When your child struggles with addiction, you may not realize you’re experiencing grief. But the losses are real and profound – the loss of who your child was, the loss of dreams for their future, and the constant fear of what might happen next. Leslie Barber, founder of Grief Warrior, brings a deeply personal understanding
For parents navigating the chaos of a child’s substance misuse, Mark Pepper’s story offers both hope and hard-won wisdom. As a licensed clinical mental health counselor and clinical director, Mark brings a unique perspective to addiction recovery—he’s lived it himself. His journey from homelessness to helping others rebuild their lives demonstrates that recovery is possible,
When your child is misusing drugs or alcohol, every conversation can feel like walking through a minefield. You want to connect, to help, to guide – but somehow the words come out wrong, defenses go up, and you end up further apart than when you started. There’s a better way. What is the SURF Communication
When parents discover their child is struggling with drugs, alcohol, or mental health challenges, the immediate instinct is often to find the perfect treatment program that will ‘fix’ everything. But what if the most effective approach looks completely different from traditional models? Wes Robins, a licensed professional counselor working on his PhD at the University
When the phone call came during a family dinner on an island, the words were brief and terrifying: ‘Hi, is this John’s mom? I just want to let you know John overdosed and he’s at Northwest Hospital in the emergency room.’ Then the line went dead. What followed was 30 days that would test every
When your child is misusing substances, you might wonder why they can’t just stop. Understanding how people actually change their behavior can transform how you approach conversations and support your child through their journey. Understanding the Stages of Change Model The stages of change model came about in the late 70s by researchers James Prochaska
When your child is misusing drugs or alcohol, you’re often told there’s only one path forward: get them into treatment and demand complete abstinence. But what if there were approaches that met young people where they are, focused on reducing harm, and actually worked better for creating lasting change? In this conversation with Dee-Dee Stout,
When a child struggles with substance misuse, parents often face their crisis in silence. This episode creates a bridge between the isolated parent and the friends or family members who want to help but don’t know how. Understanding the Daily Weight Parents Carry The reality of parenting a child through substance use is far beyond
When a child struggles with substance misuse, parents often focus all their energy on helping their child while neglecting their own mental health. But as licensed mental health counselor Laura Richer explains, parents are dealing with their own significant trauma that deserves professional support. Why Parents Need Their Own Therapy Laura emphasizes the reality that
When your child is struggling with substance use or emotional challenges, the experience can feel devastating. Parents commonly report three intense feelings that dominate their daily lives: fear, complete overwhelm, and exhaustion — not just mild versions of these emotions, but crippling levels that impact every aspect of life. ‘It’s this kind of crazy panicked
