Addiction Research & Theory recently published an interesting article entitled "The unseen burden: exploring the lived experiences of mothers caring for individuals with substance use disorder." It focuses on the lived experiences of Indian mothers caring for sons with severe Substance Use Disorders. The authors set the focus of the paper as follows: This growing … Continue reading Moms, SUDs, & “emotional disintegration within the family”

“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” – James Baldwin Workforce attrition in addiction care is about much more than burnout. It is often more a result of moral dissonance created by systems that profess recovery but operationalize something far less. As an example, the … Continue reading Hope Carriers in a System That Doesn’t Walk Its Own Talk on Recovery

I recently had the opportunity to see John Kelly present some of his research on recovery. Kelly is doing some of the most important work in the addiction and recovery space. I say this because he's one of the few researchers publishing on long-term outcomes and quality-of-life. Most contemporary research gives us little more than … Continue reading Quality of life in the first five years of recovery

Consequences don't stop our using. They promote it." When I first heard Dr. Holman say this (around 2009) or so, it really struck me. Why? It had an entire feel about it. Not how she said it, but the words themselves. And the message was pretty specific, too. For decades I had of course heard … Continue reading Sentences to Ponder (Susan Holman, MD)

Disclaimer: Nothing in this document should be taken or held as clinical instruction, clinical supervision, or advisory concerning patient care. There’s a classic practice in addiction counseling I first saw in the late 1980’s.  But I’ve never seen it written up.  Not in the clinical-applied literature, practice guidelines, research studies, or anywhere else I can think … Continue reading A classic practice in addiction counseling: the group or house checking the “we”

Earlier this year, Frontiers in Public Health published an important study by John F. Kelly, Morgan Klein, Katherine Zeng, Sydney Manske, and Alexandra Abry. I say it's important because research that captures information about relapse tends to focus on the days, weeks, and maybe months following the initiation of recovery. We have very little professional … Continue reading Alcohol Use Disorder Relapse After One Year of Remission

Developing the Science of Flourishing in Addiction Recovery – William Stauffer & Dr David Best This essay was coauthored with Dr. David Best, an internationally recognized researcher in addiction recovery whose work has been central to advancing the science of recovery capital, social networks, and community-based pathways to long-term change. As coauthor, he brings decades … Continue reading Emerging From the Shadows, Beyond Existing into Mattering and Belonging

I love this paper for a lot of reasons. It's the first meta-analysis on this topic, by the way. Here's the link and citation for this open access paper: Koh HK, Frederick DE, Balboni TA, et al. Spirituality and Harmful or Hazardous Alcohol and Other Drug Use: A Meta-Analysis of Longitudinal Studies. JAMA Psychiatry. 2026;83(4):363–378. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2025.4816 Below, I'll present a … Continue reading Research Article Review: “Spirituality and Harmful or Hazardous Alcohol and Other Drug use: A Meta-Analysis of Longitudinal Studies”.

William White, the highly regarded historian and thought leader of the new recovery advocacy movement recently put out a comprehensive paper on Post Traumatic Growth and Flourishing in Addiction Recovery. This essay should be a roadmap to retool our systems of care. A plan from which we can foster the full potential of individuals and … Continue reading Beyond Low Expectations of Languishing to the Probability of Flourishing in Addiction Recovery