addictions counselling and employment counselling

i am currently taking a course on “core addictions practice”, a soon-to-be required course for people wanting to practice in the addictions field in our health authority. since i also work in the field of employment counselling, i thought it would be interesting to think about how ideas from addictions counselling can be applied to… Continue reading addictions counselling and employment counselling

arrest them! no, not the drunk guys

i’m doing NaNoWriMo again this year, this time determined to do all i can to make it to the 50,000 word count. so my blog posts may be sporadic, or short and sweet, or both. like this one. only it’s not sweet. at a walmart in lethbridge, told by a friend: a drunk native fellow… Continue reading arrest them! no, not the drunk guys

meaningful stories and idle chatter

a theme for me in the last little while has been to hear from others, “i don’t want to talk about this because i don’t want to be a burden.” i honestly think i’m wired differently than most people. hearing people’s meaningful stories, whatever they’re about, is rarely, rarely a burden for me. and when… Continue reading meaningful stories and idle chatter

addiction, genetics and early brain development

in a comment yesterday on my article on some research on adult children of alcoholics, CP stressed the importance of genetics in alcoholism. i would like to contrast that with another point of view. gabor mate offers this theory in his book in the realm of hungry ghosts: close encounters with addiction brain development in… Continue reading addiction, genetics and early brain development

blogathon: compassionate curiosity, knowledge and objectification

posed in a tone of compassionate curiosity, “why?” is transformed from rigid accusation to an open-minded, even scientific question. instead of hurling an accusatory brick at your own head (e.g., “i’m so stupid, when will i ever learn,” etc.), the question “why did i do this again, knowing full well the consequences?” can become the… Continue reading blogathon: compassionate curiosity, knowledge and objectification

blogathon: psychology on stumbleupon

this is an entry for my participation in the 2008 blogathon, a 24-hour marathon of blogging. please support the cause and donate – however much, however little – to the canadian mental health association (vancouver/burnaby branch). to donate, email me or use this URL: www.canadahelps.org/CharityProfilePage.aspx?CharityID=d2252. you should be able to get there by clicking the… Continue reading blogathon: psychology on stumbleupon

the definition of addiction

in the last few weeks, a radio interview and two articles have encouraged me to again look at the nature of addiction. one of them is a discussion we are having on this blog here about alcohol use and art, with contributions by danish composer skovgaard danielsen and zen practitioner and painter eden maxwell. another… Continue reading the definition of addiction