When your child is in the throes of their addiction or mental health disorder, they may lash out at you or behave in confusing ways.

In the "What I Learned Section" of this website, I shared the challenges my daughter experienced when trying to get appropriate, compassionate and effective care. This NPR article sadly outlines that things have not improved since her death and that bias among healthcare workers is still keeping individuals with substance abuse disorder from receiving the care they need and deserve. Medications such as methadone, buprenorphine and naltrexone can greatly improve outcomes and p

In the early stages of my daughter's disease(s), our interactions were highly charged because we were both in heightened emotional states. She could be hostile and defensive when she was under the influence and/or not appropriately medicated. I responded with anger and exhaustion, which led to a revolving cycle of shouting and unhealthy conversations and text streams. I finally realized that I had to break the cycle and take a step back. I identified when she was pushing my b

Building trust so that your child will come to you when they need help or are struggling is so important. This may be challenging if you've been having difficult interactions with them for an extended period of time, but it's important to keep trying and not give up. The results are so beneficial. Your loved one's support team may include psychiatrists, addiction specialists, counselors, sober peers and supportive friends and family. These people all work together to keep you

I was at a meeting a few weeks ago where we were discussing facilities safety and violence prevention programs for our office building, which has conference space available for the public. One of the meeting activities was to review proposed scenarios where someone who might be exhibiting concerning behavior was on or adjacent to our property and then to select what we thought the best option might be to assess and address how to respond. For example, should we notify a behav