When the string on an instrument such as a guitar is struck down to the fretboard, sound is produced from two portions of the string - not just one. The portion of the string in front of the fretting finger (toward the sound hole) produces the sound we commonly hear. But the portion of the … Continue reading Lessons from outside the field: “Both sides of the string”

The if-only lie about the past, the as-if lie about the present, and the what-if lie about the future During my graduate internship I had the fortune of hearing Tom Murphy make that statement and expound it. In expounding it, Tom clarified how a person might try to convince themselves that if only some part … Continue reading Sentences to Ponder (Thomas P. Murphy)

I recently heard this topic from the field, and thought I would add my thoughts here about that question in the form of suggestions. Back in 2020 I posted something similar titled, Addiction Counselors Should Become Familiar with "Recovery". But that was general to all addiction treatment patients, and recovery in general. Here is my … Continue reading 12 step programs don’t help people with opioid addiction?  Is that true?

A colleague in the field sent me a 2024 paper titled, “Family Members’ Reward-Based Activation in Response to an AUD Loved-One” published in the journal called Contemporary Family Therapy.  The full citation is below.  That colleague suggested a blog post be written about this paper.  So, this post is both a “topic from the field” … Continue reading A brain-imaging study of the family members of people with alcohol use disorder

Addiction is a pediatric-onset disorder." Hearing her expound that, the accuracy of the statement became obvious when looking backward from the disease end-point of addiction to the person's initial use. Initial use at or before age 13 she described as a benchmark of risk for development of the full disease.

Several years ago I was at a national conference in our field. It's a very well known conference with thousands in attendance. On one of the mornings in particular, I was 2 minutes early for the 7:00am breakfast in the giant ballroom. One person was there, seated, and just starting to eat breakfast. It was … Continue reading Sentences to Ponder (addiction medicine physician)

We admitted we were powerless over our client - and to the extent we try to control the client, our work becomes unmanageable. I'll never forget Tom telling me this in the hallway at White Oaks Center during my graduate internship in 1988. He expounded it so clearly and so well that it only took … Continue reading Sentences to Ponder (Thomas P. Murphy)