The Restorative Health Benefits of a Michigan Summer
Michigan summer… It’s finally Michigan summer. Last weekend I was mired in a rather “snakey” looking bog on the edge of Big Seven Lake. I could hear, but not see, the frogs with their burping, throaty chirps. There were tiny dragon-flies hovering over the water lilies and my inflatable kayak was listing to starboard. […]
WHO is Your Addiction Treatment Experience?
In the past two weeks I have spent more time than I would like in a hospital. In fact, any time spent in a hospital is too much for me. But I have an ailing mother and there is something so sad about a hospital inhabitant without a plethora of primrose toting visitors. So I […]
Shame – Being VS Doing Something Wrong …
I struggle to facilitate conversations about shame. And I’m transparent about that with my clients. This is for a few reasons: shame is difficult to conceptualize. Unlike “coping skills” or “aftercare planning,” shame is nebulous. Open for discourse. Dependent on our unique perspectives and past experiences. Additionally, I’ve yet to master managing shame in my […]
What Men Want (from their Addiction Treatment)
What do men want when they check in at an addiction treatment center? According to Rae Rabideau, Sanford Manager of Clinical Operations, most men enter treatment to “learn how not to relapse”. The details of their stay are not something they’ve really thought about, and the continuum of care and the future is unknown. […]
Gracefully Welcoming Change: Recovery in an Ever-Changing World
Change. Many of us struggle to navigate it gracefully. To create meaningful change, we have to do things differently. We must engage in some self-reflection. And practice self-awareness. And admit our shortcomings… It’s a lot of work. I could draw a metaphor, here, about the changing seasons (it’s finally starting to feel like spring […]
Fear Not Sober Vacations – Great Escapes for Sober Sojourners!
A newly sober friend of mine was looking meaningfully into his coffee. “What’s wrong?” I asked. “I’m going on a sober vacation to St Martin next week and I’m really nervous about my recovery,” he said. My immediate thought was a sarcastic, Poor you – that’s the kind of problem I’d like to have. But […]
Coping with Life’s Ordinary Moments in Recovery…
Are things honestly ever “just fine” in early recovery? At Sanford House , we begin group therapy sessions with a check-in. Clients are asked to identify how they’re feeling today. (Sure, sometimes therapy is just as on-the-nose as one may imagine.) I challenge my clients to reframe answers like “fine,” “good,” or “I don’t […]
Honoring the Unique – The Life Story Project at Sanford
I visited Seattle recently, and stayed in a hostel for the first time. When I got home, I struggled to describe my trip. “My perspective is a little different now,” I said. Different names for the same place… honoring the unique, dynamic, peculiar, and predictable In truth, all of our experiences shift our worldview […]
Clever Addicted Brain – Sabotaged when Contemplating Change
Revised January 2026 My favorite scene in the movie Jurassic Park doesn’t end well. The Australian park ranger is hunting raptors, and one of the creatures rattles the fronds in front of him. While he prepares for the kill shot, another raptor sneaks up from behind. The ranger is eaten alive, but not before uttering […]
Thoughtful Connections from the Family Program – The Forest & the Trees
Suppose you have 100 acres full of sick trees who want to get well. If each tree leaves the forest to find wellness and then returns to the forest, they get sick again from the infection of the rest of the trees. The Elders taught us that to treat sick trees you must treat […]
