Debunking Myths and Connecting Dots Between Mental Health, Substance Use, and Gender Identity, with Jordan Held
Jordan Held has a Masters degree in both Social Welfare and Sports Leadership, and a bachelor's degree in Kinesiology. He’s worked in residential mental health treatment, as well as the world's largest gender clinic, giving him a great deal of experience with the most pressing issues affecting teens and young adults - especially those who are exploring their sexual identity. In this episode, we discuss why some young people are going "stealth", the post-pandemic spread of school avoidance, why kids don't even consider marijuana a drug any more, and how parenting without shame creates bonds of trust that leave families stronger in difficult times.
Why Your Attachment Style Matters When Parenting a Child Who Misuses Drugs or Alcohol, with Jack Hinman, Psy.D.
If you could stand outside your own life, watching your family relationships play out like a movie, what patterns of behavior might you notice about yourself? If you could see those patterns right now, wouldn’t it be much easier to improve them? In this episode, we try to understand ourselves and our family dynamics more deeply through the lens of attachment theory. If you’re like me, you’d never heard attachment theory mentioned in recovery spaces or literature. But Jack Hinman, my guest today, believes it has an important role to play in the families of children using substances.
Revealing What Exactly Educational and Therapeutic Consultants Do (and don’t do), with Joanna Lilley
When my son began using drugs and alcohol, I did what a lot of parents do: I dove headfirst into a world I didn't know existed, trying to evaluate all the possible programs and places he might go to get help. But there's so much to learn about the treatment world, and the knowledge is extremely specialized, making it almost impossible to sift through it effectively without an expert guide. On today's show, I spoke with someone who is that guide for families. She’s revealing what consultants actually do, how they do it and how working with one can impact your child’s treatment journey.
Trading Control & Punishment for Respect & Emotional Intelligence, with Ann Coleman
After watching her brother's life cut short by substance use, Ann Coleman was intimately familiar with its dangers. So when her son - who already suffered from anxiety and depression - started using marijuana, hallucinogens and opiates, her trauma and instincts of fear and control kicked in hard. Looking back, Ann recognizes that at the time she believed her son was solely to blame for the unraveling of the relationship. Now, she knows better.
Decoding Today’s Adolescent Substance Use Treatment Landscape, with Trish Ruggles
At some point along your child's journey with substance misuse and mental health challenges, you’ll almost certainly need to make difficult decisions about treatment. If they’re an adolescent, this becomes a complicated and heart-wrenching decision. Trish Ruggles is a licensed clinical professional counselor and therapeutic educational consultant with 15 years experience in the treatment industry. She has intimate, on-the-ground knowledge of the wide spectrum of mental health and substance use programs, and works with families to match the right treatment setting with a young person’s therapeutic and academic needs.
Filling the void: Six Emotional Nutrients Your Child (and you) Need, with Noel Koons
In the words of today's guest, Noel Koons, "We all dent our children." Though it may seem like so many other families have everything perfectly together, Noel assures us that isn't true – and with more than 13 years of clinical mental health experience counseling families and individuals, he should know.
Why Parents of LGBTQ+ Kids Need Their Own “Coming In” Process, with Matt Seelos
The experience of coming out as an LGBTQ+ youth varies wildly across the country and around the world. In some families and communities, it’s celebrated. In others, condemned. But my guest on this episode of Hopestream says that we often forget about the “coming in” process needed for parents and families of those youth.
How Parents Can Transcend Shame – and Help Their Kids Do the Same, with Patrick Hawkins
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, Patrick Hawkins says, “How could you not?” For many of us, it can seem like our kids are entirely different than the people we raised.
Substance Misuse Makes Perfect Sense: Redefining Addiction and Recovery, with Adam Sud
After years of stimulant 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 expert, international speaker, and the founder and CEO of a nonprofit that studies how nutrition impacts mental health and addiction. Adam has so much to share about the core motivations and behaviors connected to substance misuse. He’s full of truths that are sometimes hard to hear, but are invaluable to help parents understand what their kids are going through, as well as how to be an active part of their recovery - and importantly, how not to sabotage it.
The Intersection of Autism and Addiction, with Dr. Brandon Park
After a long search for a trustworthy specialist, I finally cover a topic I’ve been wanting to dig into - neurodiversity and addiction. When I found neuropsychologist Dr. Brandon Park, Founder of New Focus Academy, I knew I had someone with the expertise I needed. In this episode, Dr. Park explains why kids with autism can find themselves especially susceptible to addictions – not just to alcohol and drugs, but also technology use and other behaviors. He also shares what parents need to know when considering treatment for a child who is neurodiverse - it’s a do-not-miss conversation.
