Hopestream: Parenting Kids Through Addiction & Mental Health
When your teen or young adult is misusing drugs or alcohol, you need more than just tactics—you need hope, healing, and a path forward for your entire family. Hopestream delivers expert guidance and emotional support for parents navigating their child's substance use and mental health struggles. Hosted by Brenda Zane, Mayo Clinic Certified health coach and CRAFT-trained Parent Coach who nearly lost her son to addiction, this podcast goes beyond "how to get them into treatment" to address the full ecosystem of this journey. Episodes feature leading addiction, prevention, and treatment experts, real stories from families who've been there, evidence-based strategies for helping your child, self-care and coping tools for parents, and deeper conversations about finding meaning, joy, and even unexpected blessings through the hardest times.
Episodes
Sending Your Struggling Kid To College, with Cathy Cioth
ABOUT THE EPISODE:This week's episode is a Summer Replay from 2025.There is a version of August that has been living in your head since they were small. The car packed to the roof. The drive. Target for the bedding, the sweatshirt, the bumper sticker, the parent barbecue where everybody's kid looks fine. Except it is three weeks out and you are not picturing it anymore. You are watching
Substance Use Isn't the Whole Story, with Dr. Graham Husick
ABOUT THE EPISODE:Your kid has been to a program. Maybe two. Maybe four. Each one handed back a diagnosis list a little longer than the last, and none of it ever explained why nothing is sticking.My guest uses a comparison in this one that stopped me cold. If your child had stomach pain, no surgeon would just open them up and look around. They would scan first. And yet with our kids we tend to go
Becoming Emotionally Sturdy When Your Child Struggles, with Cathy Cioth
ABOUT THE EPISODE:There is a version of a house where everyone moves quietly. You time your questions. You read the door slam before you read the room. You have gotten so good at it that you barely notice you are doing it anymore, and somewhere in there, one person's mood started running the whole place.Cathy and I both lived there. I matched my son's emotional state toe to toe and had n
The Guilt That Helps You and The Guilt That Just Hurts, with Brenda Zane
ABOUT THE EPISODE:You have probably rehearsed the apology. I'm sorry I didn't catch this sooner. I'm sorry I wasn't a better parent. I'm sorry this is happening to you. If some version of that speech runs on a loop in your head, this quick solo episode is me asking you to put it down.Real accountability matters. If there is something you actually did that caused harm, owni
Anger: The Emotion You're Not Supposed To Feel But Definitely Do
ABOUT THE EPISODE:There's an emotion most of us are carrying that we don't talk about, because we're pretty sure we're not allowed to feel it. Anger. Anger at where our kid's choices have led our family. Anger at what they're doing to themselves. And underneath it, a heavy layer of guilt for feeling any of it at all.In this solo episode, I'm getting honest about
THC-Induced Psychosis: What Parents Need to Know Now
ABOUT THE EPISODE:This episode is long overdue, and I know many of you have been waiting for it. Over the past two to three years, the conversations in our community have shifted. It used to be all about opiates and fentanyl. Now a huge number of our moms are watching their kids change right in front of them because of high-potency THC products, and it is happening fast. So I brought together thre
Practical Ways To Coach Yourself When Your Child Struggles With Alcohol or Drugs, With Cathy Cioth
You find the vape pen, or the pills, or the empty bottle at the bottom of the laundry basket. You take it, because that was the boundary. Within minutes your house goes from zero to two hundred: threats, slammed doors, a kid you barely recognize. Every instinct says respond right now, and if you are like Cathy and me, you do. Then you spend the next day trying to undo everything you said.This epis
Hard Conversations: Have Them Today, with Cathy Cioth
Trigger Warning: this episode discusses loss of a child due to substance use. Please decide if this is the right time to listen. A few weeks before this episode was recorded, one of the moms in our community lost her son. He had been through treatment, through sober living and had the most supportive family. His parents had done everything possible, with grace and with love, and he still lost his
After Treatment: What the First 90 Days Really Look Like, with Beth Hillman
When Beth Hillman's son came home from wilderness treatment, the first crisis didn’t come from him. It came from her. Standing in the driveway, anxious and spiraling, she watched her teenage son look at her calmly and say, "Mom, look at me. I'm gonna be okay." Her first thought was not relief. It was, oh! I’m in big trouble.Her son had come home with more access to his thinking
