The Center For Optimal Living

10/01/2024

It’s Sober October — What Are You Thinking?

Sober October was started a decade ago as a fundraising event and has caught on as an annual opportunity to re-set habits and explore abstinence or reduced use of alcohol. In a recent article, featured on the Moderation Management Public Page Blog, Freedom Institute’s Director of Clinical Programming, Andrew Tatarsky, PhD, discusses the benefits of a month-long reset and how to approach the challenge for success.

Moderation Management — a non-profit dedicated to reducing the harm caused by the misuse of alcohol — calls the month, More Sober October, a time during which they support people looking to explore their drinking habits through mindful drinking and responsible alcohol choices.

Below is an excerpt from How to Succeed With More Sober October.

Freedom Institute’s Director of Clinical Programming, Andrew Tatarsky, PhD, discusses the benefits of Sober October, a month-long reset and how to approach the challenge for success. 

09/13/2024

Recent Interview with me by Heather Evans

Integrative Harm Reduction Psychotherapy & the Treatment of Addictive, Compulsive, and Risky Behavior: A Conversation with Andrew Tatarsky, PhD

"With statistics showing a yearly increase of US citizens who are addicted to substances, it makes you question whether the treatment for those struggling with compulsive behavior is working. Historically, addiction treatment has been based on a disease model, idolizing abstinence as the only acceptable goal.

I spoke with Andrew Tatarsky, PhD, who thinks differently. As the developer of Integrative Harm Reduction Psychotherapy (IHRP), he believes treatment for compulsive behaviors should be rehumanized. The goal should be to work collaboratively with clients on their positive change journeys to be the healthiest versions of themselves. Surprisingly, this doesn’t necessarily mean abstinence.

How does that work, you might say? Andrew goes through the what, why, and how of IHRP in our enlightening conversation.

When you search ‘addiction’ online, you are overwhelmed with the many different definitions that come up. Some sources say that ‘addiction’ is ‘a treatable, chronic medical disease’ whereas others …

09/03/2024

Breaking Down the Harmful Myth of the "Strong Black Woman" and Addiction - Virtual Event

Thursday, September 12, 2024, 5:30 PM 7:00 PM

In the kaleidoscopic tapestry of American culture, the myth of the "strong Black woman" emerges as both a beacon and a burden, intricately woven by Hollywood's lens. Films and television have long perpetuated an image of resilience synonymous with stoic endurance. Characters embodying this archetype often endure addiction battles, domestic violence turmoil, and mental health struggles without faltering. This portrayal is usually encapsulated within resilient characters who triumph over adversity with unyielding grace and inadvertently reinforces the "black woman schema," suggesting that strength is an inherent trait rather than a response to systemic burdens. As America now witnesses its first Black woman in the presidential race, a transformative wave ripples through generations of Black girls who once felt confined to narrow narratives dictated by outdated schemas.

Join Dr. Andrew Tatarsky, Dr. Evangelist Izetta Briggs-bolling, and Dr. Jeanette Aycock as they delve beneath this polished facade and start a much-needed conversation introducing harm reduction strategies tailored specifically for those grappling with societal pressures and personal demons—offering suggested pathways toward healing rather than mere survival.

Join Dr. Andrew Tatartasy, Dr. Izetta Briggs-Bolling, and Dr.Jeanette Aycock as they delve beneath this polished facade and start a much-needed conversation introducing harm reduction strategies tailored specifically for those grappling with societal pressures and personal demons—offering suggeste...

08/27/2024

What is Harm Reduction-Informed Substance Use Treatment?

Many are hearing about harm reduction-informed substance use/addiction treatment but don't really know what it is.

I wrote a piece for the Psychotherapy Networker that discusses my approach to this. In it I really tried to bring the reader into the experience of this work for client and clinician.

The Challenge of Harm Reduction: Changing Attitudes Toward Addiction Treatment

I'd love you to take a look and let me know what you think!

Until they’ve done the challenging and sometimes painful work in therapy, many people can’t even begin to imagine curtailing their drug use. For them, therapy is a before, not an after; and their engagement in therapy, rather than their abstinence, is the primary goal of treatment.

08/19/2024

April 27-30, 2025 Harm Reduction International Conference in Bogota!

