Hopestream: Parenting Kids Through Addiction & Mental Health

ABOUT THE EPISODE:
Dr. Patricia Conrod and her team at PreVenture have identified 4 personality traits that make teens at higher risk for substance use later in life, and have developed a school-based program that helps these at-risk kids learn how to turn their personality challenges into strengths. 

Parents will want to learn about the traits and this program which has some astounding, evidence-based results* like:

• an average of 50% reduction in alcohol consumption and drug usage
• 50% reduction in odds of binge-drinking
• delayed initiation of alcohol use and binge drinking
• significantly reduced conduct problems
• delayed initiation and reduced frequency of cannabis use
• benefits for kids who did NOT participate in the program

Dr. Conrod also talks about important topics such as:

• What she learned from studying children of alcoholics
• The common thing she sees young people from all over the world struggling with today
• Why a personality-based approach is so important for teens
• How traits like impulsivity put kids at risk for substance use
• Why parenting interventions are often started too late
• How kids as young as 11 are able to reliably identify their personality traits and challenges
• The myth of “the addictive personality”
• Why 85% of kids sign up for the PreVenture program when it’s offered in their school
• The "switch" that goes off in teens around age 14
• Why it’s unacceptable for schools to not be offering skills-based, evidence-based prevention programs
• and so much more - it was a fascinating conversation

The PreVenture program has been recognized as an evidence-based program by:

• UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
• UNESCO
• World Health Organization (WHO)
• NREPP
• US Surgeon General

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• PreVenture (program website)
• Personality-targeted interventions delay the growth of adolescent drinking and binge drinking (PubMed)
• The impact of youth internalising and externalising symptom severity on the effectiveness of brief personality-targeted interventions for substance misuse: A cluster randomised trial (PubMed)
• Brief, personality-targeted coping skills interventions and survival as a non-drug user over a 2-year period during adolescence (PubMed)
• Universal cannabis outcomes from the Climate and Preventure (CAP) study: a cluster randomised controlled trial (PubMed)
• Effectiveness of a selective, personality-targeted prevention program for adolescent alcohol use and misuse: a cluster randomized controlled trial 

This podcast is part of a nonprofit called Hopestream Community
Learn about The Stream, our private online community for moms
Find us on Instagram here
Watch the podcast on YouTube here
Download a free e-book, Worried Sick: A Compassionate Guide For Parents When Your Teen or Young Adult Child Misuses Drugs and Alcohol

Hopestream Community is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and an Amazon Associate. We may make a small commission if you purchase from our links.

ABOUT THE EPISODE:
One of the hardest things for parents to do when their child is struggling is to know when or when not to help them. When they’re little, it’s easy - but as they get older, it’s more complicated because, especially for moms, there’s often an urge to step in and smooth the way and remove obstacles from their path so they don’t have such a hard time. I am 100% guilty of this and know from my work with other moms I’m not alone.

In this episode, I share all about this tendency we have, including:

• common ways parents interfere and remove obstacles from their child's path
• why consequences, even serious ones, aren't necessarily bad
• how to reframe the way you look at the negative experiences your child is going through
• real-life examples of experiences and consequences my son went through when he was living a high-risk life and using substances
• Four things you can do to un-learn rescuing and bubble-wrapping your teen from life

This podcast is part of a nonprofit called Hopestream Community
Learn about The Stream, our private online community for moms
Find us on Instagram here
Watch the podcast on YouTube here
Download a free e-book, Worried Sick: A Compassionate Guide For Parents When Your Teen or Young Adult Child Misuses Drugs and Alcohol

Hopestream Community is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and an Amazon Associate. We may make a small commission if you purchase from our links.

ABOUT THE EPISODE:
Ask any parent what it's like to know your teen or young-adult child is coming home from drug treatment and you'll see a very frightened, confused, and anxious person. It's a highly vulnerable time for the child and a hopeful, yet confusing and terrifying time for parents and caregivers. Wonder, co-founded by Dave Herz and Willow Rubin is a unique program closing that gap in care, role-modeling, support, and expertise when it's needed most. 

