Writer Maggie Moe and composer Joshua Vranas are telling a new story about addiction and recovery that does away with shame and stigma. Instead of normalizing old stereotypes and outdated archetypes, Moe and Vranas wrote and scored a musical, My Pet Dragon , that tells a different story–one that’s centered in hope, trust and courage and, when taking things a day at a time, just how powerful a person can get.
Susie Brooks, PhD, founder of Veritas Academy, felt powerless when students came into the classroom with substance use issues, or knew someone struggling. She recognized addiction as a disease—one that injures every community—but she didn't know how to help. So she attended the Graduate School of Addiction Studies to gain the tools and skills she needed to walk alongside her students and make an even greater impact. Tune in to learn more.
Bullying causes long-term damage on students' mental health, often resulting in anxiety, depression or PTSD during a critical developmental stage. But evidence-based approaches provide healthy solutions to complex situations—involving parents, teachers, administrators and other community members at every stage of the process. Jan Urbanski, Ed.D., Director of Safe and Humane Schools at Clemson University, explains how.
When Willie Burton was taken ninth in the 1990 NBA draft, he lost his defenses against addiction—a sensational talent through high school and college, his teammates and coaches looked out for him. But then the coping mechanisms he learned as a child in Detroit came back to haunt him when he hit the League. Tune in to hear his story, his message to people who are struggling, and how he intends to help student and professional athletes in their journey to recover.
On set, Dedee Pfeiffer hears from other actors, crewmates and directors who are inspired by her forwardness—fearless in her pursuit of love and light and publicly accepting her disease of addiction. Tune in as she shares everything she’s learned about loving recovery, why she’s so vocal about her story, what keeps her heart open and full, and how she plans to help more people fall in love with their recovery.
Intergenerational trauma. Unresolved grief. Stigma and isolation. Such complex and compound stressors can make recovery from substance use and other mental health conditions all the more challenging. But there are successful paths forward. Listen in to learn about the life-changing work of the Native Dads Network. The nonprofit organization helps indigenous fathers and families reconnect with culturally centered healing ways and sacred wisdom—nurturing wellness, belonging and renewed purpose....
Addiction is often surrounded by shame and stigma—and both have dominated the different arenas of public discourse for much of human history. No more. Join experts Jeremiah Gardner, Director of Communications and Public Affairs, and Emily Piper, Chief Legal, Advocacy and Compliance Officer, as they debunk popular myths about addiction and recovery and shed light on reality—on hope, on healing, on truth.
The next workplace revolution will likely hinge on employers' efforts to empower recovery. Post-covid, 20 percent of employees reported drinking during work. Last year, more people died from alcohol than ever before while the opioid epidemic waged on. What are top employers doing? How do they create a business culture where it's safe to seek lifesaving help? Leading expert Bob Poznanovich chimes in.
Honesty. Compassion. Respect. Humility. Many of the guiding values of the Red Road way of life—a Native American path of wellness, balance and spirituality—parallel Twelve Step recovery principles and practices. “The Red Road is a path of human wellness, and everyone is invited,” says clinical innovator and addiction counselor Albert Titman, Sr. Listen in as he discusses culturally integrated addiction treatment and recovery approaches that incorporate medicine wheel lessons and holistic care....
Philip Robert won't stay silent about the exploitation of his Native brothers and sisters: in Arizona, unregulated sober houses are taking advantage of vulnerable people. But Blue Sage Healing, where Philip works, is providing a safer home for recovery, a place of belonging, with a rich cultural connectedness that reunites Native folks with themselves, their ancestry and their people.
Serving as Chair of the American Indian Advisory Council and spending the past twenty years as an addiction counselor for his Native brothers and sisters, Donald Richard Wright, Elder of the Leech Lake band of Ojibwe, is still finding ways to lift people up and bring them home. Now he joins host Andrew Williams to talk about his journey and how we can better serve the Native community moving forward.
Parents are rightly terrified of fentanyl. But what behaviors should set off alarm bells? And how can parents keep the conversation pointed in the right direction when panic and big emotions start arriving? Clinician Sarah Polley, MD, joins host William C. Moyers to explain what teenagers are thinking about fentanyl, the signs they're using, and how you can intervene and make a difference.
Shame and stigma kept Kathryn Burgum silent about her recovery for fifteen years. After she became First Lady of North Dakota, she learned from host William Moyers himself after an event where they both spoke: "The solution is so simple—we end stigma by talking about it." Now she's leading head and heart first, putting her own story front and center, and providing invaluable input to steer policy, public perception, and people everywhere toward real hope and healing.
Marketed as safe and cool with fun flavors and clever devices, vapes are hooking a new generation on nicotine. Health experts warn that it's not only water vapor and nicotine surging into the lungs: All kinds of other chemicals are ingested too. Psychiatrist Sara Polley, MD, talks with host William C. Moyers about the prevalence, known health risks and highly addictive potential of vaping among youth. The doctor's bottom line? No amount or form of nicotine is helpful for a young person. Listen i...
Out on tour after getting sober, indie-rocker John Solomon made a point of hosting conversations about addiction, mental health and recovery wherever he went. The experience inspired his next career move: Going to graduate school and becoming an addiction and mental health counselor. Today he serves as CEO of the Alaska Behavioral Health Association. From a patient to a clinician to a leading voice in the recovery field, hear why he keeps turning the hope he's found into ways to help others heal...