Harm reduction International's biennial conference is happening next April in Bogota and gives us an opportunity to have a strong presence at the conference, update the international community on our work and meet and learn from one another.

I am planning to be at the conference and wonder if any of you might attend also.

I think it would be great if we did a number of activities focused on harm reduction therapy/treatment, harm reduction-informed addiction treatment.

I have felt that this has been underrepresented in previous harm reduction conferences and this could be where treatment people have a big presence.

We might do individual proposals and propose a track focused on this.

Please let the group know of your interest and if you'd like to do something on your work in harm reduction addiction treatment.

I'd love to hear any ideas and suggestions.

I'll be meeting with the conference organizers in a few weeks and would like to be able to present some proposals.

Warmly, Andrew Tatarsky

We convene the Harm Reduction International Conference in a different city every two years. It attracts over 1,000 international delegates and has been held in almost every region of the world.

08/11/2024

Vancouver Visit!

Dear harm reduction family, I'll be in Vancouver, CA August 20-24. I'd love to meet with some local harm reductionists, visit sites and could give a talk or workshop on my work, Integrative Harm Reduction Psychotherapy (IHRP), and exchange ideas and experiences.

Will anyone be around and up for a get together?

Andrew

08/09/2024

This is the paper that I laid it out. I'd love to hear your thoughts, feelings, questions, concerns, critiques... Let's dialogue. Let's play, as Ross Ellenhorn invites us to do...

Integrative harm reduction psychotherapy (IHRP) is Tatarsky's application of harm reduction principles to therapy. The abandonment of the abstinence requirement enables the therapy to begin with whatever brings the patient for help. The form, focus, and timing of interventions emerges out of the the...

08/09/2024

This is a discussion of the IHRP Essentials Training we did with Ellenhorn in February. We are giving this training next at Silver Hill Hospital in September 19-21. Find out about it at Freedominstitute.org at the Events tab

08/07/2024

07/27/2024

The Holistic Recovery Course

An Evidence-Based, Multidisciplinary Framework for Rehumanising, Assessing, and Healing Addiction at its Core.

Be at the forefront of the field in rehumanising addiction and its treatment methods with this revolutionary framework.

In this 3-part course, seven world-leading pioneers, INCLUDING ME, will equip you with the latest cutting-edge models, frameworks, and strategies for understanding, assessing, and treating addiction.

Explore the neurobiology, root causes, and the latest groundbreaking modalities for healing, including: Internal Family Systems, Polyvagal Theory, Harm Reduction, Schema Therapy, Social & Group Interventions, Meaning-Making, and the Learning Model.

Over the course of seven weeks, we’ll build a new model of treatment — “The Flexible Recovery Process”. A multidimensional framework which accounts for the whole person in recovery; mind, body, spirit, and social context.

Learn how to reduce the harmful effects of your clients’ addictive behaviours (immediately), while simultaneously addressing the root causes.

This number doesn’t include the 35 million the World Health Organisation estimates to be currently suffering with a substance use disorder.

07/23/2024

Parts Work, Neuroplasticity, and Compassion in Recovery — Mark Lewis & Andrew Tatarsky

Watch this facinating podcast interview with Dr. Marc Lewis and me by Niall McKeever from The Weekend University

"In this interview, I’m joined by Dr Andrew Tatarsky and Professor Marc Lewis — two individuals who have been reshaping the global conversation around addiction towards a more compassionate and scientific view.

Marc is a bestselling author, Developmental Psychologist, and the developer of The Learning Model of Addiction. Andrew is a Clinical Psychologist and the creator of Integrative Harm Reduction Psychotherapy.

In this conversation, we explore:

— The power of parts work, compassion, and harm reduction for healing addiction

— The limitations of the disease model and why it may be causing more harm than the drugs themselves

— Marc and Andrew’s views on the future of addiction treatment

In this interview, I’m joined by Dr Andrew Tatarsky and Professor Marc Lewis — two individuals who have been reshaping the global conversation around addicti...

07/20/2024

Bob Newhart will be missed...

One or the greatest short term therapists of all time!

For more information visit: https://mindsetrevolution.org. This simple sketch is both funny and informative. My coaching is a little more nuanced that this, ...