Spirituality and Addictive Problems
By Tom Horvath, PhD A recent study found a helpful effect from having a “spiritual component” to one’s life. That component significantly prevented addictive problems and aided in the change process if problems already existed. The strength of the effect was not major but given the challenges of addressing an addictive problem it is helpful […]
Rewards in Long Term Recovery
By Tom Horvath, PhD What’s the point of stopping an addictive problem if your life does not become better? It can get better by reducing the costs associated with the addictive problem, but also by having new rewards. Unfortunately, returning to previously established rewards, and if needed, developing new ones, can be a challenge. A […]
Housing First Debate
By Tom Horvath, PhD Housing First project launches in Alaska, but the debate about housing first continues. Anchorage, Alaska, has launched an innovative treatment program that includes housing in tiny homes for unhoused individuals with addictive problems. Press coverage dated April 2, 2026, describes the 32-home community, Willow Commons, which is placed in a parking […]
How Are You and Food Doing?
By Tom Horvath, PhD Eating is an addictive behavior (not necessarily an addictive problem) we typically engage in multiple times per day. There are many words associated with eating, including food, flavor, texture, and hunger. Improving eating often helps improve lifestyle balance and addictive problems. For this reason, I regularly discuss eating with clients. Below […]
The Continuing Debate About Addiction As a Disease
By Tom Horvath, PhD A recent scientific article entitled “Transcriptional regulation of ventral hippocampus-nucleus accumbens circuit excitability drives cocaine seeking” was summarized in a professional article at www.NeuroscienceNews.com (3/4/2026) under the title, “Cocaine Addiction is a Biological Rewiring, Not a Choice.” It was a large jump from the scientific article to the professional one. Let’s […]
Substance Use and Risk of Stroke
By Tom Horvath, PhD This recently published meta-analysis (a study, using rigorous statistical methods, to summarize the results of a large group of other studies) concludes that “several forms of substance misuse increase stroke risk, particularly cocaine, amphetamines, and cannabis [in that order of risk].” The increase with alcohol was lower. Nicotine and opioids […]
Podcast Interview on Sixty Plus Uncensored
By Tom Horvath, PhD Given that I will speak to as many audiences as feasible on topics like addiction treatment, understanding addictive problems, and the self-empowering approach, I was pleased to be invited for this podcast. Its website says: Sixty Plus Uncensored is a bold, funny, and unapologetically real podcast for people who refuse to fade […]
Pre-Existing Brain Structure and Later Substance Use
By Tom Horvath, PhD This finding is an opportunity to highlight the ABCD, the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study. The ABCD, launched in 2015 and funded by the federal government, is the largest US long-term study of brain development and child health. The project involves 21 research sites, 50 principal investigators, and 11,880 children who […]
Practical Recovery’s New Website
By Tom Horvath, PhD It was getting time to refresh the appearance of Practical Recovery’s website. A new one launched 2/18/26. Thank you to our digital marketing manager, Cheri Harkleroad! It may take some time to completely migrate all the content. In another effort to learn about AI, I inquired about how big the website […]
Risk Factors in Long-Term Recovery
By Tom Horvath, PhD This study examined relapses in individuals who had at least one year of sustained remission from an alcohol use disorder. The average recovery time for these 50 individuals was 3.6 years, 25 were white, 22 were female, and most were early middle age. All were back in remission for at least […]