Mindful Breathing for Reduced Stress
By Tom Horvath, PhD, ABPP One of the simplest but most powerful ways to reduce stress is to focus on breathing. Although books have been written on this subject, the following ideas may be a sufficient guide for you. Because we breathe continuously, you will have lots of opportunity to practice! Less is More Perhaps […]
Preaddiction – A Helpful Term?
by Tom Horvath, Ph.D. Would the term “preaddiction” be helpful? The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) jointly issued a Request for Information on this term. The details of the Request are at the very bottom. Below is what I sent them (slightly edited): ** […]
A Closer Look at the Rat Park Experiment, Part 1
A Closer Look at the Rat Park Experiment, Part 1 By Kenneth Anderson, MA Bruce K. Alexander’s rat park experiment series have become a very popular topic among people interested in addiction in recent years. The rat park experiments, published in 1978, 1979, and 1981, showed that albino Wistar rats living in a naturalistic environment […]
Coping With Worry
by Tom Horvath, PhD It seems that almost everyone worries at times. We can think about a problem over and over and not make any progress. Ineffective strategies for worry include telling ourselves to “just stop,” and looking for guarantees or certainty when they are not available. Very little is guaranteed in life, and yet […]
Transforming the US Addiction Treatment Workforce, Part 2
By Tom Horvath, PhD, ABPP Transforming the US Addiction Treatment Workforce, Part 1, argued that the US needs to follow other nations, which have substantially lowered overdose rates and rates of addictive problems by adopting harm reduction. To offer this approach we need providers who work with the client not against the client’s disease, accept […]
Social Fitness
By Tom Horvath, PhD We regularly see criteria for evaluating our health, physical fitness, or financial well-being. If our relationships are the primary source of our emotional well-being (a statement apparently accurate for most people), then guidelines for evaluating our relationships would also be valuable. Having both one or a few intimates, and a wide […]
The Year of the Dog – Movie Review
by Tom Horvath, PhD The Year of the Dog, a roughly 90-minute film, presents a fictional account of a mid-30s man and his early to middle change process out of alcohol problems. The story begins at the end of day 2. Matt has been released from jail, still experiencing withdrawal symptoms. Over the next several […]
The Languages of Love
By Tom Horvath, PhD, ABPP “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.” from How Do I Love Thee? (Sonnet 43) By Elizabeth Barrett Browning 1806-1861 This poem focuses on the writer’s experience of being in love. That experience could occur even if the love were not returned. We could have a […]
Transforming the US Addiction Treatment Workforce, Part 1
By Tom Horvath, PhD, ABPP The rapid increase in US overdose deaths in recent years has resulted in increased attention to our drug policies and treatment system. In other developed countries drug policy has increasingly oriented toward harm reduction. Harm reduction approaches emphasize working with individuals who use drugs to increase safe use in the […]
Improving Our Language About Addictive Problems, Part 2
By Tom Horvath, PhD In Part 1 I recommended that the term “addictive problems” replace several similar terms. In Part 2 I recommend that the term “recovery” be replaced with several better alternatives, depending on context. To summarize Part 1, there is a continuum of addictive problems (abstinence, moderation, misuse, mild substance use disorder, moderate […]