens, a trauma-informed lens and a lens for whatever our main theoretical orientation is. Today we'll talk about how things shift when we add a substance use lens. 

Gabe is celebrating 16 years clean. The days when he was using feel like a long time ago. But his life really did take a turn for the worst and things could have gone very differently for him. Check …

We have lots of difficult and sensitive conversations with our clients. Today we’ll talk about how to prepare your client for the conversation about substance use. It will put them at ease and help e…