Each month, Directors of Family Services Wendy and Gwenn will share two new resources in support of education, connection, and recovery. To read their bios, please see below. Books, podcasts, YouTube videos, articles, peer support groups, and more will be featured, along with a short blurb. Check back each month for updated resource recommendations!
First and foremost! To find a local, independent bookstore, follow this link. If you have a library card (or can get one) Libby is an online platform that allows you to enter a library card number and “take out” books to read or listen to. You can find that here.
October 2024
Holiday Questions About Substance Use Disorder (Video: 48:00)
Zac Clark is a valuable voice in the field of substance use treatment. He has a podcast, The Zac Clark Show, where he discusses various factors related to mental health and addiction. In this episode, he answers listener questions around how to navigate the holiday season in recovery. He offers a lot of perspective, advice based in his own experience, and ideas for how to respond to others around changes in relationships. Warning: he curses! If this offends you, proceed with caution!
– Gwenn
Mental Health During the Holidays (2021) by Daniel H. Gillison (Article)
Link: https://www.nami.org/from-the-ceo/the-most-difficult-time-of-the-year-mental-health-during-the-holidays/
From the CEO of the National Alliance on Mental Illness is a 2 minute read that normalizes stress, fear, and other big feelings during the holiday season. This year, we have Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Boxing Day, and New Years all within about a week! Gillison does a nice job of highlighting how the messaging we receive from movies, books, and media often paint the picture of connection & perfection around this time. However, this is often unrealistic or inaccurate! He notes: “64% of people with mental illness say the holidays make their conditions worse.” The author outlines some practical steps to take to navigate this period of time. In our Tuesday webinars (particularly Relationship Skills In Recovery), we actually go into more detail about these steps as well.
-Gwenn
September 2024
Window of Tolerance (for kids!) (Video: 4:00)
This YouTube video is an incredibly cute and straightforward way of learning about an essential piece of the language of recovery: the window of tolerance. It is light and playful while still being educational and clear. Highly recommend.
– Gwenn
Window of Tolerance (for kids!) CONTINUED (Video: 5:00)
This is a secondary video that follows the above Window of Tolerance educational video with Panda, The River of Life, and the Tale of Two Lands. This video gives a brief review, then goes onto highlight what it looks like to self-regulate. This is a wonderful way to discuss different ways of coping with emotions, physical sensations, and thoughts.
– Gwenn
August 2024
Loving Lions by Michael J. Wilson, Jr. (Book)
This self-published book is mart memoir, part philosophy, and part guide for families have have Substance Use Disorder inside their system. Michael has been in recovery for many years and currently works with families, particularly around interventions. His perspective on how addiction took hold of him, and how it affected his family normalizes the experience of Substance Use Disorder. He urges families to care for themselves as a way of caring for their struggling loved one.
– Wendy
Brené Brown on Blame (Video: 3:25)
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZWf2_2L2v8
This is an under 5 minute video by emotion and vulnerable expert Brené Brown. Blame is a part of the language of fear, stress, and crisis that people often fall into when in times of distress. It is a helpful resource in understanding why we turn to blame, and other directions we can go instead.
– Gwenn
July 2024
Facts About Bipolar Disorder (Article)
Link (click here)
There are many misconceptions about Bipolar Disorder and what it looks like in daily life. This article shares a list of 21 facts about this diagnosis to support understanding and education.
– Gwenn
Oasis Community Center: Nurturing Families Impacted By Substance Use (Community Center for families in Pennsylvania)
https://oasisbethlehem.org/
For families located in/around the Lehigh and Northampton counties in the state of Pennsylvania. Oasis is a one-of-a-kind place to receive education and support in navigating the family experience of substance use disorder. They offer in person and virtual activities and support groups, ranging from helping in the community garden to a grief movement class to Al-Anon groups to yoga classes. If you are in the area, I highly recommend connecting with the wonderful people who run Oasis.
– Gwenn
June 2024
How to Talk to Kids about Substance Use Disorder with Dr. Becky Kennedy (Podcast)
Link: https://deepcast.fm/episode/how-to-talk-to-kids-about-substance-use-disorder
This conversation offers a lot of guidance and insight around “how” we can have conversations with kids about substance use. It offers a bit of clarity around “what” we might say in these conversations. I appreciate the intentional use of language in this episode.
