All Things Substance

Is sex addiction a real thing? What does the research say about problematic sexual behaviors? How can we evaluate potential issues with sexual behavior?

The word addiction and the word sex shouldn’t …

• Can you be addicted to food?
• Is it possible to find recovery from food addiction?
• What should therapists know about food addiction?

Food addiction is a real thing, even if the DSM doesn’t say it ye…

• Can you be addicted to food?
• Is it possible to find recovery from food addiction?
• What should therapists know about food addiction?

Food addiction is a real thing, even if the DSM doesn’t say it ye…

• What do mental health therapists need to know about gambling?
• What types of gambling are there?
• What’s the connection to mental health?

Gambling is a pretty specialized topic.  Mental health therap…

• What does the  DSM V have to say about internet gaming?
• What types of games are part of this proposed disorder?
• Is internet gaming addiction a real issue?

Video games are often seen as sucking away…

In the addiction treatment world, abstinence and harm reduction can often be seen as contrary to each other. We need both models available in order to truly help clients. Our goal is to meet clients …

• What does progression mean when talking about addiction?
• How does progression relate to the DSM criteria?
• What addiction criteria shows up most often?

Progression is the key to addiction. It’s not …

• What levels of use are there?
• How do I know which level of use my client is in?
• Do people bounce around in use stages or move in a linear fashion?

Stages of use are helpful in assessing your client…

• What reduces the risk of addiction?
• Will changing environmental factors help or is it just up to genetics?
• Is prevention only for kids?

This episode looks at the protective factors for addiction. G…

• What makes one person become addicted  to drugs and alcohol and another person doesn’t?
• Does genetics have a lot to do with addiction?
• Is environment more important than genetics?

There are many fa…

• What role does the brain play in addiction? 
• Is addiction a matter of willpower and choice or is it about biology?

Addiction is a hard thing for many people to talk about. Either their own addictio…

• What exactly is addiction? 
• Is addiction a choice or are addicted people victims of circumstance?

Episode 6 is the first part of a series about addiction. This episode defines the components of add…

What do I need to be able to work with substance use? What role do specialized substance abuse programs do and how can we work together?

This is the last installment of the five-part discussion about…

Why is substance abuse important for you to know? How will it help you better serve your clients?

This is part 4 of the  five-part discussion about why substance use is absolutely our business and wh…

What is being a licensed therapist like? What challenges exist that we didn’t anticipate? 

This is part 3 of a five-part discussion about why substance use is absolutely our business and why we all n…

What happens once we graduate from our master’s level training? 

Do we really have all the information we need? 

This is part 2 of 5 part discussion about why substance use is absolutely our business…

What does substance use have to do with mental health therapists?

What role should we play in treating substance use?

Part one of a five-part discussion about why substance use is absolutely our busi…