A Love Letter for Parenting Kids Through Addiction, with Brenda Zane
ABOUT THE EPISODE:There are days in this journey when the weight of it all becomes almost too much to carry. You are still showing up, still trying, still breathing through a kind of pain most people around you will never fully understand. A few years ago, I sat down and wrote something for you, for the mom and the dad and the grandparent in the thick of it, and I tucked it away. Today I pulled it
The Thing Your Kid Can’t Tell You When They’re Struggling, with Enzo Narciso
When my son Enzo was using fentanyl and Xanax and blowing up every structure I tried to build around him, I kept asking the wrong question. What I wasn’t asking was what was happening inside him that he couldn’t put words to. He was a teenager with an unmedicated ADHD brain, getting more reinforcement and belonging from the drug world than anywhere else in his life, and he had no way to tell me th
10 Self Coaching Questions for Parents of Kids Who Struggle With Mental Health and Substances, with Brenda Zane
ABOUT THE EPISODE:There are moments in this journey when your coach isn't available, your therapist can't be reached, and the community is quiet. It's just you and whatever is unfolding in your relationship with your child,, and you need a way through. This episode has been sitting with me for over a year, and I'm glad it's finally here.What I've seen, in my own exper
Letting Your Child Struggle and Choosing Love Over Fear, with Dr. Wes Robins
ABOUT THE EPISODE:Dr. Wes Robins sent me a text a few weeks ago, and I stopped what I was doing and read it twice. It was a piece he had written at his kitchen table while his daughters worked on an art project beside him, and it was one of the most honest and beautiful things I have read in all the years I have been doing this work. It started with four words: you are not broken. And it kept goin
Connect Before You Correct: Breaking Generational Patterns, with Lacey Tezino
ABOUT THE EPISODE:Lacey Tezino grew up believing her biological mother was dead. That’s what her family told her in the ‘80s when she was adopted, and she carried that story until she was 19 years old. Hungover on just one more motherless-Mother’s Day, Lacey somehow found the nerve to call ‘information’ to see if that was true. Her mother picked up the phone. That call became a decade-long relatio
Inside Your Kid's Mind: Hidden Pain Behind Substance Use, with Brad McLeod
ABOUT THE EPISODE:Brad was 17, sitting in a psych ward for the second time, when a stranger told him about a program in Tennessee. He said no. He ran from a rest stop on the highway, and the police caught him a few hours later. That moment tells you everything about where he was: a kid who had never learned to stay, never learned to feel, and hadn’t yet found anything worth staying for.What follow
Co-Dependency Isn’t What You Think, with Rawly Glass, LCSW
ABOUT THE EPISODE:Rawly Glass grew up in a home full of violence. At 16, he made a pact that he would figure out how to do things differently. He earned a master's in social work, built a career in private therapy, and by all appearances was doing the work. But something from his history kept surfacing, quiet and persistent. When someone handed him the word codependent, he turned it over and
Stuck After Treatment: Real Options Parents Overlook, with Will White
ABOUT THE EPISODE:Will White has been doing this work since last century, and he means that literally. Licensed since 1989, he has worked in group homes, boarding schools, mental health centers, and in 1996, co-founded Summit Achievement, a wilderness therapy program he ran for nearly 27 years. When he tells you the landscape of behavioral health for young people has shifted more in the last five
Misreading Your Child's Substance Use: What Parents Get Wrong with Brenda Zane
ABOUT THE EPISODE:I have sat with hundreds of moms who came to me at completely different points in their child's substance use, and the gap between them has always struck me. One mom is barely breathing, convinced the worst is already happening. Another is quietly telling herself it might just be a phase. Neither one is wrong, exactly. What they both share is that they are navigating one of
4 Things You’re Probably Googling if Your Child Struggles With Substances, with Cathy Cioth
ABOUT THE EPISODE:There is a specific kind of searching that happens at 2am when you are a parent in the thick of it, typing symptoms and half-formed fears into a search bar because you cannot say them out loud to anyone in your life. My cofounder Cathy Cioth knows exactly what that feels like, and in this conversation, we sit down to answer the questions we hear most from parents in our community
