Hopestream: Parenting Kids Through Addiction & Mental Health

ABOUT THE EPISODE: Today, I have the privilege of introducing the new host of The Woods , our community specifically for dads, stepdads, and male co-parents. After Steve Andrews and his wife got sober through Alcoholics Anonymous as a young couple, their sons never saw them drink or use substances. They warned their kids of the alcoholism and mental health issues on both sides of the family, but w...

ABOUT THE EPISODE: When you have a complex child, all your conversations and relationships might feel more strained. If you're like me, you sometimes find yourself at a complete loss for words and struggle with how to diffuse or launch your communication in a helpful and productive way. If this sounds like you, you're in luck as I'm sharing ten very simple and highly effective phras...

ABOUT THE EPISODE: Sometimes you can gain a different understanding of things by looking at them through a new lens. Today's bite-size episode does that for you as the parent of a young person who struggle with substances - in the form of a short story. You'll hear about a restaurant owner and her strange, secret menu. And for those who eat from it, it can provide benefits and gifts not...

ABOUT THE EPISODE: Every once in a while, I have the opportunity to speak with parents whose experiences are a perfect case study of why Hopestream Community exists. This episode with Eleanor and Dave is one of those conversations – especially for those of you with kids who are young adults living outside the home. Eleanor and Dave raised their two children in Silicon Valley, where they had a nice...

ABOUT THE EPISODE: In this coaching episode we reconnect with Stream member Alice who I spoke to 18 months ago, when her son was in the worst of his substance misuse. And what incredible growth and development her family has seen since then!   After wilderness and a therapeutic boarding school, Alice’s son is now an 18-year-old holding down a heavy load including work, volunteering and school in s...

ABOUT THE EPISODE: Today we tackle the difficult topic of shame and how it can affect our entire families.  As parents of kids who are misusing drugs or alcohol, it’s common to experience a profound sense of failure or guilt when their lives begin to spin out of control. And as today’s guest says, “How could you not?”  For many of us, it can seem like our kids are entirely different than the peopl...

ABOUT THE EPISODE: When I heard today’s guest on another (seemingly unrelated) podcast, I immediately wanted to bring his wisdom and perspective to the listeners of Hopestream.  After years of stimulant and other substance abuse, Adam Sud tried to take his own life with an overdose - which thankfully failed. In the decade that followed that pivotal event, he became a behavioral wellness nutrition...

ABOUT THE EPISODE: Shorty episode alert 💫⁠ ⁠ Today I'm taking a break from talking about addiction, substances, mental health, all.the.things . ⁠ ⁠ Instead, I'm sharing six decisions you get to make as a parent that can help better your life when you have a child struggling with substances or finding their way to recovery.⁠ ⁠ It's a quicky that will give you a few things to conside...

ABOUT THE EPISODE: On several occasions, Hopestream has hosted conversations about the complex intersection of substance use and other issues like anxiety, trauma, and ADD.  But there’s one convergence we haven’t yet discussed: substance use, addiction, and autism.  After searching for a trustworthy specialist, we're finally covering this topic today with neuropsychologist Dr. Brandon Park, F...

ABOUT THE EPISODE: You might hear the term "boundaries" thrown around as you work to parent your child who's misusing drugs and alcohol - but what exactly are they, and why do you need them? Hopestream Community co-founder Cathy Cioth and I deep dive into this topic today because we see parents in our communities struggle with it constantly.  We share: What boundaries are and are no...

ABOUT THE EPISODE: In this episode, Stream advisor Dina Cannizzaro is back with me to discuss the profound lessons in the story of the Chinese farmer .  The parable applies to everyone’s lives, but it is especially relevant for those going through difficult times, as many parents in the Hopestream Community are.  Take it from two moms who have survived their child’s extreme substance misuse: you n...

ABOUT THE EPISODE: By the time Cindy learned to establish boundaries with her son Colin, he had already endured brain injuries and intubations as a result of his alcohol abuse. When Colin finally called her from jail one night, she knew that she shouldn’t bail him out despite her instincts. She expressed sympathy but didn't offer to rescue him - again. As Colin stewed in a holding cell that n...