– Gwenn
Chain of Analysis (Skill) (Video)
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6i_vDsXj2VA
This 8 minute video breaks down how behaviors we engage in are a product of a chain of events that lead up to that behavior. If you are looking to critically examine your interactions with your loved one, or even with a problem behavior of your own, give this a view (or 2!). This is a nice accompaniment to the Relationship Skills webinar. The Chain of Analysis is a helpful tool to reduce shame and gain a sense of understanding of our reactions so we can begin to respond in ways we can feel proud of.
– Wendy
May 2024
Adverse Childhood Experiences with Dr. Nadine Burke Harris (Videos) Links: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95ovIJ3dsNk&t=395s (41 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hh1idR1XkC4 (7min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ta5tbuFVkHY (4min)
Dr. Nadine Burke Harris is a trailblazing physician fighting for the health and wellbeing of children. In these videos, she discusses childhood trauma and its impact on the body by explaining the groundbreaking Adverse Childhood Experiences study. Dr. Burke Harris walks through what “gets us here” as well as how we move forward towards regulation. – Gwenn
The Brain Disease of Addiction with Dr. Navjyot Singh Bedi, MD (Video) Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4wCgJ55lw0
This presentation, though long, is very easy to listen to. He speaks about the connection between the brain and addiction in a very clear way. Dr Bedi uses shame free language and does a nice job explaining the automatic reward system as the biological pathway of addiction. I highly recommend this resource for anyone interested in the biology of addiction and brain science. – Wendy
April 2024
Window of Tolerance Worksheet on Mind My Peelings (Website) Link: https://www.mindmypeelings.com/
Peruse this user friendly (great for adolescents too!) website to find worksheets on: Window of Tolerance Awareness, Challenge Worries and Anxious Thoughts, and a Health Triangle Assessment. There is a good review of Happy Chemicals in our brain and explaining Depression and Anxiety in simple, jargon-free language. This site was created during the pandemic, but still holds true for today. – Wendy
SMART Recovery Friends & Family (Peer Support and Skills Group) Link: https://smartrecovery.org/family
SMART Recovery was established in 1994 as a secular alternative to the faith-based programming of Alcoholics Anonymous (people often engage with both!). This organization values mutual support and connection and has helped many many people in their recovery. Similar to what Al-Anon offers in relation to Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), SMART Recovery provides virtual and in person support groups. If you are learning how to be in relationship with someone struggling with substances, this is a resource for you to connect with others. It can be an incredibly helpful space to share your experience and learn from others.
– Gwenn
March 2024
Beyond Addiction by Jeffrey Foote, Carrie Wilkens, Nicole Kosanke, and Stephanie Higgs (Book)
This book offers a truly compassionate walkthrough of how family members can support change. When it comes to substance use and compulsive behaviors in people we care for, the message we hear often sounds like “let them hit rock bottom, there is nothing you can do.” These authors offer a different perspective. The language is strength-based and helpful. “Beyond Addiction” outlines tangible steps you can take to make active change in your life. It is science-based, concrete, and solution-focused, working directly with behavioral change on your part.
– Gwenn
Rooted Recovery Stories with Jason Wahler and Patrick Custer (Video – about an hour)
Link: https://www.promises.com/rooted-recovery-stories/episode-127-jason-wahler/
This engaging conversation touches on Brain health, Family support, Mental Health struggles, Suicide, Nonfamily mentor relationships, Family doing their own recovery, key tools for sobriety utilized over time, Relapse, Codependency with his wife, and so much more. If you’ve been attending the Tuesday night webinars, so much of what we discuss shows up in this hour-long podcast. Tune in!
– Wendy
February 2024
Drama Free by Nedra Glover Tawwab (Book)
This bestselling self-help book looks at how relationships with our families impact our personal mental health. The three sections of the book neatly describe: 1. How to describe your family relationships, including their strengths and their weaknesses. 2. How to proceed in relationship with family or choosing to step away from some relationships. 3. Troubleshoot specific relationship bonds. The writing is punchy and vibrant. Nedra utilizes the reframe as a helpful tool for looking at relationships through different perspectives. The solutions tend to be a bit prescriptive and also a helpful way to start navigating relationships differently.
– Wendy
Boundaries with Brené Brown (Video – 5:40min)
Link: https://www.theworkofthepeople.com/boundaries
Brené Brown has the wonderful ability to put clear language to seemingly complex topics. She is a researcher and storyteller and offers so much to the field of emotions and interpersonal relationships. In this video, she discusses how boundaries support generosity. She outlines the distinction between compassion and empathy. She offers some hard (and important!) truths about what we assume about other people and their actions. She does all of this with humor, clarity, and a bit of cursing. I highly encourage spending some time listening to her talk in various videos you can find through a quick search on YouTube.
– Gwenn