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 it. You see, I was...

"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 me why the...

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 or two, and be b...

The past ten years for me has been a steady process of identifying and becoming increasingly focused on addressing an issue that I am quite passionate about. And that would be (drum roll please)......

The short video above addresses what I consider to be somewhat of an elephant in the room when it comes to the public perception of "drug rehab." And that's the question of whether rehab really works,...

I had an experience yesterday that really got me thinking.

About drug treatment.

And what it’s like for families who have a loved one in treatment.

More specifically, about how challenging drug tre...

"Rehab doesn't work."

"I don't trust those rehabs. They're only in it for the money."

In my line of work I frequently find myself in the position of suggesting to a family that it might be time cons...

I ran an adolescent outpatient substance treatment program for many years.

One night I was standing in my office with some parents. We had just finished a graduation group where their daughter had ju...

The video above describes a really common problem that occurs in drug treatment, and that's when the client, the family, and the treatment team aren't all on the same page with regard to the treatment...

Last week I presented a webinar for The Greenhouse Holistic Healing CEU Series, a monthly training hosted by The Greenhouse, a leading substance use treatment facility here in Dallas, Texas. 

And I t...

The video above includes two of the shortest—but perhaps most effective—lectures you'll find on how addiction impacts the family system:

• The 8-Second Lecture on Chemical Dependency
• The 8-Second Le
...

At first I was going call this post "Back To Basics." But I decided to be more direct, so I went with "Understanding Substance Use Disorder." Let me explain...

I've worked in the addiction field for ...