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 […]
A Standard for Cannabis Moderation
By Tom Horvath, PhD We know how to estimate levels of alcohol moderation and intoxication. For instance, we can estimate that a 180 pound male, without a history of alcohol dependence, drinking over two hours, might hardly feel one drink, would be mildly buzzed at two or three drinks, would be substantially buzzed (and over […]
Improving Neuroplasticity: Psychedelics and Other Approaches
By Tom Horvath, PhD Psychedelic experiences have apparently been an aspect of Western life for a long time. It is hypothesized that the Eleusinian Mysteries, a religious rite in the ancient Greek world starting circa 1500 BCE, involved the use of an LSD-like substance. Since the synthesis of LSD in 1943, there have been waves […]
Food in Addiction Recovery: A Contrarian View About Recipes
A contrarian view about recipes (but encouragement to prepare food at home) By Tom Horvath, PhD I was raised by a father from a family in the catering business, and a mother who was a dietitian and highly accomplished cook (one of the best I have experienced). In our home we had dozens of recipe […]
Why Traditional Addiction Treatment Might Be Ineffective
By Tom Horvath, PhD By traditional addiction treatment I mean expecting the client to agree that addiction is a disease, abstain for life, engage deeply in 12-step meetings, and attend them for life. This approach probably continues as the dominant US approach, although there may be much variation in how firmly it is applied. This […]
Cognitive Reappraisal
By Tom Horvath, PhD “We are disturbed not by events but by our views about them.” – Epictetus, 50-135 CE The cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) tool known as cognitive reappraisal uses a fancy term for what is perhaps the fundamental idea of Stoicism: We can control our lives by controlling our “views” (or our “thoughts,” in […]
Controlling Yourself by Controlling Your Environment
By Tom Horvath, PhD One of the most basic principles of self-control is not to rely on it! Although our motivation (willpower, sense of purpose) can be very strong, there are times when it falls short of what is needed. An alternative approach to self-control is to control our environment. Then self-control is not needed. […]
NIAAA’s Definition of Recovery
By Tom Horvath, PhD In 2022, the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) proposed a definition of recovery that begins: Recovery is a process through which an individual pursues both remission from alcohol use disorder (AUD) and cessation from heavy drinking. An individual may be considered “recovered” if both remission from AUD and cessation from […]