Is Your Anxiety Making Your Kid's Addiction Worse?, with Maya Kruger
ABOUT THE EPISODE:Maya Kruger grew up knowing, in a way children simply know things, that mothers die. Her own mother had lost her mother suddenly at 26, and the shadow of that loss shaped everything, including the fierce, almost desperate closeness Maya and her mother shared. She was so convinced that by leaving nothing unsaid, she could somehow protect what they had. Then, the evening after a mo
Your Calm Is Your Child's Best Drug, with Hunter Clarke-Fields
ABOUT THE EPISODE:Hunter Clarke-Fields was a painter. She had a graduate degree in art education, a high school teaching job, and what looked from the outside like a creative life. What nobody could see was that she was white-knuckling her way through it, cycling between intense highs and pits of despair she could not explain, having panic attacks in the hallways before she had any tools to handle
Using CRAFT, Getting Results, Still Questioning: Coaching Episode
ABOUT THE EPISODE:When Marie's son was diagnosed with ADHD at eight, she did what devoted parents do. She learned everything and got to work. By the time weed entered the picture in his teens, she had already lined up CRAFT counselors, drug and alcohol specialists, an at-risk youth petition, even a street artist mentor. She is a school psychologist. She had the frameworks, the language. None
Why Kids Get Estranged From Loving Families, with Sally Harris
ABOUT THE EPISODE:When Sally Harris’s middle daughter started down a dangerous path at 14, she did what most devoted mothers do. She fought hard to fix it. Boarding school. Rehab. Anything and everything she could think of. What she did not expect was that the hardest decade of her life was still ahead, or that the coping mechanism she reached for would quietly become a crisis of its own.Her daugh
What’s Tough Love and Does It Work For Addiction? With Cathy Cioth
ABOUT THE EPISODE:Tough love. Two words that get thrown around constantly in the addiction world, and yet nobody can quite agree on what they mean. Kick them out. Cut them off. Save yourself. That’s the version I heard early on, and I couldn’t do it. Not because I was too soft, but because something about it felt fundamentally wrong - especially with a teenager.In this episode, Cathy and I get pra
Addiction Makes Sense to Your Child: Here's Why, with Jeremy French
ABOUT THE EPISODE:When I first heard about a woodworking apprenticeship as an addiction recovery program, I was skeptical. And then I sat down with Jeremy French, founder of Making Whole in Asheville, North Carolina, and everything I thought I knew about what recovery has to look like got turned on its head. Jeremy got sober at 17 after stolen cars, drug runs to Florida, and a flop house he descri
Ten Reasons You May Not Be Getting Results Using CRAFT, with Brenda Zane
ABOUT THE EPISODE:This solo episode is my attempt to provide answers to the question of why some families see greater change than others when using the CRAFT approach. Drawing on 6+ years of watching hundreds of parents move through this process, some gaining traction, some spinning their wheels, I’m sharing the 10 most common reasons why parents who are 'doing the work' aren't gett
Breaking Down Wilderness Therapy Myths and Realities, with Trish Ruggles
ABOUT THE EPISODE: When parents hear "wilderness therapy," their minds often race to worst-case scenarios: punishment, boot camps, kids forced to survive in harsh conditions. But Trish Ruggles, who spent over a decade as a field guide and wilderness therapist before becoming an educational consultant, has a different story to tell. After 21 years in the field and working with countless f
When to Stop Rescuing Your Child From Addiction, With Campbell Manning
ABOUT THE EPISODE: When Campbell Manning's middle son entered detox the day before Valentine's Day, she genuinely believed he'd be "fixed" and home within a week. What followed instead was a years-long journey through both of her sons' addiction cycles that would ultimately transform her from a completely naive parent into a trained addiction counselor who now helps
Helping Your Young Adult Child Choose Treatment With Less Resistance, with Joanna Lilley
ABOUT THE EPISODE:If you've been waiting for the right moment to bring up the idea of getting your young adult some support, and you're not sure how to do it without blowing up every landmine between you, this episode is for you. Joanna Lilley, therapeutic consultant and host of the podcast Success is Subjective, is back on Hopestream, and she's pulling back the curtain on what it a
How Online Adult Content Impacts Youth, with Duane Osterlind
