CRAFT: Helping Families With an Addicted Love One

Event Brite Link: http://craftportland.eventbrite.com/ If you have a loved one with an addiction you’ve probably tried everything you can think of to get him/her to stop:  nagging, threatening, ultimatums, bargaining, attending support groups, etc. You may feel like there is nothing that you can do to get them to stop. Don’t give up, there is … Read more

What Questions to Ask When Looking into Addiction Treatment

In late February the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), a government agency dedicated to studying addiction, published a free resource on what to ask when looking into addiction treatment programs. This short booklet, which can be viewed online or downloaded for free, lists 5 questions to ask any addiction treatment provider you are considering … Read more

Help! How Do I find Resources for My Loved One with an Addiction?

Recently a colleague alerted me to an article in the Chicago Tribune about CRAFT (Community Reinforcement and Family Training). A few months back I wrote a blog post about CRAFT that described the research support and basic ideas of the treatment. Briefly, CRAFT teaches family members with loved ones with addictions how to non-confrontationally change … Read more

Two Cool Addiction Web Resources to Add to Your Favorites Folder

A couple weeks back I was perusing the news on the internet when I came across an interesting story and really cool idea in addictions research. Researchers at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute in Roanoke, Virginia have created a National Quit & Recovery Registry. To better understand how people quit using drugs and alcohol, … Read more

Riding the Wave: Using Mindfulness to Help Cope with Urges

Changing a habit is hard. Anyone who has tried to change their eating habits, quit smoking, start an exercise program, or stop drinking or using drugs can tell you how difficult it can be at times to change old habits. In my last post I discussed how slipping (i.e., falling back into an old habit) … Read more

What Makes Us Unique

Portland Psychotherapy is a clinic, research & training center with a unique business model that funds scientific research. This results in a team of therapists who are exceptionally well-trained and knowledgeable about their areas of specialty.