The Addicted Mind Podcast

On this episode of The Addicted Mind podcast, Curt Widhalm shared with us on his area of expertise, teens, and self-harm. Curt has observed two types of teens who are engaging in self-harm behaviors: (1) those struggling to find the opportunity to express their emotions due to their busy schedules, and (2) those whose friend groups are engaging in self-harm behavior for attention-seeking. In gener...

On this episode of The Addicted Mind podcast, my guest is Kay Simmeth, a Marriage and Family Therapist certified in EMDR. Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing is a type of bilateral stimulation that activates both sides of the body and both sides of the brain. This dual action process of tapping on the client’s knees back and forth, listening to music or sounds that alternate between head...

Susanne Jessee is with us today to talk about Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS). TMS is a relatively new treatment, at least in the United States, for individuals who are struggling with depression. Depression is often present in addiction and TMS is something that may help people that are struggling with addiction and treatment-resistant depression. Susanne Jesse is the CEO and founder of A...

Today our guest is board certified music therapist Amylynn Dimaano. She speaks to us today about music therapy and how music can help us deal with underlining issues in recovery. What is music therapy? Music therapy is the scientific use of music to effect a change of non-musical goals. It is not a music lesson, and Amylynn is not a music teacher. Music therapy isn’t about to learning music. Her g...

Welcome to this week's Addicted Mind podcast. Our guest today is the wonderfully humorous and informative Liz Dube, and she’s here to talk about healing our sexuality, and finding our sexual satisfaction once we’re in recovery from addiction. Liz is a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist and AASECT Certified Sex Therapist with a private practice in Long Beach and Huntington Beach, California....

TJ Woodward is with us today to talk about a system of care that he has developed called conscious recovery. Conscious recovery is a groundbreaking and practical approach to viewing and treating addiction. It’s how we see addiction and addiction treatment through the spiritual lens. Your spiritual life is a big part of recovery and finding a place of calm within yourself is a critical stage. TJ ha...

We have a fantastic guest today. Dr. Tracy Zemansky is here to speak about the fascinating topic of psychological assessment, and how it can help you or your client on a journey of healing. What is a psychological assessment? It’s not what we typically see in the movies. It is a way of evaluating a particular part of an individual and trying to understand it more. To get as much information as pos...

We are excited to have mental health therapist, and Air Force veteran, Megan Fenyoe as our guest today as we discuss trauma, addiction, and changing your mindset toward a more positive life. Megan has been a mental health therapist for over 15 years, primarily focusing in the areas of trauma and substance abuse. As an officer in the Air Force, Megan provided mental health services to veterans and...

Our guest today is Pete Finger from Sioux Falls, South Dakota. In this episode, he shares his recovery journey and how the support group Smart Recovery helped him to overcome addiction and helped him to enjoy the life he lives today by helping others through the same program that helped him. Mr. Finger had struggled with alcohol addiction for 20-30 years. Growing up in what he describes as an “add...

Marnie Breecker joined me for the second part of our discussion on relational and betrayal trauma. She walked us through the Six Dimensions of Relational and Betrayal Trauma as well as the steps in the process of partner healing. Learn More About The Shame To Resilience Workshop I s your relationship struggling to recover after betrayal? Have individual therapy, group sessions, or other recov...

Our guest today is Marnie Breecker. In this first episode of a two-part series on relational and betrayal trauma, we’ll define this type of trauma and its impact on both partners. As a sex addiction therapist and a marriage and family therapist, Marnie is an expert in assessing the traumatic impact of infidelity on relationships. She shares that affected partners experience two types of trauma: th...

Our guest today is Chris Shorrock, a psychologist in private practice in Medicine Hat. Our point of discussion is the opioid addiction and opioid epidemic, and Chris understands this topic very well. He’s got experience in treating addicted disorders in different treatment centers that he’s been working with after being a registered psychologist. He’s also worked at the methadone maintenance treat...