ABOUT THE EPISODE: When your child's phone becomes their constant companion, you might dismiss it as typical teenage behavior. But Duane Osterlind, LMFT with nearly two decades specializing in sexual addiction, shares an urgent reality: the average first exposure to online adult material is now 10 years old. This conversation illuminates why younger people are seeking help in their early twe
Be Ready When Your Child Is Ready To Accept Help for Addiction, With Brenda Zane
ABOUT THE EPISODE:You've been waiting for your child to say they're ready to get help. You've imagined that conversation a thousand times, rehearsed what you'll say, held your breath every time they seem close to opening up. But what happens if that moment arrives and you're under-prepared? What if that precious window closes before you even realize it was open?In this sol
How To Get Young People Ready for Real-World Sobriety, with Alex Zemeckis and Cannon Kristofferson
ABOUT THE EPISODE:When your child transitions from treatment back into everyday life, the real work begins. Alex Zemeckis and Cannon Kristofferson, co-founders of The Grounds Recovery and Mare's House, know the terrain intimately—not from textbooks or theories, but from walking that precarious path themselves. Now, years into their own recovery journeys, they've built a rock solid sober
Gas Station Garbage, Hidden Substances, and Helping Teens Find Healthy Connection, with Sebastian Martin
ABOUT THE EPISODE:If you’ve ever felt uncertain about what your teen or young adult might be using—and how easily accessible today’s substances have become—this episode is a must-listen. I sat down with Sebastian Martin, Executive Director at New Life House, a long-standing sober living program for young men, to unpack the alarming rise of so-called “gas station garbage”—substances like Kratom, ka
Use Motivational Interviewing To Prevent Parenting Burnout, with Jennifer Ollis Blomqvist
ABOUT THE EPISODE:When Jennifer Ollis Blomqvist discovered Motivational Interviewing (MI) in a Swedish women's prison 25 years ago, she found more than a therapeutic technique—she discovered the antidote to professional burnout and the foundation for every meaningful conversation in her life. Now an MI expert and trainer who works with everyone from incarcerated individuals to parents navigat
The Hidden Casualties of Family Addiction Battles, with Brenda Zane
EPISODE DESCRIPTION:"When elephants fight, it's the grass that suffers." This African proverb stopped me mid-scroll during a walk, and I saw my family's addiction story with some pretty painful clarity. While my ex-husband, husband and I stomped around trying to wage war on our son's substance use and high-risk lifestyle, we completely missed who was getting trampled benea
Recognizing Warrior Moms With Adult Kids In Addiction, with Cathy Cioth
ABOUT THE EPISODE:When your journey with a child's substance use stretches into its second decade, you enter what we loving call "warrior mom" (or parent) territory – a place where endurance meets wisdom, and self-preservation becomes an art form. Today's conversation with Hopestream co-founder, Cathy, honors these battle-tested parents who've been navigating their adult c
A New Way To Treat Trauma and Addiction, with Jan Winhall
ABOUT THE EPISODE:When Jan Winhall landed her first job running a group for incest survivors in a psychiatric ward, she discovered something revolutionary: the young women's self-harming behaviors weren't signs of pathology – they were brilliant survival strategies orchestrated by dysregulated nervous systems. This revelation launched a 45-year journey that would transform how we underst
The Telepathy Tapes: Connection Can Defy Logic, But Not Love, with Betsy Hicks-Russ
ABOUT THE EPISODE:When your child's struggles shatter every paradigm you've held about communication, consciousness, and connection, where do you turn? Today's guest, Betsy Hicks-Russ, found herself navigating this exact terrain as the mother of Joey, a 32-year-old non-speaking autistic man whose journey would ultimately revolutionize her understanding of human potential. Through he
Don’t Get Distracted: Focus on The Right Things When Your Child Is Struggling with Substances, with Cathy Cioth
ABOUT THE EPISODE: There's a certain shift that occurs when you stop charging at your child's substance use and instead learn to back in quietly, treats in hand, like Rocky Kanaka (Sitting With Dogs) approaching a terrified shelter dog. In this conversation with Cathy, you'll discover how this counterintuitive approach, born from watching a man give positive affirmations to traumati
Fostering Independence With Boundaries and Discomfort, with Nicole Runyon, LMSW
ABOUT THE EPISODE:Author and therapist, Nicole Runyon, LMSW, witnessed something that reshaped her entire career: loving, intact families were producing children with trauma-like symptoms typically identified in severe abuse survivors. As a therapist watching teen after teen struggle with paralyzing anxiety and digital-age depression, she recognized she was working too far downstream. The revelati