This was such an enlightening and hopeful conversation with two people who have played many roles in the treatment and therapeutic world and I'm so grateful for them sharing their knowledge and insights with us. You'll hear about:

• How Dave & Willow noticed a gap in traditional treatment for teens and young adults and then developed a therapy service that fills it
• What teens and young adults actually want most from their parents
• What Dave describes as “warrior work” for parents and why it’s the hardest thing to do
• How meeting kids where they are (aka, not in a therapist office) is such an important part of their success
• Their philosophy of “we show up,” what it takes to deliver on it, and what that looks like vs traditional models
• Why they provide separate coaches for parents and teens/young adults to meet their different needs
• How they work with parents to help them stop enabling destructive behavior and recognize their own needs and boundaries
• The uncomfortable reality that we as parents don’t have control over what our kids do - but how we can still help them
• The difference between loving unconditionally and enabling
• Why it's important for parents to be held accountable - as well as their kids 
• Why parents shouldn’t focus on future outcomes and spend time in “future thinking”
• How kids don’t make their decisions based on the future like adults often do
• What they’re seeing today related to the opioid epidemic
• The role of energy and creativity in their therapeutic model
• Why things may be getting better with your kid even if their behavior isn’t changing, and how to tell

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• Dave Herz and Willow Rubin, Wonder
• Wiserootsparenting.com
• The Four Agreements (Ruiz)
• Brainstorm - Dan Segal

This podcast is part of a nonprofit called Hopestream Community
Learn about The Stream, our private online community for moms
Find us on Instagram here
Watch the podcast on YouTube here
Download a free e-book, Worried Sick: A Compassionate Guide For Parents When Your Teen or Young Adult Child Misuses Drugs and Alcohol

Hopestream Community is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and an Amazon Associate. We may make a small commission if you purchase from our links.

ABOUT THE EPISODE:
It's a hard place to be, parenting a teen who you suspect is experimenting with alcohol or drugs, or both. This episode provides listeners with ten hard truths you need to know in this situation. Host, Brenda Zane shares her perspective and knowledge from living through many years with her son who struggled with substance use, defiance, and at-risk behavior. It's a must-listen for worried parents who aren't afraid to hear proactive, practical, yet sometimes hard things they need to do to steer their child in a positive direction. You'll hear details around these 10 truths:

1. it's probably more than what they're telling you. 
2. it's okay to search their room if you suspect that they're using drugs or alcohol. 
3. don't brush this off as a phase. 
4. kids are dying of overdose who are not addicted to drugs. 
5. you're going to have to learn some new skills and adopt a new mindset about substance use. 
6. you're going to have to look at your own substance use.
7. you'll need to find out what the problem is because it's not drugs or alcohol. 
8. if you have a current or ex-spouse or partner, you're going to have to get on the same page. 
9. get professional help before you think you need it. 
10. you absolutely DO influence your teen's behavior and beliefs.

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• Kids tend to understate their substance use (research)
• Places to search where kids hide drugs 
• Cannabis potency (research) 
• U.S. Surgeon General Vaping Advisory
• CDC Illicit fentanyl information
• Signs of drug addiction
• Partnership for Drug Free Kids website & resources
• Find a therapist - Psychology Today Therapist Finder Tool
• Parents influence on teen’s substance use

This podcast is part of a nonprofit called Hopestream Community
Learn about The Stream, our private online community for moms
Find us on Instagram here
Watch the podcast on YouTube here
Download a free e-book, Worried Sick: A Compassionate Guide For Parents When Your Teen or Young Adult Child Misuses Drugs and Alcohol

Hopestream Community is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and an Amazon Associate. We may make a small commission if you purchase from our links.

ABOUT THE EPISODE:
Wilderness Therapy, or Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare, is an option parents often consider when locally-based treatments aren't working for their teen or young adult who's struggling with emotional issues or substance use. But it can be scary and confusing if you're unfamiliar with what wilderness therapy actually is (and isn't.) This episode does a deep-dive into the origins of wilderness therapy, with someone who's been around it since it's earliest days. Will White, co-founder of Summit Achievement and Summit Traverse, and industry historian provides parents with a grounded explanation of how this therapeutic model developed and gives perspective from his 25+ years in the field.

This is also a valuable resource to pass along to a parent you may know who has a child struggling with issues like anxiety, depression, "failure to launch" or substance misuse.

