All Things Substance Podcast
The place for therapists
to hear about substance use
from a mental health perspective.
New from the Podcast:
What 20 Years Has Taught Me
Episode #124 Adding substance use to your scope of practice means that you will want to have a source for good information. How do you know who to trust? Why am I the right person for you to talk with and listen to? Over the last 20 years of my career, I have been...
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Check out the categories below:
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Addiction Information
What’s a Recovery Meeting Like?
Episode #122 Recovery meetings can be a giant help to people as they move through recovery from all kinds of things. If you’ve never been it can be hard to know what happens at a meeting and to know how your clients would benefit from attending recovery meetings....
Addiction and love-Andrea Owen interviews Betsy
Episode 119 Addiction and love? I got a chance to sit down with Andrea Owen (our January recovery story) on her podcast Make Some Noise. During that conversation she talks a bit about her own recovery journey and the concept of love addiction. We talked about...
Addiction Myth: People Have to Hit Rock Bottom to Get Sober
Episode #117 People have to hit rock bottom before they can get sober. It’s a really good thing that this isn’t true. If people had to find the very bottom before they could get clean, there would be so much more misery. People get sober at all different times of...
Assessment
Substance Use Decision Tree-Explained
Episode #116 Sometimes we have to make decisions pretty quickly. I remember being floored when I was out of school and had to diagnose in the first session. I had held onto charts because I wasn’t ready to do the diagnosis. I got in “trouble” with the three support...
Would You Have Guessed They Had Alcohol Problems?
Episode #115 People often hide things they are ashamed of. They also hide things that feel like it's the only thing holding them up. That can make it really hard to find out organically if someone is overusing substances. In today’s episode we’ll hear about five real...
Why Readiness to Change May Be the Biggest Factor
Episode #109 People change because they want to or because they have to. When neither of those things are true, change isn’t going to happen. When clients come to us, we have to focus on what they bring to the table. If they come to change a particular behavior, then...
All Substances
Let’s talk about alcohol
Episode 19 Let's Talk About Alcohol How does alcohol work? What long-term effects of alcohol What should therapists ask about alcohol Alcohol is a part of most adults' lives. We might be tempted to skip over assessing someone’s use of alcohol. Someone’s drinking...
What is Normal Marijuana Use?
Episode 86 So far we don’t have a determination about what is “normal” marijuana use. We have very little direction on marijuana use at all. Even medical marijuana doesn’t have a dosing or recommended amount. It doesn’t have anything saying don’t use more than this...
Marijuana Issues and Therapy
Episode 85 Marijuana gets a lot of press coverage in the United States. The federal government still has it as an illegal substance, schedule 1 (which means it's on par with heroin). States are starting to legalize recreational marijuana. Medical marijuana has been...
Private Practice Edition
To Take Insurance or Private Pay Only?
Episode #114 Going into private practice is a big deal. There are a lot of things to consider. One of the biggest decisions that has to be made is if a therapist will take insurance or not. Some people might wonder why that’s even a question, of course private...
Switching From Nonprofit to For-Profit
Episode #112 We’re therapists, not business people. We went into the field to serve people, not to serve capitalism. But the field is changing. Agency work is one choice a therapist can make, but increasingly people are looking to go out on their own. They end up...
Interview with Amber Lyda
Episode #111 Amber Lyda was a bit ahead of the curve on the whole online therapy practice gig. She decided she wanted to be able to do more things outside of work. She realized that in order to do so, she had to change something drastically. Thus began her journey to...
Recovery Stories
A Recovery Story: Brian
Episode #121 Brian was 18 when he first suspected that he had a problem with gambling. Surely 18 years old was too young to have an addiction right? He spent the next several years trying to win his way out of the hole of debt he was in. He found out that it's true...
Sex and Recovery
Episode #120 Sex is a vital part of who we are as humans. It’s a way to connect with others. A way to have pleasure. Research tells us that sex is super beneficial for our health and well-being. Experiences vary wildly depending on the people and the circumstances....
A Recovery Story: Dufflyn
Episode #118 It was all about love. That’s what Dufflyn was looking for from the time she was a small girl all the way into her 40’s. She consistently was seeking to fill a need and find a place to belong. For a long while alcohol and drugs were the answer. Recovery...
Student Edition
Therapy Paperwork Basics
Episode 76 Therapy paperwork is a core part of the job. It’s sometimes also a pain in the ass. Developing good habits at the beginning of your career will be incredibly helpful. The majority of our job is about being with people, holding space, helping clients see...
Diagnosis Can Be Healing
Episode 72 Why do we need to diagnose clients? Is it harmful to give someone a diagnosis? Can’t I just give everyone an adjustment disorder? Diagnosing is fundamental to the work of a therapist. If for no other reason than you need to be able to bill insurance to get...
To Graduation and Beyond
Episode 67 What should you focus on as graduation approaches? What should you look for in a first post-grad job? What about going into private practice? Everything you’ve done since entering college has been leading to this moment. The papers are in, the internship is...
Treatment & Recovery
What 20 Years Has Taught Me
Episode #124 Adding substance use to your scope of practice means that you will want to have a source for good information. How do you know who to trust? Why am I the right person for you to talk with and listen to? Over the last 20 years of my career, I have been...
A Snapshot of the 12 Steps and 12 Traditions of AA
Episode #123 The 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous have brought many into recovery and saved lives all over the world. Most people know that there are 12 Steps, but they don’t know what the Steps are and most haven’t heard of the 12 Traditions. Today we’ll be covering...
What’s a Recovery Meeting Like?