Why Can’t I Fix This? Eight Steps to Move From Wishing to Planning When Your Child Struggles with Addiction, with Brenda Zane
ABOUT THE EPISODE:Your 3am Google search spiral feels beyond frustrating when you're usually the one with answers. In this week's solo episode I acknowledge the unique exhaustion of spinning your wheels while your child struggles, and offer a concrete 8-step menu of ways to move from wishing into actionable planning and hope. If your existing parenting toolkit isn't working to creat
When Your Child Doesn't Believe They're Ill: Understanding Anosognosia and Mental Illness, with Dr. Xavier Amador
ABOUT THE EPISODE:When your child doesn't believe they need help, finding a path forward can feel nearly impossible and is exhausting in every way. Dr. Xavier Amador offers profound hope through his LEAP method—a neuroscience-backed approach born from both his clinical expertise and the raw reality of loving family members with schizophrenia.Dr. Amador's journey began with seven transfor
How to Stop Normalizing Dangerous Behavior When Your Child Struggles With Addiction and Mental Health, with Dina Cannizzaro
EPISODE DESCRIPTION:If you've ever found yourself tiptoeing through your own home, rehearsing conversations to avoid triggering an explosion, or even putting a lock on your bedroom door for protection—you're not alone. Today's conversation with Dina Cannizzaro, Hopestream's Director of Education, confronts the uncomfortable reality so many parents face: how profoundly we normal
Why Your Struggling Child Pushes You Away: The Attachment Connection, with Todd Sarner
ABOUT THE EPISODE:When a young person you love is struggling with substances or challenging behaviors, the instinct to fix everything can feel overwhelming. In this illuminating conversation, marriage and family therapist Todd Sarner brings decades of attachment science into sharp focus, and offers a roadmap for parents navigating the turbulent waters of adolescence. Drawing from his training with
Think Like A Negotiator When Your Child Misuses Substances, with Cathy Cioth
ABOUT THE EPISODE: In this episode Cathy and I discuss unique skills from the business world that can be applied to our relationships - especially one with a struggling teen or young adult who is misusing substances and has mental health challenges. I share a surprising learning I picked up from reading a book about hostage negotiation (you may even be able to relate to that kind of situation) an
Amber Hollingsworth: Put The Shovel Down When Your Kid Is Misusing Drugs and Alcohol
ABOUT THE EPISODE:If someone in your life has an unhealthy relationship with drugs and/or alcohol, you likely already know my guest for today’s episode - Amber Hollingsworth. Amber hosts the wildly popular YouTube channel, “Put The Shovel Down,” with nearly 1 million subscribers. Amber and I sat down to talk about her addiction-riddled family of origin, and the best advice she gives family members
What Parents of Struggling Kids Really Need, with Brenda Zane
ABOUT THE EPISODE: When your friend or family member has a child struggling with mental health and substance use, it can feel awkward and difficult to know how to help support them. This episode is meant to be a resource for learning ways that you can be helpful, not hurtful, when your friend or family member is experiencing a parenting crisis.I share some common misperceptions about addiction an
How Anxious Attachment Impacts Your Struggling Child, with Trevor Hanson
ABOUT THE EPISODE:Trevor Hanson had accumulated a pretty good life - from living on a beach in Hawaii, to getting a great job at Tesla and engaged to be married. One year later, he was unemployed, his engagement and his jaw were both broken, and he was living alone in the Reno desert.Trevor suffered depression, nightmares, and suicidal thoughts before deciding to seek therapeutic help. He develope
The Best Way To Not Say or Do The Wrong Thing, At The Wrong Time, with Cathy Cioth
ABOUT THE EPISODE:We've all been there. A tense or heated conversation where something flies out of your mouth that you don't really mean, or you inflict your 'help' when it's not wanted or needed. You might, at times, find yourself solving a problem that has nothing to do with you, or you give well-intentioned advice to someone who will never, ever take it.Enter our favor
When Your Child Says, “No Thanks” to The Faith They Were Raised With, with Heather Frazier
ABOUT THE EPISODE:Substance use and recovery can shift every aspect of a young person's life - even the faith that has been deeply ingrained in someone’s upbringing. Parents often have visions and expectations of their child's lives, and for parents of faith, that usually includes a life of shared values and traditions. So what happens when our kids choose differently?My guest today, H
