Let's Talk Addiction & Recovery

Chandell Boyd, LADC, joins host Andrew Williams to discuss her work with the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, where she's an associate director for the Substance Use Disorders Department. Boyd is also an alumnus of the Hazelden Betty Ford Graduate School of Addiction Studies. And although she dreams of the day when addiction no longer affects her community, she's using her master's to coordinate new pat...

Much has changed in the world of addiction treatment. The standard model of care used to revolve around a 28-day stint inside a treatment center. But residential care isn't optimal for everyone, and with kids, careers and other responsibilities, sometimes it's not even an option. Enter outpatient and virtual treatment options—where the earliest stages of recovery happen alongside the rest of life....

In this episode of Let's Talk Recovery Equity, journalist Ted Alcorn talks about his investigation into alcohol use in New Mexico, which has the worst rate of alcohol-related deaths in the country. He focused on the small town of Gallup in McKinley County, which is sandwiched between Navajo, Hopi and Zuni reservations and has long served as the local drinking spot—and is perhaps the perfect settin...

In this episode of Let's Talk, licensed psychologist and military veteran Dustin Brockberg, PhD, and his wife, Kerry Brockberg, PhD, also a psychologist, talk about their new book, End Your Covert Mission , with host William C. Moyers. They share some tangible advice with other veterans who want to find peace from chronic pain—in all its forms—and long-lasting recovery from addiction.

Shame and addiction go hand-in-hand. Because of that, some of the most important work in recovery deals with the transformation of shame into something lighter and more actionable—guilt. Then a person can understand, "I did bad things, but I am not a bad person." And they can forgive themselves and work to make things right. Senior clinician Sarah Wicks, PhD, LP, explains the key differences betwe...

Aida was addicted to crystal meth and too sick to evacuate when hurricane Katrina battered the coast. Her daughter and family had sheltered in Dallas, but she had to wait out the destruction alone in Baton Rouge, praying for help from helicopters flying overhead. Unbeknown to Aida, a twist of fate was soon to reveal itself. Now Aida and her brother Will share their unbelievable story with host Wil...

Immigrants and refugees are often forced to flee from unimaginable crisis—their lives torn apart by war and other humanitarian disasters. Unfortunately, that trauma doesn't disappear when they arrive in the States. Plus, with no experience, they have difficulty navigating our health systems. To shed light on the subject, and to explain culturally-responsive treatment settings, Damir Utrzan, PhD, a...

Daisy VanSlyke from the Cook Inlet Tribal Council shares how they're promoting recovery among Native Alaskan communities. Using culturally-sensitive care and native models of wellness, their organization is able to spread the messages of recovery that really stick and resonate with local communities. The key, according to VanSlyke, is to listen.

Addiction passes from one generation to the next. But so too does the hope of recovery. This was the case for Judy and her family: Her mother was the fourth patient to ever receive treatment at the Betty Ford Center. Then Judy, her brother and her son later followed in those healing footsteps, sharing a multigenerational story of hope and recovery. Now she joins host William C. Moyers to discuss h...

Indigenous children were stolen from their homes, sent to boarding schools and forced to assimilate. Thus began the cycle of trauma and addiction. Today, the Wellbreity movement responds—providing a cultural framework for healing from those injustices and breaking the cycle.

Host Andrew Williams speaks with his colleagues Cecelia Jayme, Director of Clinical Services, and Sarita McGowan, PhD. As two proud Native women in long-term recovery, Jayme and McGowan, PhD, share their personal and professional insights into addiction within Indigenous communities. And they discuss how it's being addressed, and how allies and community members can partner to create change—honori...

Food. Touch. Connection. Music and Laughter. These are medicines, and when a person is healthy and whole, they become good medicine to others. That's how Celina Mahinalani Garza is bridging the health equity gap for Native communities. Tune in to hear her fascinating outlook on healing.

Emi and Lina didn't have the tools to process and make sense of their loved one's addiction. They're just kids, after all. But once they attended the Children's Program, they started to speak the language of recovery—and they understood that they will never, ever be alone on this journey.