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• Stories From the Field, a History of Wilderness Therapy (book)
• Stories From the Elders: Chronicles and Narratives from the Early Years of Wilderness Therapy
• Stories From the Field: Demystifying Wilderness Therapy (podcast)
• Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare Council
• Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare Center (research) 
• Association for Experiential Education
• All Kinds of Therapy
• The Parallel Process
• Man’s Search for Meaning 
• Finding a Therapeutic Educational Consultant:
  • Independent Educational Consultants Association
  • Therapeutic Consulting Association

This podcast is part of a nonprofit called Hopestream Community
Learn about The Stream, our private online community for moms
Find us on Instagram here
Watch the podcast on YouTube here
Download a free e-book, Worried Sick: A Compassionate Guide For Parents When Your Teen or Young Adult Child Misuses Drugs and Alcohol

Hopestream Community is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and an Amazon Associate. We may make a small commission if you purchase from our links.

ABOUT THE EPISODE:
This bonus Father's Day episode lets you get a look inside life from the point of view of a young man fighting for his children's mom and partner as she battled addiction. It's a story you don't often hear - and one that carries a stigma above and beyond what others feel when they love someone addicted to drugs or alcohol. 

My guest, Andy Baskett, shares his exhausting battle to save his partner and mother of his 3 children as she sinks deeper into a world that takes her away from him, their twin girls and infant son. Andy opens up about:

• what it's like to be a guy fighting for his addicted partner
• how limited resources for male spouses impacted his ability to cope
• how addiction can take hold within a matter of weeks and months, not years
• his struggle to raise 3 kids under the age of 2 on his own while also trying to save their mother
• the steps he and his extended family took to best prepare his children for losing their mom to drugs

For any men who are currently going through the battle to save their spouse from the grip of drugs or alcohol, this is a must-listen episode. It will also give anyone who listens a great sense of empathy and understanding for family members who are doing whatever they can to save someone they love.

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• NOVA Documentary: “Addiction” on PBS

This podcast is part of a nonprofit called Hopestream Community
Learn about The Stream, our private online community for moms
Learn about The Woods, our private online community for dads
Find us on Instagram: @hopestreamcommunity
Download a free e-book, Worried Sick: A Compassionate Guide For Parents When Your Teen or Young Adult Child Misuses Drugs and Alcohol

Hopestream Community is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and an Amazon Associate. We may make a small commission if you purchase from our links.

ABOUT THE EPISODE:
The world of addiction and treatment are not exempt from the racial disparities we're so painfully aware of at the moment (June, 2020). This episode takes a look at what's happening in Black communities in the U.S. relative to:

• addiction as a percentage of the population vs white and other races
• how the opioid crisis and overdose deaths are impacting the Black community
• misconceptions about opioid prescribing and use
• barriers to gold-standard treatment including MAT
• and strategies to address opioid misuse and improve treatment outcomes

Research for this episode was primarily accessed via SAMHSA's website and publications and can be found in the show notes.

As a white, privileged woman with access to robust medical insurance, resources and support, this was a difficult podcast to record. I pledge to continue to look for areas where I can do better by highlighting areas for improvement and then working to make change in my own work and in the industry. 

This episode will give you an initial look at the situation around addiction awareness, prevention and treatment within the Black community. It will be followed by future episodes with guests who can better speak to the day to day realities of a disparate system that prevents POC from accessing the treatment needed to live a life free from addiction.

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• SAMHSA Brief: The Opioid Crisis and the Black/African American Population: An Urgent Issue
• SAMHSA (2018). Results from the 2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Detailed Tables
• Article: 75 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice by Corinne Shutack

This podcast is part of a nonprofit called Hopestream Community
Learn about The Stream, our private online community for moms
Find us on Instagram here
Watch the podcast on YouTube here
Download a free e-book, Worried Sick: A Compassionate Guide For Parents When Your Teen or Young Adult Child Misuses Drugs and Alcohol

Hopestream Community is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and an Amazon Associate. We may make a small commission if you purchase from our links.

ABOUT THE EPISODE:
It's well known that addiction is an equal-opportunity disease that impacts every socio-economic group with its destruction. For families and individuals who live under a spotlight of fame, recognition, and elite status, addiction brings about circumstances and challenges not readily faced by the average person. 