Ed Ternan, Song for Charlie's Founder On His Unrelenting Work to Warn About Fake Pills
ABOUT THE EPISODE:When Ed and Mary Ternan finally met the police officer who had been on scene at their son's overdose death, he had an off-the-record theory: "This is not official, and you'll have to wait for toxicology to come back, but this is going to be fentanyl," the officer told them.News about the synthetic opioid is inescapable today, but in 2020, the couple had never
You Can Create Conditions For Change When Your Child Battles Addiction, with Dina Cannizzaro
ABOUT THE EPISODE:It’s hard to come to terms with how little control we have over whether our kids choose recovery or remain in an unhealthy lifestyle. In this episode, you’ll get to hear from Dina Cannizzaro, a mom who has been through hell and back (more than once), but has channeled all that fear and anxiety into taking actionable steps toward relearning how to connect with her son and how to h
Sending Your Struggling Kid Off To College?, with Cathy Cioth
ABOUT THE EPISODE:It’s the season parents often dream of - their high school senior has successfully walked the stage and they’re now packing the family car to make the ceremonial drive to the four-year university their family goes to. They’ll do Parent Weekend, buy the sweatshirt and bumper sticker and wave their child off until they see them at Thanksgiving.But it doesn’t go like that for everyo
What Your 'Failure to Launch' Teen or Young Adult Kid Really Needs, with Dr. Mark McConville
EPISODE DESCRIPTION:In this summer 'from the vault' episode I'm resharing an impactful interview with Dr. Mark McConville, a clinical psychologist specializing in adolescents and young adults. We discuss:Strategies for parents to transition from directive parenting into a consultant roleHow to offer wisdom while allowing your child to take the initiativeThe difference between enabli
Six Parenting Tools You Need for Navigating A Child's Substance Issues, with Cathy Cioth
EPISODE DESCRIPTION:A fresh new, 'from-the-vault' episode that is as relevant today as it was in 2022!Navigating life with a young person who’s misusing substances and struggling with mental health can feel like a ride in a very stormy sea. Parents need to be well-equipped for the journey, but often aren’t sure what the mandatory, life-saving provisions are to bring along. In this episod
Kids & Addiction: What 99 Parents & Pros Taught Me
EPISODE DESCRIPTION:In this 'from the vault' episode of Hopestream (originally episode #100), I share my journey since launching the podcast in January 2020 and curated the top 11 learnings and insights I gleaned from my incredible guests. If you want a lot of bang for your buck, this is the episode for you.I dive deep into topics such as letting go of control, embracing discomfort, prac
Break Through to Your Child Struggling with Drugs & Alcohol
EPISODE DESCRIPTION:Need a way to better navigate even the most challenging conversations? Over time, I've learned that making a request of someone can go south quickly when you don't know how to set it up properly. In this "from-the-vault" episode from my 2021 archives (perfect for our summer slowdown while I recharge between recording sessions), I share one of my absolute fav
Counterintuitive Parenting if Your Child Struggles with Substances & Mental Health
ABOUT THE EPISODE:In this episode from the vault, I draw from my own experiences to share four counterintuitive strategies that can transform relationships and encourage healing when you're parenting a young person struggling with substance use and mental health. I emphasize the importance of asking questions instead of giving commands, focusing on self-reflection rather than solely on your c
Ten Hard Truths Every Parent Needs if Your Child Misuses Drugs or Alcohol
ABOUT THE EPISODE:This week I’m bringing back an episode from 2020 that is just as relevant today as it was then. The episode covers ten hard truths parents need to face when you recognize potential substance use, or if you know you’re dealing with an addiction. It’s a great episode for those who are new to the experience of having your child dabble in or become dependent on substances, and there
Staying Strong Through Your Kid's Struggles: A Short Story
EPISODE DESCRIPTION:It's summer and we're diving deep into the Hopestream episode vault to bring you some listener faves and a few that just work when you need connection and understanding. Today, you'll hear about The Secret Menu, originally aired in August of 2023 - with the addition of a new story and insights.Sometimes you can gain a different understanding of things by looking
