My guest for this episode is Dr. Jason Roop! Dr. Roop is the founder and CEO of the Center for Trait-Based Transformation, and the primary developer of the Trait-Based Model of Recovery: an evidence-based, person-centered approach to addiction treatment and recovery that emphasizes enhancing the personal strengths of individuals in addiction to promote success in business and life while in recovery. Dr. Roop has an absolutely amazing recovery journey of his own: he began his recovery in...

My guest for this episode of Let’s Talk is Dr. George Kolodner! Dr. Kolodner is an addiction psychiatrist and the Medical Director of the Triple Track Treatment program for smoking and vaping cessation. He is the Chair of the American Society of Addiction Medicine Nicotine and Tobacco Addiction Special Interest Group, and a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at both the Georgetown University and University of Maryland Schools of Medicine. In our conversation we dive into the...

My guest for this episode is Dr. Bonnie Halpern-Felsher! Dr. Halpern-Felsher an endowed professor in the Pediatrics Department at Stanford University, the founder and Executive Director of the Stanford REACH Lab, and the President of the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Dr. Halpern-Felsher is an absolute giant in the field of youth prevention, publishing over 200 manuscripts, and she and her lab have created vaping and THC prevention curricula that have positively impac...

My guest for this episode is Dr. Matt Rossheim! Dr. Rossheim is an Associate Professor at the University of North Texas Health Science Center, and a leading researcher on the impact of drug policy on public health, particularly as it relates to teenagers and young adults. The past several years he's turned his attention to derived psychoactive cannabis products, the most common of which is Delta-8 THC, and the tactics that the industry has used to market to youth and evade effecti...

We talk a lot about turning the tide in the opioid epidemic – Dr. Eric Garland is actually out there doing something about it. On the latest episode of Let’s Talk, Dr. Garland and I discuss the psychotherapy he’s developing called MORE – Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement. MORE is a psychotherapy specifically designed (and being validated) for treating opioid use disorder (OUD). This is more rare than you might think: most gold-standard addiction psychotherapies (lik...

Today marks the first solo episode of my podcast, which I'm calling "Let's Muse!" Let's Muse episodes will cover a current topic that I'm finding interesting at the moment, and I'd love to hear your musings about it on my corresponding posts on LinkedIn and YouTube. Today I'll cover two recent developments in the nicotine and vaping world: my take on how to interpret a recent Cochrane Review (see link below) that found that vaping is an effective method for quitting smoking, as well as Phil...

My guests for this episode on alcohol myths are Dr. Laura Kwako and Dr. Thekla Brumder Ross from the National Institute of Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse (NIAAA)! Dr. Laura Kwako, PhD, is chief of the Treatment, Health Services, & Recovery Branch (THSRB) in the Division of Treatment and Recovery at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). Dr. Thekla Brumder Ross, PsyD, is a Clinical Psychologist and a Strategic Advisor to NIH-NIAAA. I chat with Drs. Kwako and ...

My guest for this episode is Dr. Brian Licuanan! Dr. Licuanan is an author, speaker, and board-certified psychologist practicing in Southern California, and specializes in working with highly acute clients struggling with substance abuse disorders and mental health conditions. He recently published a new book, "How to Get Your Resisting Loved One into Treatment: A Step-by-Step Guide for Mental Health and/or Addiction Crisis," which is an absolute treasure-trove of informatio...

My guest for this episode of Let's Talk is Dr. Jeanne Jakob - a board-certified psychologist based in Silicon Valley, and an expert in treating trauma and PTSD from a number of different therapeutic modalities. She is the founder of Inside Out Psychology, a website and platform to promote the public's knowledge about psychotherapy, psychological science, and the mental health industry. On today's podcast we address a range of trauma-related topics, including: What does "trauma" mean, e...

April is Alcohol Awareness Month, so to kick things off I'm having a conversation with Dr. Molly Bowdring! Dr. Bowdring is a clinical scholar and postdoctoral researcher in the Stanford Prevention Research Center, a clinician at Stanford's Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic, and the author of a recently-published peer-reviewed article (link below) on non-alcoholic beverages (NABs), with several more on this topic on the way! Her research centers on factors that contribute to init...