His birthday. His death day. Holidays. Family celebrations. That's when Linda Morrison feels the loss of her youngest son, Mike, most profoundly. But with time, she is finding more space in her heart for gratitude and hope—for the happy life Mike wanted for her. Morrison's achingly honest mother-son love story, Dear Heroin: A Memoir of Goodbyes , helps other families feel less alone in the darkness and devastation of addiction. Listen to her poignant interview with host William C. Moyers....
As author and advocate Dawn Nickel likes to say, "we're all recovering from something." For her, those somethings include alcohol, cocaine, anxiety, marijuana and workaholism. Tune in as the co-founder of the global SHE RECOVERS movement talks with host William C. Moyers about the inspiration behind her daily meditation book for "like-minded, like-hearted" women in their own recovery practice. Discover, too, why Nickel calls the book her "love letter to recovery."
Steve thought the world would come crashing when he packed his bags for treatment. A savvy businessman and CEO, he considered himself too successful, or perhaps too important, to go to treatment: after all, three families relied on him for financial support. Now he admits that was only an excuse, and everything that comes after—hope, healing and connection—are the only accomplishments that matter. Tune in to hear the rest.
Cómo ayudar a alguien que tiene una adicción Nuestro primer impulso es ayudar y proteger a nuestros seres queridos. Pero cuando tienen una adicción, ese impulso no es el correcto: puede que nos lleve a hacer cosas con las que no estamos cómodos, y cuando protegemos a nuestros seres queridos de las consecuencias de sus acciones, es menos probable que cambien. ¿Qué deberíamos hacer en su lugar? ¿Qué ayudará a nuestro ser querido a alcanzar y mantener la sobriedad? Y, ¿cómo podemos alcanzar nuestra...
Proteger a nuestras familias y comunidades de la adicción Aunque disponemos de más recursos para hispanohablantes que en años anteriores, la cantidad de muertes por adicción en nuestra comunidad latina sigue siendo mucho más alta que en las comunidades de raza blanca. ¿Cómo podemos protegernos? ¿Qué deberíamos saber sobre la adicción, en especial con respecto a sus consecuencias para la familia y el papel que desempeña nuestra cultura en la rehabilitación? El presentador Manuel García recibe la ...
The search for addiction treatment is exhausting. How do you differentiate one program from the next? What factors are most important? This is uncharted territory, meaning it’s okay to feel lost or overwhelmed. To provide some much-needed clarity and guidance, a panel of experts joined host William C. Moyers to explain what you should look for, including the keys to effective care and the most important questions to ask a potential treatment provider.
What did journalist Ted Alcorn learn during his seven-part investigation into drinking trends in New Mexico? From uncovering why the state leads the U.S. in alcohol-related deaths, to discovering laws and policies that ignore and even encourage alcohol use, Alcorn spotted gaps in the system that allowed one man to spend 40 years in active addiction without intervention. But there's hope: he also found some solutions. Now he joins host William C. Moyers to share what he discovered.
Some obstacles to addiction recovery for the Native community are obvious and well documented, like underfunded health systems. But other, less obvious challenges are just as sticky and prevent just as many people from seeking help. These obstacles, in turn, lengthen "the journey from the head to the heart"—when a person understands that they need help, but the paradigms of recovery have yet to take root in their heart and soul.
Millions of Americans are trying to medicate their anxiety with alcohol, marijuana and other drugs. This might work for a short time, but it opens the door for addiction and produces even more anxiety in the long run. Having seen this same sequence of events over and over again, clinician Sarah Wicks, PhD, LP, joins host William C. Moyers to talk about anxiety and addiction: how they feed off one another and the healthy coping skills that actually relieve stress.
This is the recovery story of Daisy Vanslyke, a gentle spirit who spends most of her time healing other people. In her every word and wisdom, she speaks from the heart: she has endured some of life's greatest adversities and hardships, but she still finds beauty and purpose in herself, her children and her recovery. And she's brave enough to see the same in others—and to help them see it too.
Chandell Boyd, LADC, joins host Andrew Williams to discuss her work with the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, where she's an associate director for the Substance Use Disorders Department. Boyd is also an alumnus of the Hazelden Betty Ford Graduate School of Addiction Studies. And although she dreams of the day when addiction no longer affects her community, she's using her master's to coordinate new patient services and facilitate change in her community and among her people.
Much has changed in the world of addiction treatment. The standard model of care used to revolve around a 28-day stint inside a treatment center. But residential care isn't optimal for everyone, and with kids, careers and other responsibilities, sometimes it's not even an option. Enter outpatient and virtual treatment options—where the earliest stages of recovery happen alongside the rest of life. Would you be a good fit? Tune in for this panel discussion with host William C. Moyers.
In this episode of Let's Talk Recovery Equity, journalist Ted Alcorn talks about his investigation into alcohol use in New Mexico, which has the worst rate of alcohol-related deaths in the country. He focused on the small town of Gallup in McKinley County, which is sandwiched between Navajo, Hopi and Zuni reservations and has long served as the local drinking spot—and is perhaps the perfect setting for busting myths.
In this episode of Let's Talk, licensed psychologist and military veteran Dustin Brockberg, PhD, and his wife, Kerry Brockberg, PhD, also a psychologist, talk about their new book, End Your Covert Mission , with host William C. Moyers. They share some tangible advice with other veterans who want to find peace from chronic pain—in all its forms—and long-lasting recovery from addiction.
Shame and addiction go hand-in-hand. Because of that, some of the most important work in recovery deals with the transformation of shame into something lighter and more actionable—guilt. Then a person can understand, "I did bad things, but I am not a bad person." And they can forgive themselves and work to make things right. Senior clinician Sarah Wicks, PhD, LP, explains the key differences between shame and guilt and chronicles the healing process with host William C. Moyers.
