The training I led yesterday on applying Integrative Harm Reduction Psychotherapy to the treatment of adolescents and their families in Skokie, Ill. was an amazing experience of exploration and discovery. Organized by Dr. Eugene Isyanov, Director of Behavioral Services Center, the training brought together 35 clinicians of various backgrounds who exchanged ideas, tackled thorny issues, shared the very personal aspects of doing this work and engaged in skill-building exercises with gusto. Some of the themes we particularly focused on: clinical challenges presented by adolescents at various developmental phases and their families, the paradigm shift in the addictive behaviors field from the old “disease concept” to a psychobiosocial/multiple meanings process model and its implications for treatment, is addiction a substance-related disordered or a trauma-related one?, how problems of self-regulation represent vulnerability to addictive behavior, if substances are used to manage symptoms of trauma in adolescence are they adaptive?, the important of integrating self-management skills-building, exploration of meaning and body-oriented interventions into psychotherapy and addiction treatment, establishing and alliance with the patient around compassionate curiosity (Donnel Stern), engagement skills of empathic listening, collaborative exploration and empathic reflection and the therapeutic expression of the harm reduction principle of “starting where the patient is”, embracing ambivalence as a motivational intervention and support of the patient’s integration of dissociated aspects of self expressed through addictive behavior, urge-surfing and unwrapping the urge as techniques for self-managing behavior change and integrative the dissociated aspects of self contained in the urge, social and personal countertransference as the major obstacles to therapeutic engagement, presumptions about “addict”-”addiction”-patient’s goals as important aspects of countertransference to be alert to, dealing with mandating agencies that have unrealistic expectations about the patient’s progress, the need to help patients deal with these realities in empowered ways, the need for clinicians to see themselves as political/social change agents, and more!

Dr Isyanov and his colleagues contributed much of value to the day as did Dan and Karen Bigg of Chicago Recovery Alliance, one of the first trail-blazing harm reduction organizations in the country based in Chicago.

There is an exciting international community working to learn and integrate these ideas and strategies into their work and settings and the community just became a little larger and richer yesterday. I am honored to have been a part of the process and look forward to next one.

I and the Center for Optimal Living are currently planning a three day intensive training in collaboration with the mental Health and Substance Use Masters Program at the New School in New York City in September. The three days will enable us to cover all the didactic and skills-building exercises of the Seven Psychotherapeutic Tasks of Integrative Harm Reduction Psychotherapy. Stayed tuned for more details.

I hope you can participate.

Best, Andrew Tatarsky

Chicago, April 27, 2012
Integrative Harm Reduction Psychotherapy-Advanced One-Day Training, Application Adolescents and Families

8 CEU Credits will be offered to LPCs, LCPCs, LSWs, LCSWs, CADCs, and CPAIP

CLICK HERE FOR REGISTRATION PDF

The Center for Optimal Living is presenting:
A Free Workshop on Monday February 27th on Creating a Path to Tobacco-Free Living
By Dr. Marlene Reil

Substance misuse is not just a brain disease: The personal and social meanings of substance use and the critical role of integrative harm reduction psychotherapy.

Dr. Andrew Tatarsky has specialised in the field of substance use treatment for individuals, groups, couples, and families for 30 years as a psychologist, supervisor, program director, lecturer and author. He holds a doctorate in clinical psychology from the City of New York and is a candidate in New York University’s post-doctoral program. He is Co-director of Harm Reduction Psychotherapy and Traning Associates, a treatment and training institute.

Click here for Video Source from drugs.ie

Dear Colleagues and Friends,   Please read this heartbreaking and infuriating story about the collateral damage from NYPD’s Marijuana Arrest Crusade in spite of the fact that possession of small amounts of marijuana are a violation in NYC. If you feel so inclined pass it on to your colleagues and friends, post it on your blogs and website, send it to you local politicians and express your outrage that our NYC government is waging war on its citizens; mostly young men of color.

The war against drug users is a war that affects all of us negatively. We must speak up on behalf of our friends, fellow citizens, family members and clients and say, “Enough! Stop this insanity!”. People are traumatized by one arrest let alone the fear and longer term negative consequences. If you feel as I do you have an obligation to take action.

Andrew Tatarsky, PhD
Center for Optimal Living
303 Fifth Avenue, Suite 1403
New York, NY 10016
212-633-8157
www.andrewtatarsky

*******************************************************************************

NYPD Marijuana Crusade Led to Cops Killing a Teenager in the Bronx

Dear Colleagues,

These are compelling times in the field of addiction treatment as older treatments are being reconceptualized and newer treatments are being developed.  It is in this spirit of addiction treatment reform that we have written the attached article, Re-Envisioning Addiction Treatment: A Six-Point Plan.

This paper is an Open-Access article and it is available at: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/07347324.2012.635544

Drawing on the research literature, psychological approaches to treatment, traditional addiction theory, psychotherapy practice, harm reduction philosophy, and our own clinical experiences, this paper outlines what we hope will be a comprehensive framework for an integrative approach to working with those wrestling with drug and alcohol difficulties.

In order to have a greater impact on the field, we have decided to distribute this article to important leaders and experts privately, rather than simply waiting until it is discovered in the journal.  Beyond being read, we are hoping that:

1. Providers will engage with the Six Points – in part or in whole – and implement them in their treatment settings in ways that seem appropriate;
2. Professionals will see ways to further advance these principles and make them more effective;
3. Clinicians, theorists, and researchers will disagree with us and be stimulated to create an alternative framework; we believe that this kind of creative conflict and dialogue will ultimately lead to a higher quality of addiction treatment and care.

If you would care to share your reactions to the paper, we would be glad to hear what you have to say.

Lastly, if this email was experienced as an intrusion or if a duplicate copy was sent, we hope that you will accept our apologies and delete it.

Sincerely,
Scott Kellogg, PhD          scott.kellogg@nyu.edu
Andrew Tatarsky, PhD     atatarsky@aol.com

Scott Kellogg, PhD                                                         Andrew Tatarsky, PhD
Department of Psychology                                           The Center for Optimal Living
Faculty of Arts and Sciences                                        303 Fifth Avenue, Suite 1403
New York University                                                    New York, NY 10016
6 Washington Place, Room 403                                   212-633-8157
New York, NY 10003                                                   www.andrewtatarsky.com

NYU Psychology Department Profile
Re-Envisioning Addiction Treatment: A Six-Point Plan
Transformational Chairwork Training Program
Gradualism and Addiction
Psychology Today Therapist Profile
The Future of Clinical Psychology Conference

To Register for Andrew Tatarsky’s training on Feb 10th and 11th at the New School for Social Research in NYC, please use one of the links to download the registration document:

Training Registration Form – Word Document
Training Registration Form – PDF Document