March is Problem Gambling Awareness Month, and my guest for this episode of Let's Talk is Dr. Jeremiah Weinstock! Dr. Jeremiah Weinstock is a licensed psychologist, professor of psychology, and the Chair of the Department of Psychology at Saint Louis University. He is an expert in the assessment and treatment of substance-related and addictive disorders with over 65 peer-review publications and research funding from the National Institutes of Health and the International Center for Res...

My guest for this episode of Let's Talk is Dr. Doug Bolton! Dr. Bolton is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Director of School Consultation for Formative Psychological Services. He spent over 20 years as a psychologist and principal at North Shore Academy, a K-12 therapeutic school in Highland Park, IL. He is now speaking nationally, under contract to publish a mass-market book on parenting in the next 12-18 months, and continues to maintain his clinical practice. I chat with Dr. B...

My guest for this episode of Let's Talk is Jamie Ducharme - author of "Big Vape: The Incendiary Rise and Fall of JUUL" - recently adapted to be a top-rated docuseries on Netflix! Jamie Ducharme is a correspondent at TIME magazine, where she writes frequently about topics related to health and science. She has won awards from New York Press Club, the Deadline Club, and the Newswomen’s Club of New York. Her investigative journalistic book about JUUL, "Big Vape," is a deep-dive into the h...

My guest for this episode is Dr. Cortney Warren, PhD, ABPP! Dr. Warren is a board-certified psychologist and the author of the new book "Letting Go of Your Ex: CBT Skills to Heal the Pain of a Breakup and Overcome Love Addiction." Dr. Warren is an expert on addictions, self-deception, eating pathology, and the practice of psychotherapy from a cross-cultural perspective, and is also the author of over 50 journal articles and book chapters. We cover a lot of ground during ou...

My guest for this episode of Let's Talk is the CEO of Truth Initiative, Robin Koval! Since joining Truth Initiative in 2013, Koval has transformed the national award-winning truth® youth tobacco prevention campaign and grown the organization’s world-class research, youth activism, and digital cessation programs. Koval has led the expansion of the truth brand to include innovative quitting tools and resources designed to protect and empower young people to live nicotine-free lives, including ...

My guest for this episode is Dr. Allison Feduccia, PhD! Dr. Feduccia is a neuropharmacologist, psychedelic researcher, and educator. She is the co-founder of Psychedelic Support, a platform for education and connection to psychedelic practitioners. She began researching MDMA in 2004, and has worked on mental health research at UT Austin, UCSF, NIH, and MAPS. Covered topics include: - What is the current state of psychedelic science and medicine? - What do we know about psilocybi...

My guest for this episode is Dr. Holly Geyer, MD! Dr. Geyer is an Associate Professor of Medicine and consultant in the Division of Hospital Internal Medicine. She is dual board certified in Internal Medicine and Addiction Medicine and serves as chair of the Opioid Stewardship Program at Mayo Clinic in Arizona as well as serving as Medical Director of Occupational Health. She is the author of the newly-published “Ending the Crisis: Mayo Clinic’s Guide to Opioid Addiction and Safe...

Robert Weiss PhD, LCSW is Chief Clinical Officer of Seeking Integrity LLC, an organization that provides online education and residential treatment for, porn, and substance/sex-addicted men and their families. Dr. Weiss is an online host for Digital Intervention on A&E and has served as a subject-matter expert for major media outlets including CNN, NPR, and The New York Times, among others. He is the author of eleven books, including Prodependence, Sex Addiction 101, and Out of the Doghou...

My guest for this episode is my friend and colleague in youth prevention, Laura Stack! For 30 years, Laura Stack was best known in the business world as "The Productivity Pro." Her career as a keynote speaker, bestselling author of eight books, and corporate spokesperson came to a screeching halt on November 20, 2019, when her 19-year-old son, Johnny, died by suicide after becoming psychotic from dabbing high-THC marijuana concentrates. Laura responded by forming the nonprofit, Johnny's Ambas...

My guest for this episode is Dr. Michael Rich! Dr. Rich is one of the foremost authorities on Problematic Interactive Media Use (PIMU) in teens, which includes behavioral concerns related to all types of interactive media including online gaming, social media, streaming video, and others. Dr. Rich is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, Director of the Digital Wellness Lab, and practices Adolescent Medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital. Dr. Rich is the ...