Healing Choices: Conversations on Addiction and Recovery

As people receive the COVID-19 vaccination and cases across the country are in steady decline, daily life is looking more like before the pandemic hit in March of last year. But we know through research and experience that the mental health impact of natural disasters such as the pandemic long outlast the physical impact, and due to the longevity and intensity of COVID-19, experts say we may be dealing with the aftermath for years to come. In this episode of our podcast, Healing Choices: Conversations on Addiction & Recovery, Mel Taylor and Lori Fiester discuss how natural disasters affect us, and how we can help those struggling with substance use and other mental health disorders in the wake of COVID-19 and other disasters.

This fall, The Council launched the Center for Co-Occurring Disorders, a groundbreaking initiative designed to address substance use and mental health issues together. Substance use and mental health disorders often go hand-in-hand, with the National Institute on Drug Abuse estimating that about half of those who experience a substance use disorder will experience a mental illness during their lives and vice versa. Despite the well-established link between these conditions, many treatment providers cannot or do not address substance use and mental health together, which leads to increased costs, duplication of services, and – most importantly – poorer outcomes overall. The Council launched our Center for Co-Occurring Disorders to respond to this critical challenge. In this episode of Healing Choices, we will explore the connection between substance use and mental health, as well as the challenges and benefits of treating these conditions together. Plus, we’ll explore this history of substance use and mental health treatment in Houston – and how for 75 years, The Council has played a role in advancing care, research, and training around these life-changing conditions.

Thirty percent of active and reserve duty military personnel deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan have a mental health condition. Less than half of these veterans will receive the help they need. Why do so many veterans struggle with substance use and other mental health conditions? Why do so few get treatment? In the newest episode of our official podcast, Healing Choices: Conversations on Addiction & Recovery, Lori Fiester meets virtually with David Sunday and Viola Chavez to discuss how we're addressing the mental health needs of the veteran community during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lori invites John O'Neill of The Menninger Clinic to discuss the connection between trauma, PTSD, and substance abuse. With the whirlwind of shocking events occurring in the world, from COVID-19, to the economic collapse, to the repeated acts of police brutality and ensuing protests, we're already seeing an increase in trauma cases across our community. Lori and John explain why that is, and how we can help those experiencing trauma.

For Mental Health Awareness Month, we invited Dr. Sam Buser, psychologist for the Houston Fire Department, and his daughter Kimi Buser-Clancy, actor and activist, to our podcast to discuss the connection between substance abuse and suicide, and how we can reach out to others to prevent both during traumatic times. For more enlightening conversations on mental health and substance use, listen to Healing Choices on our website and wherever you get your favorite podcasts. For more honest and open conversations on suicide in our society, visit Sam and Kimi's podcast on suicide and prevention, Leaving the Valley.

In this episode of Healing Choices: Conversations on Addiction and Recovery, President and CEO Mel Taylor and Clinical Director of the Center for Recovering Families Lori Fiester meet virtually to discuss how to best take care of your mental health during the Coronavirus pandemic and social isolation. They also discuss resources that are available to you if you need professional help. This episode was originally recorded for The Council on Recovery's new video conversation series, Conversations on Addiction, Recovery, & Family, and adapted for Healing Choices. Weekly video conversations with our clinician staff occur every Tuesday at 4 PM CST on Zoom and Facebook Live.

Here at The Council on Recovery, we believe in the power of mindfulness to aide us in difficult times. Mindfulness is the act of developing awareness of how we think and process information. We do this through focusing on the moment at hand and letting stillness and silence guide our emotions.  If we’ve taught ourselves or been taught to numb our feelings in response to emotional situations, with substance abuse or other behaviors, we are not allowing ourselves the opportunity to understand our mind and body fully. We get to a potentially dangerous state in which we only know what we think and not what we feel. Just being still for a few minutes every day and getting into a mental headspace in which you allow yourself to process emotions you’ve been potentially withholding can be mentally rejuvenating for anyone in this chaotic world. Every day now we’re overwhelmed with potentially traumatizing information, and lots of it. If it’s not the barrage of information that’s getting to us, it’s social isolation, changing the way we do our work, and more. Taking a step back and processing this information without judgement gives us a better chance at inner peace when it would otherwise seem impossible. In this podcast episode, we discuss how to deal with negative emotions through mindfulness. At the time of this recording, COVID-19, also known as Coronavirus, had just reached the United States. Since then, the virus has become a global pandemic and shaken up daily life, causing uncertainty and anxiety for many people. People who already experience a mental health disorder, including many people in recovery can be especially affected. Caitlin Payne joins Mel Taylor and Lori Fiester to discuss in detail what mindfulness is and how it can improve your life during times of stress and uncertainty, whether or not you are impacted by addiction.

Valentine's Day has come and gone, but this celebrated holiday stirred the minds of our clinician staff here at The Council. Romantic relationships can be a source of great joy for many people, but it can also be a source of some of our deepest struggles. In this episode of Healing Choices: Conversations on Addiction and Recovery, Houston social workers and addiction recovery experts Mel Taylor, Lori Fiester and Andrea Washington discuss codependency – what it is, how it happens, and its connection to addiction.

In this episode of our newly reimagined podcast, Houston addiction recovery experts Mel Taylor and Lori Fiester discuss resolutions and what it takes to truly quit something, whether it's a bad habit or fully developed addiction.

The opioid epidemic is boiling over. Addiction, including alcoholism, is killing hundreds of thousands and destroying millions of lives. Especially tragic is addiction’s ravaging effects on teenagers and young adults. Their developing brains are being chemically altered by drugs and alcohol. That’s creating a whole new generation who will suffer from addiction. Many will die. Parents everywhere are looking for solutions to save their kids. They are desperately seeking an understanding of how and why addiction occurs. But more importantly, what can be done right now to save their children’s lives? We take you inside the problem and shine light on immediate and effective solutions. We talk with Lori Fiester, a highly-regarded clinical therapist and well-known mental health and addiction expert. She has helped thousands through her knowledge, compassion, and commitment in the field of recovery. By the end of this podcast, you will have the information, ideas, and inspiration you need to help save the lives of people you love….Or maybe your own.

Dr. Claudia Black, one of the world’s leading experts on family systems and addiction, reveals the startling connection between the psychological injuries experienced in childhood and the long-term trauma and addictive disorders that are destroying families everywhere. In this in-depth interview, Dr. Black discusses how trauma and addiction literally change the brain, and why the unspoken effects of these conditions can reverberate for generations, uprooting family trees and perpetuating both shame and denial. But, recovery from trauma and addiction is possible, and Dr. Black illuminates a simple, yet powerful and effective process for both healing and creating a new narrative for living. This podcast coincides with the release of Claudia Black's 16th book, 'Unspoken Legacy', a far-ranging examination of how the combination of addiction and trauma causes family dysfunction and why it's one of the most potent negative forces in people's lives. Filled with vignettes highlighting the various causes of trauma, 'Unspoken Legacy' helps readers understand the physiology and psychology of trauma and how it intersects with addition. The second half of the book covers the vital process for self-examination, and gives readers proactive steps for healing, recovery, and building healthier relationships.

In our premier episode, our guest, Bob C., shares an extraordinary story of his amazing efforts to save his daughter’s life during her 15 year odyssey with drug addiction and mental illness. At times, he thought he had lost her. But he also realized that desperately trying to save his daughter might just kill him. With other family tragedies swirling around him at the same time, he somehow found the solutions for staying alive and helping his daughter survive.  Bob’s hard-fought quest for understanding and answers is both inspirational and informative. It’s something every parent should hear.