Signposts not Fixers
“Doing for others what they are capable of doing for themselves,” is the classic definition of codependency, with the rider, “As a ‘change-maker,’ I feel better now that I’ve fixed somebody else’s problem. It’s a relief to have the situation under (my) control.” This is a massive delusion. It’s also classic narcissism. (“All about me! […]
Let the Penny Drop
“The CCAR Recovery Coach Academy is a 60-hour training masquerading as thirty,” is a refrain my fellow teachers /trainers /facilitators* have been hearing from me for a decade. The observation is both compliment – the program references so many basic coaching tenets – and frustration. Lately, the frustration is winning out. Two items: How often […]
Got ethics? Yes, we do!
Over on LinkedIn, I reported that there are two questions I’m reliably asked in the field: what about ethics for peers and what about supervision of peers? These questions are often barbed with stigma, the subtext being that peers (“those addicts“) don’t have ethics and need to be policed in their work. One highly regarded […]
Whazzup with Stigma? Part 1 of 2
Recovery thought-leader, Sandy Rivers* has raised an interesting question about stigma. Over on LinkedIn, she asks: “How do you think changing our attitudes about SUD can impact stigma?” (https://tinyurl.com/Rivers-LinkedIn-Jan-2026) Sandy avoids the word “addiction,” which is currently viewed by tastemakers as – yes! -stigmatizing. It’s a great question. One that leads highly motivated activists to “share […]
Behind the Cliché-What are we really saying about meeting people?
“At the diner, d’you mean?” This was my baffled response to the phrase “meeting people where they’re at.” Silly me. It’s metaphysical, not logistical. (What did I know, a decade or more years ago?) “But we don’t leave them there.” Was I talking to a car service? Reliable Meghann Perry – herself an experienced trainer […]
Credentials – What Are They Good For?
“If clinical mental health professionals refuse to see peer support professionals as either equals or as working professionals of value or worth, then what’s the point of offering peer credentialing?” So writes the estimable Rev. Dr. Phillip Fleming on LinkedIn, suggesting that “there should not be any peer certifications!” (https://tinyurl.com/LinkedIn-credential-Dec-2025) Having served as consultant to […]
Holidays are Holy Days
Doom and gloom – that’s what we’re in for! Just listen to the doomsayers: “Addiction is a three-fold disease – Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year.” How often do we hear this “joke” in 12-Step rooms? (There are no jokes, said Dr. Freud.) Well, shiver me timbers! Let’s just go into hiding in November and emerge deep […]
COAXING OR COMMUNICATING? The Many Applications of Motivational Interviewing
Over on LinkedIn, MINT member Lisa Ardner is challenging the influential Peggy Swarbrick over Motivational Interviewing (MI). Ardner’s essay – “Respectfully Reconsidering: A Rebuttal to the PeerTAC Article on MI and Peer Support” – appears at https://lnkd.in/eQTyczzB. Swarbrick’s original may be found at https://peertac.org/2024/07/30/why-motivational-interviewing-does-not-align-with-peer-support-skills/. ### When MI was first presented to me, I was skeptical, […]
Different Conversations: Coaching and Counseling
In both the behavioral health field and the recovery community, I’m often asked to differentiate between clinical (counseling) and non-clinical (coaching) practice. It’s a great question – let’s take a look. The primary services offered in the former are, of course, clinical. Expectations here are for measurable clinical outcomes from taking meds as prescribed […]
On Meeting People Where
“We meet people where they’re at,” is a fashionable mantra in behavioral health and both the clinical and non-clinical helping professions. “But we don’t leave them there,” is the second part of this assertion, sometimes quoted, sometimes omitted. This mantra gives me the cringe. But why? To help me clarify my position, I reached out […]
Do We Have a Vision of Recovery?
What’s it all about? R-E-C-O-V-E-R-Y! This rallying cry, originally formulated to promote community among disparate addiction professionals, often sounds more aspirational than descriptive. Especially when the ensuing conversation inevitably relapses into a focus on triage (everything from Narcan to the “revolving door”). Saving lives is a non-negotiable value. But what are those lives (heroically) saved […]
Speech Doesn’t Need to be Licensed
There’s a regrettable trend emerging in behavior health (mental health and substance use disorder[i]) that non-clinical professionals should be licensed. Proponents generally argue: (1) that certain non-clinical practitioners (specifically, peer support specialists under a multitude of confusing titles, including – erroneously, if popularly – “recovery coaches”) cannot be trusted to stay within their role boundaries […]