UConn’s Recovery Program with Sandy Valentine

Earlier this week, I had a great virtual visit with Sandy Valentine, Leader of UConn’s collegiate recovery program which they call URC (UConn Recovery Community). Our Social Media Intern Mary and parent Jacqueline joined me. We “met” at the Cordial Storrs House, a centuries-old building dedicated to all things student recovery. The goal of URC, as Sandy described it, is …

A Berkeley Center for Psychedelic Research?

Recently, the cover of Berkeley’s Alumni Quarterly magazine caught my eye. I love the pop art from the 60’s and 70’s, but why was it being used? Because Berkeley has decided to reestablish–perhaps in tribute to the free spirits of the past like Timothy Leary–a center to encourage and encourage the use of psychedelics to “enhance well-being and deepen spirituality”. …

Self-compassion Pathway a success

In our April 5th Pathway Session on Self-compassion, Karen Walant, Phd, LCSW shared her insights and tips on how we can generate compassion for ourselves. Karen is a fan of both Dr. Kristin Neff and Dr. Tara Brach, who have done significant research in how we can reach our full potential when we show kindness to ourselves. As Karen pointed …

Brené is back on the screen

At one of our recent parent support meetings, Wayne mentioned that he found Brené Brown’s new book Atlas of the Heart powerful. In it, Brené covers ALL the emotions & experiences that can help us connect with others. Just last month, HBO Max launched the 5-episode docuseries, which is also lauded by Wayne. Go here for more info: https://decider.com/2022/03/31/brene-brown-atlas-of-the-heart-hbo-max-review/.

Collegiate Recovery at Sacred Heart

A visit to the student recovery house at Sacred Heart University reminded us of the opportunities now available for young adults to start/finish college in recovery. James Cafran, SHU’s Collegiate Recovery Program Coordinator, gave our Intern Mary Kowal-Foley and me a house tour. James then described the background into SHU’s foray in collegiate recovery. First, there were already collegiate recovery …

CRAFT Pathway Summary

On Wednesday, March 16, Erica Lubetkin, LMHC described CRAFT (Community Reinforcement and Family Training) and how parents can benefit. CRAFT is a skill set for those who support a loved one struggling with substance use. There are 4 major goals with CRAFT: 1) decrease the harmful substance use: 2) engage the user into treatment; 3) increase the family member’s own …

Introducing our 2022 Social Media Intern

Mary Kowal-Foley, a senior at Sacred Heart University majoring in Sociology, has joined our team as our 2022 Social Media Intern. This is a great opportunity for a “win-win” outcome. NCPSG will benefit with increased publicity and effectiveness of our communications,, and Mary gets hands-on training in all aspects of our digital tools and strategies. She will be responsible for …

Best Practices Session with Conversation.Zone

In recent weeks, a group of volunteer advisors have brainstormed and collaborated to help us increase our impact in the community. While our dual mission of parent support and community education remains the same, our goal is to increase the quality of everything we do. Thus, we have looked at increasing our impact in all our areas: 1) parent support …

Pathway on Neurofeedback a Success

Dr. Tom Woodman, a neurofeedback therapy practitioner based in Norwalk, did a great job presenting on neurofeedback at our Zoom Pathway Session on January 19, 2022. Dr. Tom described what neurofeedback is and how the brainwave training typically works. He then presented significant clinical evidence on how neurofeedback enhances recovery. In his opinion, neurofeedback can be an important recovery pathway, …

The CRAFT Approach with Erica Lubetkin, LMHC

I listened to an amazing podcast about how to be a CRAFTY parent. You can find the podcast here, in which Brenda Zane of Hopestream interviews Erica Lubetkin of NYC, a certified CRAFT therapist. CRAFT stands for Community Reinforcement Approach to Family Training, and was originated at the University of New Mexico by Robert Meyers, Ph.D. The CRAFT approach is …