Parenting with Confidence And Clarity Through Crisis, with Beth Hillman
ABOUT THE EPISODE:Figuring out your evolving role as a parent during your child’s adolescence is difficult, even if you aren’t dealing with substance misuse. The natural inclination to protect and nurture is already being challenged by your child’s growing sense of autonomy. You’re told to step back, control less, and allow them to make their own mistakes. So, for parents of kids who are misusing
Overcoming Parenting Doubt and Fear: Part Two, with Cathy Cioth
EPISODE DESCRIPTION:In part two of this two-part episode, Cathy and I dive deep into two more of those sneaky, often invisible struggles that so many of us experience when parenting through substance use and mental health challenges.PART TWO:In part two, we marvel at and empathize with you when it comes to the insane learning curve parents face when their child is experimenting with or addicted to
Overcoming Parenting Doubt and Fear: Part One, with Cathy Cioth
EPISODE DESCRIPTION:Sometimes, the hardest parts of our journey are the feelings we can't quite put our finger on, when you can tell something feels off but can't really articulate exactly what's wrong. In this two-part episode, Cathy and I dive deep into four of those sneaky, often invisible struggles that so many of us experience when parenting through substance use and mental hea
The Benefits of Acceptance (Not Accepting) When Your Child Struggles with Addiction & Mental Health
ABOUT THE EPISODE:At times it can be confusing for parents of teens and young adults who are misusing substances to tease apart the concept of acceptance vs. the act of accepting. In this solo episode, I help distinguish the two and give examples of why it’s so important to both accept this part of your life while at the same time keep yourself safe, healthy and sane through being clear on what yo
From Heroin and Felonies at 17 to Guiding Families Through A Child’s Addiction, With Henry Maxwell
ABOUT THE EPISODE:Henry Maxwell began drinking and smoking marijuana at 12 and by 17, was an IV heroin & cocaine user. Not long afterward, his experimentation expanded to nearly every scheduled drug he could find, from Xanax to amphetamines and highly unregulated substances like ‘spice’. His teen years were largely spent among serious drug users twice his age, and involved many of the traumati
Taming Fear And Preserving Yourself When Your Child Struggles with Drugs and Alcohol
EPISODE DESCRIPTION:In this episode, I offer what might feel like slightly brutal truths if you're parenting a young person who struggles with substances and mental health challenges. I emphasize the importance of self-preservation for parents, noting that while you cannot force lasting change in your child or children, you can create the best conditions to foster it. I discuss the "self
Breaking Your Own Perfectionist Patterns While Parenting a Struggling Child, with Cathy Cioth
ABOUT THE EPISODE:We’re back with another episode of the ‘Cathy & Brenda Show’, and this week we tackle a topic we see recurring in our community and the parents we work with…achievement-oriented parenting. As two recovering perfectionists ourselves, Cathy and I both share examples of what it looks like to be achievement-focused when your child (or children) struggle with substances and mental
Mother's Day Bonus Episode: For The Mom Parenting Your Child Through Addiction and Mental Health Challenges, with Brenda Zane
EPISODE DESCRIPTION:It's that day, mama. The one filled with many hopes, expectations and potentially big, deep, sad feelings. Wherever you are today, if you're parenting a young person through substance misuse, addiction, and mental health problems, I see you. This short episode is my Mother's Day gift to you - to let you know the things you do are seen, the feelings you feel are v
Rebuild Family Connection: The 'On the Grid' Approach, with Jen Murphy
ABOUT THE EPISODE:Jen Murphy was working with a group of therapeutic outfitters when she had the idea to offer “on the grid” 4-5 day family intensives. The program was already providing family therapy on 10-day backcountry expeditions - which can be a great option for some. But she noticed a need for families to receive the same intensive therapeutic service in a shorter timeframe, and in a more
Everything I Wish Someone Had Told Me When My Child Was Struggling With Substances
EPISODE DESCRIPTION:In this intimate episode, I open up about the hard-earned wisdom I've gathered since 2013 when my son's high-risk lifestyle and substance use changed the trajectory of our family forever. I share the words I desperately needed to hear during those nights when I stared at the ceiling, shame keeping me silent and isolation feeling safer than participation. These are the
Ten Years Later: An Unexpected Outcome For Her Child Who Struggled with Addiction: A Family Story
