Patrick Carnes is the author of Out of the Shadows: Understanding Sexual Addiction. As a therapist, we often utilize his materials to enhance the content of sessions with our clients. Out of the Shadows: Understanding Sexual Addiction is an easy read and a great resource to help explain the addiction cycle for … Read More
Sobriety During the Holidays
Eat, Drink, and be Merry! This is a popular holiday slogan that many of us are familiar with. Nevertheless, holidays are often a time that can be a trigger for individuals struggling with addiction and sobriety. Many people think that the holidays are just a time for happiness and time … Read More
Am I An Addict?
Am I an addict? Labels, diagnosis, and prognosis: we are obsessed with putting labels on people and putting them in neat little categories. Society likes to know what the diagnosis is and what the prognosis will be. Many times I hear, “I use and abuse drugs and alcohol, but I … Read More
Cognitive Neuroscience Part 3: Scientific Proof that People Can Change
Can people change? It’s a loaded question. If affects our views on philosophy, religion, psychology, sociology and biology – just to name a few. What if I told you there was scientific research that strongly suggests that the answer is yes? Think about that for a second. Think about the … Read More
Cognitive Neuroscience Part 2: The Brain vs. The Mind
Over the next few posts, we’re going to talk about an emerging field of study called cognitive neuroscience. But don’t worry. We’re going to leave (most of) the 7-syllable words to the textbooks and wikipedia entries. Instead, we’re going to focus on the practical applications of this science on our … Read More
Cognitive Neuroscience Part 1: A Practical Introduction
In this blog series, we’re going to talk about an emerging field of study called cognitive neuroscience. But don’t worry. We’re going to leave (most of) the 7-syllable words to the textbooks and wikipedia entries. Instead, we’re going to focus on the practical applications of this science on our every-day … Read More
Caring for Someone with Addiction
“I promise this is the last time I will use… (fill in drug of choice)”. If you are in a relationship with someone who is struggling with addiction, you have most likely heard those words. You probably have believed those words time and time again, only to be hurt and … Read More
The College Experience – Substance Use & Peer Pressure
Experience is a great teacher. We learn though successes, we learn through mistakes, and we even learn from the internet. This summer, we are helping our students learn before their college experience. We have pulled together our experience in working with some of the brightest students, experience from working on … Read More
Childhood Emotional Neglect
Did you have a normal childhood with good parents, yet still feel unhappy or unsatisfied with your life? Maybe you suffer from depression, anxiety, or anger management problems and don’t have any idea why, because you experienced absolutely no abuse or trauma in your childhood. Are you married with beautiful … Read More
Changing an Unhealthy Coping Mechanism
We all have ways of coping or have fallen into bad habits, even addictions. You may have decided you want to change. But most likely you have found that actually changing just is not as easy as making the decision to do so. Change is hard for most of us.
