How the Mind Works
How the Mind Works: No Need For A Vacation, Your Mind’s Already On One by Thaddeus Camlin, Psy.D. We like to think we are in control, making conscious decisions, and acting of our own free will. Causes lead to effects, stimuli trigger responses, nature carries on in an orderly fashion. We are thoughtful, contemplative, questioning […]
New Year’s Resolutions
by Thaddeus Camlin, Psy.D. Turn New Year’s Resolutions into Lasting Change Achieving lasting change can be elusive. Whether you make resolutions at the dawn of the New Year or at other times in your life, we all make promises to ourselves to change. However, many times the firm commitments we make to ourselves fade like […]
Changing Habits: Learning to Cope with the Urges
Adapted from Pages 32 and 34 of the SMART Recovery Handbook, 3rd Edition This post has been updated from the original version that first ran in 2015. With so many people on day two of their 2018 New Year’s resolutions, it seems appropriate to offer some basic strategies for coping with urges that tempt us […]
Recovery and The Slow Death of Prohibition
by Thaddeus Camlin, Psy.D. I often hear words of empathy from people struggling with the use of illegal substances offered to individuals struggling with the use of legal substances. “I feel bad for you,” and “I can’t imagine having my drug of choice available in every store I go to,” are examples of the types […]
Principles for Improving US Addiction Treatment
by Tom Horvath, Ph.D., ABPP How can the United States improve addiction treatment? The ultimate goal of support for overcoming problematic addictive behavior is to improve individual health and well-being while reducing societal costs associated with the behavior. Several countries (e.g., Portugal, Switzerland, the Netherlands) are much more effective than the US in providing this […]
The Biggest Lies in Recovery, pt. IV: Shaming Inspires Change
by Thaddeus Camlin, Psy.D. This week’s topic is the fourth installment in a series exploring lies that have permeated the recovery culture. Thus far, lies about success, failure, and everyone in recovery being the same have been challenged. This week’s article challenges the lie that shaming people helps them change a problematic pattern of substance […]
Addiction Treatment: Why Individual Sessions are Important
by Tom Horvath, PhD, ABPP One of the most frequent complaints I hear from clients who have attended other treatment facilities is “I almost never had an individual session.” Why are frequent individual sessions unusual in US addiction treatment, and why are they important? Groups led by drug and alcohol counselors save money A business […]
The Biggest Lies in Recovery, pt. III: All Addicts Are the Same
by Thaddeus Camlin, Psy.D. This week’s topic is the third installment in a series exploring lies that have permeated the recovery culture. The first article challenged the lie that perfect abstinence is the only way to succeed in recovery. Last week’s article challenged the lie that most people in recovery fail. This week’s article challenges […]
The Biggest Lies in Recovery, pt. II: Recovery Failure
by Thaddeus Camlin, Psy.D. The Biggest Lies in Recovery, pt. II – Recovery Failure This week’s topic is the second installment in a series exploring lies that have permeated the recovery culture. Last week’s article challenged the lie that success in recovery is perfect abstinence. This week’s article challenges the closely related lie of recovery […]
The Biggest Lies in Recovery, pt. 1
by Thaddeus Camlin, Psy.D. This week’s topic is the first installment in a series that will explore lies that have permeated the recovery culture. Lies selected for critique will share a common theme of being detrimental to progress. The first lie on the chopping block is the lie of perfection. How strange would it be […]