ABOUT THE EPISODE:The worst day of Barbara’s life came just before spring break of her son’s 4th grade year, which he spent in a psychiatric ward. At age 12, he began using marijuana, and the familiar cycle of problems only continued from there – multiple schools, multiple treatment programs, sleepless nights, and ostracization from many of the parents she thought were friends.Barbara had zero exp
The Fentanyl Overdose That Almost Took My Son: A Short Series, with Brenda Zane
EPISODE DESCRIPTION:Eight years ago a miracle happened. Today’s episode is one from the vault - originally published in 2021, which I’m resharing today in honor of my son’s eight year anniversary of starting a new life.While it’s longer than my usual episodes, this series of story chapters allows you to drop into the ICU with me, among other places, as our family hung onto hope that my son Enzo wo
Support Without Sacrificing: Parenting Strategies for Navigating Your Child's Addiction Recovery
In this snack-sized episode, I share three concepts to help parents navigate the stormy waters of having a teen or young adult child who struggles with substance misuse and mental health issues. I emphasize the importance of self-care and separation from external chaos to maintain emotional stability and effectively support (and not drive crazy) those closest to you. I share three key points: visu
Breaking Your Family's Cycle of Addiction and Substance Misuse, A Family Story
ABOUT THE EPISODE:As Patrina's daughter began her college life, their relationship and communication remained strong. They met weekly, usually grabbing a bite to eat or going to a sporting event while talking about life.Even so, Patrina was starting to notice some things that were a little off: her daughter would map out semester coursework, then end up dropping out. She sent odd texts at ni
What Does Support Look Like When Your Child is in Recovery?, with Cathy Cioth
EPISODE DESCRIPTION:In this deeply personal episode, Cathy and I peel back the layers of what parent support looks like during your child's long-term recovery, sharing some intimate "what if" questions that continue to echo in our minds. Drawing from our own experiences with three kids in recovery, we explore the nuanced emotional landscape of supporting our kids, and ourselves, thr
Learning to Parent Without Controlling Outcomes When Your Child is Struggling with Substances & Mental Health, A Family Story
ABOUT THE EPISODE:As a two-time NCAA champion, Janice’s son was steeped in macho culture. But over time, the identity he developed there became increasingly at odds with the truth of his privately held, and personally rejected homosexuality. And while Janice, self-admitted “cool mom” was perfectly fine with her son’s sexuality, her casual acceptance overlooked the intense inner struggle he was fac
A Subtle & Stealth Strategy That Creates Real Change if Your Child is Misusing Drugs & Alcohol
ABOUT THE EPISODEIn this episode, I delve into the concept of allowing natural consequences as a form of 'invisible intervention' in parenting teens and young adults struggling with substance misuse and mental health issues. I share real-life examples and experiences on the benefits of stepping back to let reality teach essential lessons, emphasizing the need for patience and rock solid
When Your College Kid Self-Medicates Anxiety, A Family Story
ABOUT THE EPISODE:Lynne’s first clue that her son might be using substances was finding a Google search: “marijuana for anxiety.”Outwardly, there was nothing particularly concerning about his behavior - at first. He had always made good grades, even as an elite athlete headed for college play. But inside, the looming life changes were causing a lot of anxiety. The first time he tried marijuana, he
How to Help Your Kid Take a 30 Day Break From Marijuana, with Fred Muench
ABOUT THE EPISODE:Consider this your wakeup call: In 2023, the number of people using marijuana products daily surpassed those who use alcohol daily - even though three times as many people drink. Young people aged 18-25 make up the largest group of those daily users.As president of the Partnership to End Addiction for five years, Fred Muench, Ph.D. provided recovery information and resources abou
Three Powerhouse Tools for Positive Change if Your Child Misuses Drugs & Alcohol
ABOUT THE EPISODE:In this episode, I explore how Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) complements CRAFT and Motivational Interviewing (MI) to form a powerful approach to influencing positive change in struggling teens and young adults. I explain key ACT principles, such as psychological flexibility and mindfulness practices, and offer three practical tools you can experiment with to start payin
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