Motivational interviewing (also referred to as motivational enhancement therapy) is a form of counseling that addiction specialists and other health professionals use to help people affected by substance problems overcome any concerns about or objections to participating in a treatment program. Currently, users of three substances — alcohol, nicotine/tobacco and marijuana — are known to…
Every family has its secrets, and the Dean twins, Maggie and Milo, are examples of what happens when the skeletons in the closet gradually start rattling. This is the premise of the movie “The Skeleton Twins.”
When you love someone, it’s natural to want to help. Parents help their children with everything from finances to relationship advice. Siblings offer love and support to each other whenever it’s needed.
Dentists may be medical professionals, but they are also specialists. Typically, patients will not turn to their dentists for help with ailments that don’t involve teeth, gums or general oral health. However, some illnesses, such as the eating disorder bulimia nervosa, affect oral health. As a result, dentists and dental hygienists may be positioned to…
Many recovering alcoholics and addicts do a lot of traveling during the holiday season, and traveling can be challenging when you’re trying to stay sober. You’re away from everything and everyone that’s familiar, and it may seem like alcohol is everywhere. Vacations are supposed to be a time for relaxing and having fun, but instead…
Internet addiction is a commonly used term for an unofficially defined form of non-substance-based behavioral addiction that centers on a personally and socially damaging pattern of Internet use. A comorbid disorder is a condition that appears at the same time as one or more additional health problems and contributes to a disproportionate worsening of general…
The physical benefits of regular exercise are easy to understand, well-documented and obvious to almost everyone. Lift weights and you get stronger muscles. Do aerobic exercise and you get a more efficient cardiovascular system. Do sports, or take dance or martial arts classes, and you become more coordinated and physically aware.
From the early days of opium to the modern age of prescription painkillers, people and opiates have had a long and tumultuous relationship. Although prescription drug abuse is one of the main health concerns in modern-day America, the rise in abuse of drugs like OxyContin and Vicodin is fueling another epidemic: addiction to heroin. In…
Christine A. Courtois, PhD, ABPP, national clinical trauma consultant for Promises Treatment Centers and Promises Behavioral Health, releases her latest book titled It’s Not You, It’s What Happened to You: Complex Trauma and Treatment.
While it’s true that a diagnosis of sexual compulsivity—another term for sex addiction—is generally only self-ascribed (arrived at by the addict him or herself) or with the help of a trained therapist, it can be important for loved ones to understand the signs. When we find ourselves romantically involved with a sex addict, our lives…