Episode #122 Recovery meetings can be a giant help to people as they move through recovery from all kinds of things. If you’ve never been it can be hard to know what happens at a meeting and to know how your clients would benefit from attending recovery meetings....
Try our list of all the episodes in date order:
Subcategories:
Amphetamines
Meth: A Recovery Story
Episode 42 Meth addiction is all around us. We see it in the faces of people on the street. We see it in the news. We might even see it in our families. Recovery from meth is hard and and may seem impossible. People do come back from the dark place that is meth...
Why Do People Use Meth?
Episode 41 What is meth and why would people use it? Have you ever thought “Why would someone ever use meth?” Even those who know how bad it can be still can end up using it and falling into a full blown meth addiction. This episode sheds light on the attraction of...
Meth Facts
Episode 40 Meth popularity is extremely high right now in the US, Australia and the UK. This drug is especially damaging with really visible consequences. This episode will cover the meth facts including how its used and long-term effects. Helpful Links History of the...
Cannabis
What is Normal Marijuana Use?
Episode 86 So far we don’t have a determination about what is “normal” marijuana use. We have very little direction on marijuana use at all. Even medical marijuana doesn’t have a dosing or recommended amount. It doesn’t have anything saying don’t use more than this...
Marijuana Issues and Therapy
Episode 85 Marijuana gets a lot of press coverage in the United States. The federal government still has it as an illegal substance, schedule 1 (which means it's on par with heroin). States are starting to legalize recreational marijuana. Medical marijuana has been...
What Does CBD Do?
Episode 68 What Does CBD Do? Is it good for anxiety and/or PTSD? Is CBD good for treating substance use disorders? Is CBD good for chronic pain and arthritis? With CBD being added to more things all the time (drinks, lotion, vitamins and even water) it can be hard to...
Compulsive Behaviors
Sex and Addiction: An Interview
Episode 18 Why the phrase "addiction to porn" doesn't fit with the current scientific findings What does the research say about problematic sexual behaviors? What does research say about pornography? I see requests online all the time in therapist FB groups about...
Sex and Addiction: Interview with Dr. Coleman
Episode 17 Why the word "addiction" doesn't fit when talking about sex Is sex an addiction? What does the research say about problematic sexual behaviors? How can we evaluate potential issues with sexual behavior? The word addiction and the word sex shouldn’t be put...
Is Food Addiction Real? Part 2-Episode 16
Episode 16 Can you be addicted to food? Is it possible to find recovery from food addiction? What should therapists know about food addiction? Food addiction is a real thing, even if the DSM doesn’t say it yet. Food addiction is not an addiction to eating, it's an...
Gambling
An Interview with All In: An Addicted Gambler’s Podcast
Episode 26I'm taking a 2 week break on the podcast. I am reposting an interview I did with a fellow podcaster. In December 2020, I had the privilege of talking with Brian, the host of a gambling podcast called All In: An Addicted Gambler's Podcast in December of...
Why We Need to be Asking Clients About Gambling
Episode 14 What do mental health therapists need to know about gambling addiction? What types of gambling are there? What’s the connection to mental health? Gambling addiction is a pretty specialized topic. Mental health therapists are a logical place for problem...
Hallucinogens
Psychedelic PTSD Treatment
Episode 31 What is Psychedelic PTSD Treatment? What is MDMA? What about Ketamine and Psilocybin as treatment options? MDMA or Ecstasy is a unique kind of hallucinogen. It’s known as a party drug but also as a psychedelic PTSD treatment. We’ll explore this and two...
Dissociative Hallucinogens
Episode 30 What are dissociative hallucinogens? What is Ketamine? What are the effects of dissociative drugs? Dissociative hallucinogens are specifically drugs like Ketamine, PCP, Salvia to name a few. They are known for making a person experience a form of...
What is LSD? What is DMT?-Classic Hallucinogens
Episode 29 What types of hallucinogens are there? What is LSD? What is DMT? What are mushrooms? What are the effects of hallucinogens? Hallucinogens & Psychedelics. There are lots of different kinds of these drugs. This is part 1 of 3 where we are covering...
Opiates
Treating Chronic Pain
Episode 88 Treating chronic pain is difficult on a good day. After the over-prescribing of opiates in the 90’s and early 2000’s, it's become more challenging. Opiates used to be the treatment of choice, but the medical community has more research and information that...
Medication Assisted Treatment Explained
Episode 25 What treatment options are there for opiate addiction? What is medication assisted treatment? What’s the difference between agonist, partial-agonist and antagonist options? What is the therapist role in treating opiate addiction? The opiate epidemic is all...
A Recovering Opiate Addict’s Perspective
Episode 24 How does opiate addiction start? What does progression look like in opiate addiction? What keeps people stuck in a cycle of opiate addiction The opiate epidemic is all around us. We hear about the deaths and the dangers. Most of us know a bit about it, but...
Prescription Pills
Treating Chronic Pain
Episode 88 Treating chronic pain is difficult on a good day. After the over-prescribing of opiates in the 90’s and early 2000’s, it's become more challenging. Opiates used to be the treatment of choice, but the medical community has more research and information that...
What are barbiturates?
Episode 53 What are barbiturates? How were barbiturates used historically? How are barbiturates used in recent years? Barbiturates are an older class of drugs that had tons of uses and were the go-to for many years. Newer medications with less risks superseded these...
Sleep Medication Risk
Episode 50 What should I know about sleep medication risks? What are the risks in the non-benzodiazepine class of medications? What is the addiction potential of those medications? The desperation that comes from trying to sleep causes people to make choices...