Last year I presented at the Oregon DUII Multi-Disciplinary Driving Training Conference and was honored to be asked back this year. For those of you who came to my talk, thank you! Also, thank you for allowing me to open with some personal challenges, and supporting me throughout the presentation. As promised, feel free to… [Continue Reading]
You Are Not Your Addiction: Understanding Parts of Self
We are conditioned from an early age to believe that we have one mind, one personality, and that all our thoughts, feelings and behaviors emanate from that unitary person we think we are. This way of understanding ourselves leads to tremendous suffering, because the truth of who we are is a bit more complex… Sigmund… [Continue Reading]
Getting Referrals Right: Matching Patients and Providers
During the past few weeks I have worked on two cases that required me to make referrals to treatment, and in both cases, I found myself very frustrated. What should be a fairly straightforward and easy thing to do, is far from it. And when I make a bad referral, I feel responsible when the person… [Continue Reading]
When Politics Usurp Science, We All Lose
One of the more articulate voices in the realm of addiction experts today is Carl Hart, who delivered a rousing TED Talk challenging our beliefs that drugs primarily cause addiction. In the talk he passionately offered evidence that poverty and crime are independent of drug problems, and that drugs including cocaine are far less addictive… [Continue Reading]
Ascending Out of the Hell of Heroin Addiction
I want to share with you a remarkable music video by very talented musician Rick Hale, titled Descending, about his younger brother’s struggle with heroin addiction. Make sure you watch it to the end as his brother Ryan makes a courageous appearance, putting his life in the public eye in hopes that his story may motivate… [Continue Reading]
Reducing the Risk of Drinking and Driving
This past Friday I was honored to be a presenter at the 2015 Oregon DUII Multi-Disciplinary Impaired Driving Training Conference. Unfortunately, due to a nasty cold, I was only able to muster the energy for one session instead of my planned two, which was a bummer. The talk, despite my low energy, was important to… [Continue Reading]
Why You Should Know About Implementation Science
Years ago I attended a conference where I first learned of the work of Dean Fixsen and heard the phrase implementation science. What I most remember about his presentation is a PowerPoint slide he showed that to this day continues to haunt me: The table is taken from Joyce and Showers (2002) where the authors… [Continue Reading]
American Sniper the Movie, PTSD & Addiction
I saw American Sniper yesterday and like many, was emotionally stirred by Clint Eastwood’s depiction of the life of Chris Kyle. Had I not seen The Hurt Locker (2008) and Zero Dark Thirty (2012), watching the graphic deaths of women and children in war would have been even more horrific. Sadly, if movies have… [Continue Reading]
When Unknown Traumatic Events Fuel Addiction
In Bessel van der Kolk’s latest masterpiece, The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma he writes about a study specific to traumatic memory that I believe has significant implications for those who struggle with addiction. The study takes us into the science of repressed memory, and helps prove that often… [Continue Reading]
The Magic of the Moment: Mindfulness and Addiction
I went to a lecture the other night on Seeing Color & Enhancing Creativity presented by photographer Seth Resnick. To warm up he had the audience close their eyes and picture what the person next to them was wearing. Because many couldn’t do it, he used the exercise to illustrate just how much we miss… [Continue Reading]
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