Changing Your Mind with Mindfulness Meditation, Part 2
Neuronal Plasticity, Mindfulness Meditation, and Addiction Recovery by Nicholas A. Nelson, Ph.D. Part 2 of 2 In Part 1, we visited the motivations for leveraging mindfulness as a tool for overcoming problematic addictive behaviors. We discussed the concept of neuroplasticity and took a theoretical look at how mindfulness meditation can aid in reshaping our brain […]
Annual SMART Recovery Conference RECAP for 2025
The SMART Recovery 2025 Annual Conference, Charlotte, NC, April 2-4 By Tom Horvath, PhD In summary: SMART is thriving, and recognition of SMART in the recovery and wider world seems to be accelerating. Entire systems of services (e.g., state prison systems, national prison systems, treatment systems) are adopting SMART Recovery meetings. Part of the purpose […]
Substance Use Monitoring Plans
by Tom Horvath, PhD There are many occupations considered to be safety-sensitive. The industries from which they are drawn include healthcare, transportation, and construction. Specific occupations include physicians, airline pilots, and heavy equipment operators. When these individuals have their substance use monitored (often because of recent substance problems), what principles should guide the creation of […]
Using SMART Recovery as a Free Alternative to Residential Treatment
By Tom Horvath, PhD In the state of California, a licensed residential substance use treatment facility (a “rehab”) needs to provide 20 hours of treatment per week. Typically, this treatment is provided in groups. In many rehabs there is only one individual session per week, the minimum required by law. The groups in a rehab […]
Syringe Services: Helping Drug Injectors Use More Safely is Beneficial
By Tom Horvath, PhD This blog will publicize a recent blog post on syringe services from Nora Volkow, MD, the Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). She states that: Nearly 30 years of research show that providing testing, counseling, and sterile injection supplies to people who inject opioids and other drugs helps […]
Coping with Thanksgiving
By Tom Horvath, PhD, ABPP Although many of us have warm memories about Thanksgiving spent with family and friends, there may be some painful memories as well. If you’re looking for tips on coping with Thanksgiving, and the problems that might arise, consider the following goals: If avoiding squabbles is your goal, can you sit […]
If We Have Our Own Why
By Tom Horvath, PhD “If we have our own why, we shall get along with almost any how.” –Friedrich Nietzsche, Twilight of the Idols, Maxims and Arrows, #12, translated (1954) by Walter Kaufman, originally published 1889. Our Own Why There is a range of “whys” that explain how we behave. We have in-the-moment behaviors like […]
We Are Disturbed Not By Events
By Tom Horvath, PhD “We are disturbed not by events, but by our views about them.” – Epictetus, 60-138 CE Bad events happen to all of us. To some of us, they happen to a great extent. Whether we have first-world problems, third-world problems, or something else, our problems focus our attention. We want to […]
Gaining Strength from Our Successes
By Tom Horvath, PhD Although occasionally we hear someone say “I’m addicted to everything,” it appears that most of us deeply enjoy only a few substances or activities. You would not have time for all of them! This fact means that there are many or at least some substances that you do not feel strongly […]
Sources of Pleasure
What are your sources of pleasure? By Tom Horvath, PhD If you’ve had addictive problems, you may easily recall experiences (with substances or activities) that you found intensely pleasurable. Addictive behavior can provide that! However, regardless of how much you are still having that type of experience, you can understand and appreciate yourself much better […]