NY Times Advocates for Evidence Based Treatments
It’s great to see the New York Times bringing to light a phenomenon CMC psychologists know all too well: there are many types of psychotherapy that have demonstrated effectiveness, however, these are typically NOT the treatments clients receive. Some of the barriers are lack of therapist training, therapist belief systems (therapy as art, therapy as […]
Caring for Yourself in order to Care for Someone Else
Many parents who have a child struggling with substance abuse notice that these concerns start to consume huge amounts of time and energy. As you’ve probably experienced, under the best of circumstances with kids, it’s hard to carve out space to focus on yourself. When your child and your family is dealing with something as […]
You Are Not Alone!
Sometimes you might feel like you’re the only person in the world who loves someone with a substance problem. The truth is that many millions of people are walking down this challenging and often painful road. As you’re dealing with all of this, you might notice that, on purpose or by accident, you start to […]
A Breath of Fresh, Evidence-Based Air
We happily point our readers to a recent Jane Brody article in the NY Times concerning evidence-based treatments for substance use problems. Brody’s article, “Effective Addiction Treatment,” captured a number of essential points about what to look for when you are considering treatment for you or a loved one, always a bewildering maze when dealing […]
Part II: “Train a Parent, Spare a Child” using CRAFT: Community Reinforcement and Family Training
This is part II of a response to the article “Train a Parent, Spare a Child” (NYTimes, 1/11/2013). Part I outlined four points in thinking about behavior change. In part II, we are applying those theories to helping make change regarding substance use. To read Part I, click here. And what if the problem isn’t […]
Training Parents to Help Children – Part I
The NY Times article “Train a Parent, Spare a Child” (1/11/2013) illustrates some excellent points we want to applaud and help apply these concepts to helping your family change their substance use. First, let’s detail the main points of the article and use that as a framework for how to think about behavior change. The […]
SMART Goals – 5 steps to Help Meet your Goals in the New Year
So, how are those New Year’s Resolutions coming along? We thought it would be helpful as we get further into January to provide some tips that will not only help you clarify your goals, but will greatly increase your likelihood of meeting them and maintaining them over the long haul. The good news is that […]
Response to: How People Change – David Brooks
The following is a letter we wrote to the NY Times in response to David Brooks’ November 26th column, “How People Change“: As psychologists at the Center for Motivation and Change we, too, happen to cover a field — substance use disorders — in which people are “perpetually bellowing at each other to be better”. […]
Broken Promises – The Abstinence Violation Effect
Have you ever wondered why the gym is so crowded on January 2 and 3rd and has emptied out by about January 10th? Well, there’s actually a scientific explanation behind this phenomenon. Technically, it’s known as the “Abstinence Violation Effect (AVE),” but I’m fond of calling it the “New Year’s Resolution Breaking Effect” because it’s […]
