One night I was standing in my office with the parents of a girl who was a client in my addiction treatment program. We had just completed her graduation group, which marked her successful...

Over the past several weeks I've had numerous calls from frustrated parents who have been engaged in some form of counseling or treatment with a teenage child where substance use was definitely...

What does it mean when we say that someone's drug or alcohol use is a ... "problem?"

The first step towards successful substance use intervention is getting clear about what it...

Last week I shared a video that pointed to what in my estimation is one of the biggest reasons for poor outcomes in substance use treatment. And that's the fact that clients are often...

"We're aware that our daughter's been using alcohol and marijuana—definitely more than we're comfortable with. But we're just not sure what to do about it." 

That's what the mother of a...

The other day I listened to a client talk about her experience of checking her husband into rehab:

"They said they would call. And I went home and waited. A week went by, nothing. I had no idea...

I had an experience yesterday that really got me thinking.

About drug treatment.

And what it’s like for families who have a loved one in treatment.

More specifically, about how challenging...

"Rehab doesn't work."

"I don't trust those rehabs. They're only in it for the money."

In my line of work I frequently find myself in the position of suggesting to a family that it might be time...

The video above includes two of the shortest—but perhaps most effective—lectures you'll find on how addiction impacts the family system:

• The 8-Second Lecture on Chemical Dependency
• The...