Has your drinking become problematic? You're not alone: the headlines have focused on opioids and fentanyl, but alcohol remains the most used and abused substance in the country. And the pandemic made things worse. So if you're wondering whether you might have an alcohol use disorder, learn these warning signs and signals—and the healthiest solutions available. Quyen Ngo, PhD, and Stephen Delisi,...

A beautiful and fun-loving boy transformed when he began to experiment with substances. His father, Stephen, could hardly recognize him: he became "nasty and combative," and their home life was marred by conflict. Willing to do anything, Stephen retired from Wall Street to learn everything he could about parenting an addicted child. Now he joins host William C. Moyers to share some essential life...

Mike Heuerman's football career at the University of Notre Dame took a heavy toll on his body. He needed surgery to repair the labrum in his hip and the torn muscles in his lower abdomen. But, as is often the case, the prescription opioids introduced him to addiction. Now Mike is five years sober (and counting), and spreading the hope of recovery to college students at his alma mater. Hear how els...

How did prescription opioids become a gateway to heroin and fentanyl? When did opioids become the gold standard for pain management, and why did regulation take so long? Chief Medical Officer, Alta DeRoo, joins host William C. Moyers to discuss the opioid epidemic in its entirety, including its origins and escalation, the latest treatment solutions and community responses, and more. Tune in.

Host William C. Moyers speaks with four of his brilliant colleagues about the state of the fentanyl epidemic. Now linked to 70 percent of overdose deaths, the drug is appearing in non-opioids like benzodiazepines, MDMA and marijuana. How did we get here? How can parents and communities limit the deadliness? And how is the medical community responding? Tune in to find out.

Burnout and compassion fatigue reached a fever pitch during the pandemic, but these problems have existed forever: caregivers and service providers get exhausted, then the beauty of their work—caring for and helping other people—is eclipsed by apathy. To help people return to self and rediscover their passion, author and educator Elizabeth Bishop wrote Conscious Service . Now she joins host Willia...

Do we want to help incarcerated women, many of whom are locked up for non-violent crimes, or should we let them fend for themselves? Dr. Stephanie Covington has spent decades trying to help these women, providing them the tools and community resources they need to recover and reintegrate into society, but she believes the whole justice system needs to be fixed. Tune in to hear her important perspe...

Addiction doesn't discriminate based on income or employment. Employees in any work setting can be affected by the disease, and the culture of the workplace will either encourage treatment and recovery or passively endorse the disease of addiction—with very real effects to the business and, more importantly, to people's lives. Make the shift in culture: join host William C. Moyers and VP of Busine...

Dr. Kevin Doyle, the President and CEO of the Hazelden Betty Ford Graduate School of Addiction Studies, joins host William C. Moyers to talk about the evolution of academia and the changing landscape for addiction counselors. They also discuss the urgent and increasing demand for counselors, and how the Grad School is preparing its graduates to become the next generation of leaders—and a vast netw...

Is it possible to find peace and happiness when a loved one is addicted? Twenty years ago, prized author Beverly Conyers would have said "no." She thought acceptance meant giving up, and she would have sacrificed everything to keep her daughter safe. Now after two decades of learning and living, Conyers has changed her tune: "I have my own life and I have to live it." What other advice does she ha...

Can pregnant women safely consume a small amount of alcohol or marijuana? How will prescription medicine affect the baby? Chief Medical Officer and board-certified OB/GYN Alta DeRoo, MD, sits down with host William C. Moyers to answer those questions and more, offering some really simple and thoughtful advice to moms and families who are curious about their substance use—including how to push past...

Ketamine is the source of some controversy: it works wonders for depression, and fast. But it's also addictive and potentially triggering for people in recovery. It's proven to effectively treat severe depression that won't respond to other medications. But because it affects so many receptor sites in the brain, and because it causes hallucinations and other psychedelic effects, there's a lot to c...