For the past half-dozen years, I have been attending The College on Problems of Drug Dependence, better known as CPDD. The conference has been in existence since 1929 and this year is celebrating 75 years! It is the longest running conference on drug addiction problems in the US and is attended by the brightest minds in the… [Continue Reading]
Hitting Rock Bottom: Addiction Stories
Not long ago I was contacted by some folks who have been working hard on a show called Hitting Rock Bottom. It tells the real stories of people who have struggled with addiction, hit rock bottom, and found a way out. Unlike reality television that often turns tragic stories about addiction into entertainment, this show has… [Continue Reading]
Focusing to Move Beyond Addiction
Not long after my wife and I were married, we decided to proactively increase our chances of staying together by enrolling in one of Dr. John Gottman’s weekend couples workshops in Seattle. At the time I was deeply immersed in my graduate studies in counseling and was excited to spend some time with the world-famous marriage guru. What I had… [Continue Reading]
Craving and Addiction
I am excited to announce that a new book is out today from my colleague, Dr. Omar Manejwala. He is the former Medical Director of Hazelden (one of the oldest and most respected treatment organizations in the world), and current Chief Medical Officer of Catasys, an innovative health management company focused on treating substance abuse problems. I was fortunate to… [Continue Reading]
Homelessness and Addiction: Part 2
It was early summer and I was deep into my counseling internship at the behavioral health clinic. I was lucky enough to have a giant corner office with many windows overlooking downtown Portland – room enough to conduct both my individual sessions and run groups. It was so big that I decided to bring in… [Continue Reading]
Homelessness and Addiction: Part I
In recent months my travels have taken me to Philadelphia and New York City, two of the most amazing cities in America. While I have enjoyed staying at comfortable hotels and dining on delicious food, it has been impossible to ignore the significant number of homeless people on the streets, begging for money and food…. [Continue Reading]
Addiction and the Perennial Philosophy
We have known for a long time that among the most powerful ways to overcome addiction is through spiritual interventions. The essence of such approaches is that addiction is a problem of the ego, of our lower self, of the body. By harnessing the powers and energy from our higher self, from the part of us that… [Continue Reading]
Whose Will: Book on Addiction, Courage, and Hope
I had the recent pleasure of speaking with Willie Harris, the author of Whose Will: Ordinary Person, Extraordinary Life a riveting account of his personal struggle with addiction and path back to a spiritual and connected life. Like most, the roots of Willie’s problems with alcohol and drugs began early in life, in a family awash in… [Continue Reading]
Addiction Treatment System 14 Years Later
This past week The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University released a scathing report of our addiction treatment system: Addiction Medicine: Closing the Gap between Science and Practice. While the report says nothing new, it does a nice job of summarizing the fact that we have made little progress since the… [Continue Reading]
Siddhartha’s Path Out of Addiction
I’m not sure how I missed reading Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha (Hilda Rosner translation) in high school, but I did. It’s one of those enchanting books I wish I would have read earlier! If you are unfamiliar with the story, I encourage you to read it and soak in its many wonderful messages about life. I have… [Continue Reading]
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