In this episode, we talk about sacrificial helpers’ syndrome, great for people who are in the helper profession or volunteer helpers. Sacrificial help syndrome can be defined as people giving more than they have for the people they serve. Our guest today is Katie Vernoy. A licensed family therapist, a coach, and consultant with helpers based in Torrance, California. As she says, she helps helpers...

Welcome to the Addicted Mind Podcast. Today, we are delighted to bring you the wisdom and expertise of Dr. Adina Silvestri, EdD, LPC as she talks about her research on women seeking addiction treatment. Dr. Adina Silvestri is a licensed Professional Counselor in Richmond, Virginia and the founder of Life Cycles Counseling. One of her specialties is helping women that are struggling with substance...

We are discussing a new immersive VR experience that’s teaching teenagers about addiction. Elvar Sig has transformed personal tragedy into an innovative and generous project, a tool to build awareness and generate conversations. He shares how addiction has been a force in his own life. He walks us through the VR journey he’s created, and what he hopes young people will take away from the experienc...

In this episode, we talk with Anthony Ramynke about attachment, empathy, and early childhood experiences. He tells us why early childhood experiences are the root cause bringing people into therapy, and what this means for the process. The therapist’s job is to attune empathically to the client, giving them the building blocks to heal. By creating a safe, intimate relationship – perhaps for the fi...

Jason Groce stops by to talk about sobriety, dual diagnosis, and the recovery support group LifeRing. For 10 years, Jason was an on again off again alcoholic. He would stay sober for periods of time or attempt to moderate. Eventually, stressors would pile up and he would start drinking. He tried support groups but didn’t find them helpful. 3 and a half years ago, a social worker asked him what he...

We are talking with Megan Peterson of 2nd Chance Counseling. 2nd Chance is an internet-based addiction treatment provider. They have therapists in every state working to make treatment accessible, flexible, and cost-effective. Duane and Megan talk about the advantages and disadvantages of this new treatment model, who it’s for, and how it came to be. 2nd Chance conducts therapy by video chat. The...

Part of the work we do to treat addiction is to work through the other preexisting conditions and environmental factors that could contribute to addictive behavior. Those who suffer from a co-morbid condition will notice that addiction recovery is much harder to treat without also addressing the other condition. Recently, we have more insight than ever before how Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) p...

Addictions can infiltrate and influence so many aspects of relationships, and affairs and betrayal are no exceptions. Here to speak to her experiences as a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist is Katie Leminux. Katie fell into working with couples in affair and betrayal recovery because she loved to see the huge potential for improvement. Time and again, she realized that addictions of all kinds...

Today, I am delighted to bring you the wisdom and expertise of Eli Holmes. Dr. Holmes is a Portland-based Psychologist who is just as passionate as we are about research-based treatment. Today, Dr. Holmes is going to bring to light some of the amazing insights therapists can gain from using Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy Therapy. The REBT model is perfect not just for individuals struggling wit...

Every week on the Addicted Mind Podcast, we seek to share methods and insights from mental health professionals that are paving the way to success and recovery. This week, Dr. Nazanin Moali is bringing her insights to the podcast on Moderation Management models as opposed to Abstinence Models. Are you ready to challenge what you know about recovery models? Is there more out there than a 12 Step Pr...

As therapists, we hear about Motivational Interviewing (MI) all the time. It's a technique that therapists can use to bring forward the ambivalence that a person with an addiction has, towards resolving that addiction. It's well regarded and it's a fairly well-researched intervention for people with addictions, but still, a lot of the people looking for treatment, or even those who have been in tr...

Welcome back to The Addicted Mind podcast. This week, we are talking with Dr. Jessica Naughton, a Clinical Psychologists who has years of experience working with combat veterans dealing with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Many veterans struggle with addiction that also suffer from PTSD. Now we know that PTSD can be one of the underlying causes of substance abuse since addictions spring up as a wa...

Anyone who has worked in the field of addiction recovery will know that recovery is a long road, and often we as therapists and counselors will need to find ways to engage our client’s sense of thought and endurance. The work of Virginia Satir has been extremely influential in addiction recovery, and this week’s guest, Stephen Buckbee, has been using Satir’s methods successfully for years now.  St...