Key Takeaways Overview: Staying Focused on Sobriety Takes More Than Motivation One of the hardest parts of recovery is not necessarily getting sober. Sometimes, it’s staying engaged in the process long after the initial crisis has passed. In the beginning, there’s often urgency, but eventually real life returns. Work deadlines pile up, stress comes back, […]
Key Takeaways Overview: Why Relapse is One of the Biggest Fears in Early Recovery If you have ever been in recovery, (or supported someone who is) you already know that relapse is one of the biggest fears people carry after treatment. It’s the question that sits quietly in the background: Fear isn’t irrational. Life will […]
Key Takeaways Overview: Addiction Is a Disease – And Understanding That Changes Everything When we sit down with families for the first time, one of the most important conversations we have is this: addiction is a disease, not a choice. That can feel hard to accept at first. Especially when you’ve watched someone you love […]
Pervasive feelings of sadness, hopelessness, or anxiety can result from traumatic experiences—with long-lasting consequences. “The effects of unresolved trauma can be devastating,” wrote psychologist Peter Levine in Healing Trauma. “It can affect our habits and outlook on life, leading to addictions and poor decision-making.” Trauma, depression, anxiety, and other mental health conditions are known to […]
The famous five stages of the grief process were first introduced by Swiss-American psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross in the late 1960s. In order to deal with painful loss—especially the sudden loss of a loved one—people experience the stages of denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and finally, acceptance. Although not all grief involves trauma, and not all trauma […]
Addiction to substances like alcohol, cocaine, heroin, and cannabis used to be described as “chemical dependency,” suggesting that these substances simply hijack the brain promoting further misuse. In recent decades, neuroscience revealed that reality is far more complicated. “We are all chemically dependent,” declared Ward Blanchard, MA, MBA, CCS, LCAS, the founder and CEO of […]
Family involvement is crucial in anyone’s recovery journey. At The Blanchard Institute, we empower families to participate actively in the healing process. By learning and applying specific strategies, families can significantly impact the recovery trajectory of their loved ones. Our family-centered approach is designed to educate, support, and empower families to play a crucial role […]
