World-renowned addiction expert, Tom Horvath, Ph.D., on the tragic death of Robin Williams and celebrity depression and addiction. Are you or a loved one in need of addiction treatment? Call us: 1-800-977-6110. We can help! Get connected! Sign up for our newsletter for recovery support and mental health tips!

My role as the Chief Operating Officer is to oversee the operations to maximize the client's experience at Practical Recovery. The goal is to ensure consistent quality of service by developing and enforcing good automated systems; validating processes; overseeing operational documentation; managing branding in each facility (core values/mission), and ensuring standardization and execution of policies and procedures at all sites. My team completes these operational objectives by completing daily audits such as: medication procedures, food/beverage service, therapeutic activities, satisfaction surveys, hospitality procedures, safety compliance, room searches/inventories, intake, admission and discharge procedure audits, monitoring drug testing, supervising client schedules and operational...

Debunking the bad science behind 12-step programs and the rehab industry Book Review by Tom Horvath, PhD., ABPP Text: 160 pages; Preface: 1 page; Notes: 9 pages The subtitle of this book guaranteed that it would be unpopular with many in the 12-step and rehab communities. However, titles are often a compromise between publisher and author. The publisher wants to sell books. The authors do also, but do not want to diminish the credibility of the work. A controversial title may be acceptable to authors if it can be nuanced in the work itself. This writing team is a psychiatrist and addiction expert father, and his son, a free-lance writer with a BA from Yale and an MFA from USC. What exactly do they say about 12-step groups and the rehab industry? Chapter 3 is entitled “Does A...

by Jessica Yaffa, Director of Community Education Whenever I begin a presentation or workshop I spend some time discussing the myths and stereotypes that exist surrounding domestic violence: Who does this happen to? What ethnic groups/religions/socio economic classes are most likely to be victimized? What are the backgrounds of those that find themselves in abusive relationships? Unfortunately, the answers to each of these statements are the same: ALL of us are affected by domestic violence. With the statistics being that 1 in 4 women are or will be physically abused during their lifetime, and knowing that every socio-economic class, culture and religion are dealing with this epidemic, the responsibility of creating change, standing up, and speaking out is a responsibili...

by Tom Horvath, Ph.D., ABPP We recently remodeled our outpatient offices, requiring us to move everything out to re-carpet. It is challenging to clean up what has accumulated over 10 years! One item I have been saving (available from someone else on ebay, starting bid $3) is a 1970s Borm response golf counter. This very sturdy, entirely metal device straps to your wrist. It will easily count golf strokes, or anything that is expected to occur 999 times or less, by pushing the side pin in about 1/4 inch. Rewinding is a very deliberate activity, so there is no chance of re-setting by accident (as one might easily do with an electronic device). If a change is important enough to us, we often measure it or count it, and then record it. We have records of golf games, bathroom scales...

by Nikki Wiedlund Client Relations Manager/Billing Administrator I do a multitude of things from client satisfaction, to insurance billing, to scheduling a manicure/pedicure! Anything a client wants or needs, I’m the girl they go to! It’s really important to me that I am able to create a completely personalized schedule that meets our client’s needs and exceeds their expectations. I once had a client who wanted to go surfing every morning before 6am. With some clever scheduling, we were able to make that happen. We had a client who was very interested in doing Equine Therapy while they were here so we had to transport almost 90 minutes round trip, three days a week to fulfill that client’s wishes. We also had a client who had quite a few doctors’ appointments that needed to be...

by Tom Horvath, Ph.D. “Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.” Ironically, I have not been able to confirm (the fact of) who first expressed this idea. It is widely attributed to Daniel Patrick Moynihan, four-time US Senator from Massachusetts (1927-2003). What are the primary “facts” or findings about addiction and recovery, of which any theory of them, and any approach to treatment and recovery, would need to take into account? I will propose a few facts (and opinions too). Of course, even our selection of “facts” can be biased. However, only by making the effort to understand the foundations of one’s own opinions can these opinions be improved. 1) Prohibition will be of limited effectiveness in preventing addiction. Alcohol prohibition in the US (...

Confidentiality is of major importance in addiction treatment. Our clients need to know that what they tell us, and even their presence in our services, is a secret. We act in a number of ways to protect your confidentiality, some of which may seem strange until you understand them. In addition to all the protection of records (locks on cabinets, passwords and rapid timeouts on computers, document shredders, etc.), in our outpatient offices we take additional measures as well. The sign on our suite says "PRPG" rather than "Practical Recovery Psychology Group." If I enter the waiting room to greet a new client I say "My name is Tom Horvath. Who is here to see me?" rather than "Are you John Brown?" Even if there is only one person in the waiting room, it might NOT be John Brown. There ...

Brainwashed: The Seductive Appeal of Mindless Neuroscience By Sally Satel and Scott D. Lillienfeld (New York: Basic, 2013) Review by Tom Horvath, Ph.D. The prominent authors of Brainwashed challenge the widely held view that neuroscience will soon dramatically improve human life. They thoroughly support continued neuroscience research and applaud the knowledge gained thus far. However, they believe the limitations of neuroscience need to be better understood. They begin by reminding us that vision is the most developed human sense. Therefore pictures of our brains in action, via fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging), are compelling. It is as if we opened a window into our skulls and merely needed to look in, in order to understand what happens there. This well-reasoned...

For Professionals (or anyone) Article on collaborative addiction care written for the Addiction Professional website