An Unexpectedly Humorous Take on Substance Misuse, Borderline Personality, Trauma and Tragic Loss, with Jess Kupferman
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 family struggles with my son. One of the most fascinating things about Jess is the way she has learned to process this trauma with a sharp sense of humor rarely seen in addiction and recovery spaces. Don’t feel bad if you laugh a few times while listening to her story, but take her advice on telling your own story seriously.
recovery story: from drug-induced psychosis and homelessness to a stable life at age 22
I’m always happy to share testimony from individuals in recovery. Their stories give hope and perspective to families of young people currently working through substance misuse and treatment. The stories I’ve previously shared have almost always been from people in recovery for a decade or more, so today, you’ll hear from a young man who is 22, celebrating one-year substance-free and living a healthy, stable life.
Psychological Evaluations: A Tool to Help Gain Insight To Your Child’s Challenges And Strengths, With Dr. Alison Lafollette
For many parents, having their teen or young adult child undergo psychological evaluation can feel incredibly stressful. They worry that even talking to their son or daughter about the process can make it seem like they think their child is broken, or maybe even that they're crazy. My guest today is Dr. Alison LaFollette, a psychologist based in Salt Lake City with over a decade of experience conducting psychological and neuropsychological assessments. She joined me to clear up myths, misperceptions and questions about how a psychological evaluation can help families on their journey to find the right resources and treatment.
happiness and joy are not the same (and why it matters for parents), with Alex Stavros, CEO of Embark Behavioral Health
Sometimes, parents seeking guidance and comfort during difficult times are told to “choose happiness.” My guest on this episode believes instead, we should be choosing joy. Alex Stavros is the CEO of Embark Behavioral Health, a leading network of premiere youth outpatient centers and residential programs. Their “big hairy audacious goal” is driving down youth anxiety, depression, and suicide from all-time highs of today to all-time lows by 2028.
watch out for the near enemies of love and compassion, and a tip to survive graduation season, with Brenda Zane
The concept of near enemies is helpful when you’re working to parent from an intentional place and avoid unhealthy patterns with your son or daughter. You’ll learn what a near enemy is and two common ones that show up when parenting a child with substance use issues. Then I provide a tried and true tip for getting through graduation season without losing your mind.
finding ways to reduce your suffering when parenting a child misusing or addicted to drugs or alcohol, with Brenda Zane
The emotional distress a parent feels when their child is struggling with or addicted to drugs or alcohol is incomprehensible to the average person. Through the lens of the second arrow principal, I share ways that parents can minimize their suffering, anxiety, emotional anguish and isolation while their child is actively engaged in misusing substances, or in the early and sometimes fragile days of recovery.
teasing apart the complexities of gender identity, neurodiversity, substance use and mental health in young people, with Sean Garcia
If there's a perfect storm of complexity and confusion for parents of adolescents and young adults it's the intersection of a mental health condition, neurodiversity, substance use and gender or sexual identity. It's overwhelming to know which aspect of these to address first, or do you address them all at once?
9 dangerous and negative thought patterns, and what to do instead, for parents with kids misusing drugs or alcohol, with Brenda Zane
In this episode I cover nine of the most common unhelpful and unhealthy thinking patterns parents fall into and talk about ways to shift those to a more productive place. If you tend to catastrophize, judge, doubt, criticize or ruminate about your life or your child's life, this is your episode. You'll walk away being more aware of how to recognize these unhealthy patterns and learn ways to change your thinking.
what parents need to know about substance use and trauma; what it is and isn't, and why we can't ignore it, with Steve Sawyer
Just hearing the word "trauma" can cause a parent's stomach to turn in knots and create feelings of guilt and regret. We believe we should be able to spare our kids from trauma and might push this aspect aside when seeking treatment options. Steve Sawyer is an expert in trauma and adolescents and joined me for a deeply educational and enlightening conversation around trauma, and why as parents, we need to understand it better.
using rituals to withstand distress, build resilience and counteract triggers when your child is misusing drugs or alcohol (and a little pep talk), with Brenda Zane
There's never a shortage of discomfort, distress, or triggers when you have a son or daughter who's misusing drugs or alcohol. You can live in a constant state of unrest and feel as if you have no control over anything. I share in this episode how parents can use simple rituals to withstand the varying levels of chaos, unpredictability, and frequent triggers in their day-to-day lives.