Aaron and Lin Sternlicht founded Family Addiction Specialist (New York City) as a boutique, concierge practice meeting the needs of high-net-worth, high-profile and celebrity families and individuals. We cover:

• how staff at treatment programs can be highly inspirational and influential in a person's recovery
• addiction as a problem money can't solve
• why those with unlimited resources may feel less pressure to go "all-in" at rehab, treatment or therapy
• the lack of "natural consequences" for kids of prominent families 
• funding an addiction and how having an abundance of money can actually be a hindrance
• the importance of treating the whole person vs the addiction alone
• their take on medication-assisted treatment

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4403287/
• https://www.webmd.com/add-adhd/adhd-and-substance-abuse-is-there-a-link#1
• https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1047279712001706?via%3Dihub
• https://theweek.com/articles/461011/why-are-smart-kids-more-likely-drugs
• https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/oppositional-defiant-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20375831
• https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/drug-addiction/symptoms-causes/syc-20365112
• https://www.healthline.com/health/sensory-overload#related-conditions
• http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/acestudy/findings.html
• http://blogs.psychcentral.com/addiction-recovery/2012/03/emotional-trauma-addiction/
• https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/childabuseandneglect/acestudy/index.html
• U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
• National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse
• National Institutes of Health

This podcast is part of a nonprofit called Hopestream Community
Learn about The Stream, our private online community for moms
Find us on Instagram here
Watch the podcast on YouTube here
Download a free e-book, Worried Sick: A Compassionate Guide For Parents When Your Teen or Young Adult Child Misuses Drugs and Alcohol

Hopestream Community is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and an Amazon Associate. We may make a small commission if you purchase from our links.

ABOUT THE EPISODE:
When our sleep goes, everything goes with it. I have yet to talk with a parent who's getting good sleep while their child is misusing or addicted to drugs or alcohol - so this is a hugely important topic. 

This episode covers:

• the mindset you need to adopt to have a chance at sleeping well
• a short, recorded meditation to help you sleep
• 5 serious health risks associated with not sleeping enough
• rituals that will help your body automatically know it's time to sleep
• tips and tricks to try when all else fails

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• The Sleep Guide - companion to the podcast
• Sleep meditation for parents of addicted children (Insight Timer) 
• Health risks from not sleeping well or enough
• Sleep and obesity
• Driving accidents
• Cold feet/wearing socks to bed

This podcast is part of a nonprofit called Hopestream Community
Learn about The Stream, our private online community for moms
Find us on Instagram here
Watch the podcast on YouTube here
Download a free e-book, Worried Sick: A Compassionate Guide For Parents When Your Teen or Young Adult Child Misuses Drugs and Alcohol

Hopestream Community is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and an Amazon Associate. We may make a small commission if you purchase from our links.

ABOUT THE EPISODE: 
If anyone could love a son out of addiction it would be Megan Megale. Her son Matt was an all-American Boy but Megan found out heroin was stronger than her love. This episode will make you sad, mad, and inspired all at the same time. You'll hear:

• how Megan's family tried everything they knew to save Matt from the horrors of heroin
• how she now sees ways she may have negatively impacted Matt's recovery
• the antiquated legal system that pulled him out of a successful treatment program
• and how after losing their battle for Matt's life, Megan is helping other "Matt's" with her foundation, American Boy. 

This is a conversation you won't want to miss because you'll gain Megan's brutally honest and brave insights about parenting a child through the nightmare of opioid addiction. It is honest and critical information for any parent listening.

Megan's daughter Shea is the author of, "American Boy: The Opioid Crisis and the Sister Left Behind" the story of her brother's fall into addiction through the eyes of a little sister. The first-hand biography shares unique insight into a now all too familiar and life-threatening phenomenon - what worked for Matthew and what didn't, mistakes along the way that challenge families to talk without shame about their loved one's addiction, and what communities can do to change the course of this historic epidemic in front of them.

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• Americanboy.org
• American Boy: The Opioid Epidemic and the Sister it Left Behind
• Beyond Addiction: How Science and Kindness Help People Change
• American Boy Mother’s Summit

This podcast is part of a nonprofit called Hopestream Community
Learn about The Stream, our private online community for moms
Find us on Instagram here
Watch the podcast on YouTube here
Download a free e-book, Worried Sick: A Compassionate Guide For Parents When Your Teen or Young Adult Child Misuses Drugs and Alcohol

Hopestream Community is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and an Amazon Associate. We may make a small commission if you purchase from our links.