ABOUT THE EPISODE: On this episode of Hopestream, the show comes full circle to its roots. My guest, Jess Kupferman, is the CEO of She Podcasts, a membership-based group of all-women podcasters that played an important role in the creation of this show.  What I didn’t know when I launched the podcast was that Jess lost her daughter to a heroin overdose at the same time I was going through our fami...

ABOUT THE EPISODE: It's a very special Hopestream episode today in memory of a dear friend and host of The Woods Community, Bill Guy. Bill passed away June 2nd and he leaves a big gap in the world - we were fortunate to have had him as a generous and brave leader for our community in it's infancy.  Bill was on the podcast late last year and to honor his legacy of helping parents of kids...

ABOUT THE EPISODE: It's a shorty episode today, tackling the question of whether a calm approach can work when you have a child misusing substances. I share my perspective on why I believe parents often think they need to use aggressive, confrontational tactics to get their children to change and invite you into an experiment to test the theory. I then provide a four-step way to move into a C...

ABOUT THE EPISODE: Figuring out how to parent a teen or young adult experimenting with substances is hard enough on its own.  But if you’re like me, there’s an additional layer of confusion about how this all happened:  Didn’t we provide a stable home life for our kids?  Didn’t they have access to everything they needed?  What did I miss to prevent this? My guest today is Dr. Crystal Collier, an a...

ABOUT THE EPISODE: If you currently have a teen or young adult, you likely grew up in an era of marijuana liberalization and legalization. At that time, many of us learned that marijuana was not nearly as dangerous as we were led to believe by films like Reefer Madness and claims that showed our "brain on drugs.” But those studies were based on the potency of leaf material available before ma...

ABOUT THE EPISODE: It's Mother's Day and for those with kids who struggle, or who lost their struggle, it can be hard. It can also be joyous and amazing, kind of a mixed bag. So this is your Mother's Day card from me. Sending so much love your way. This podcast is part of a nonprofit called Hopestream Community Learn about The Stream , our private online community for moms Find us o...

ABOUT THE EPISODE: Parents often don’t realize they’re deeply and unhealthfully embedded in their child’s life- especially when that child struggles with their relationship to substances. The official term for this dysfunction is called enmeshment, but since Cathy and I aren’t therapists, we liken it to back-pocket parenting. If you find yourself intertwined in your child’s life to the degree that...

ABOUT THE EPISODE: Jessica Lahey has been surrounded by addiction her whole life. As a person now in long-term recovery, she grew up around alcoholism, came to her own reckoning with dinking, has taught every grade from 6-12, worked with adolescents in residential treatment, and written two New York Times best-selling books, The Gift of Failure and The Addiction Inoculation.  Jessica’s books are a...

ABOUT THE EPISODE: When voters in Colorado legalized marijuana in the year 2000, they did so with good intentions: as compassionate health care for people with serious conditions.  After all, the FDA was approving THC-based medicines like marinol at doses of 20mg.   Then concentrates hit the market. In Colorado today, an 18-year-old with a medical marijuana card can legally purchase more than 50 t...

ABOUT THE EPISODE: It’s nearly impossible for our kids to see us as anything but authority figures.  And, of course, we are.  We want to protect them from the world and sometimes even from the consequences of their own actions.  But teens and young adults struggling with substance misuse often need a different kind of relationship to accept responsibility for their actions and explore their behavi...

ABOUT THE EPISODE: You’ve probably heard me (and many of my guests) talk about letting go of the idea that you can control your teen or young adult child.  This is so hard to do, for obvious reasons, and parents who struggle with this have some valid questions:  Isn’t it our job to protect our kids at all costs? If I stop confronting these problems, isn’t that just avoidance? How is this different...

ABOUT THE EPISODE: In today’s episode, I announce some big news for my organization and also share the question I've come to believe parents really need to ask to help their kids heal and move away from misusing substances. This question is hard to ask and many parents don't want to go there, but it's necessary and doable with the right support. I share what parents see "above...

ABOUT THE EPISODE: Teen girls and young women are experiencing unprecedented spikes in anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation. There are differing opinions about what’s driving this surge, but nearly everyone agrees it’s happening. These young women often struggle with their identity and role in the world, manifesting a wide range of unproductive behaviors: withdrawal, avoidance, manipulation,...