News & Views
Dear Dr. T: ‘I’m ready to go home’
Dear Dr. T: My mom and I just can’t seem to get along. Whenever I’m home, we always get into arguments around the stupidest stuff. Neither of us will let up, so I usually end up going over to a friend’s house for the night. I’ve been living at one friend’s...
How parents can help their adolescents not use drugs
The most important thing parents can do for their adolescent with a substance problem is to maintain a positive, warm and loving relationship with him or her because this is the most important tool parents have to shape their child's values and future directions. This...
Parents don’t have to accept youth substance use
These are common questions: If so many teens are using addictive substances such as alcohol, tobacco and marijuana, what's the big deal? Isn't it normal to experiment like this? After all, teens will be teens -- and a lot of parents had their own flings with smokes...
American psychiatric society review: Clearing the Haze ‘commendable effort’
The May 2017 edition of the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry includes a review of our book, "Clearing the Haze: Helping Families Face Teen Addiction." Dr. Christopher Hammond calls it "parent-friendly" and writes: "Thurstone and Tatum...
Dear Dr. T: ‘I’m late to graduate’
Dear Dr. T: I’ve been hiding a secret from all of my friends. I’m a senior, and I’m not graduating from high school this year. It’s a long story, but I didn’t pass a lot of my classes. I’m not sure how to tell my friends, and I feel like graduation is a ticking time...
May is Mental Health Month. Get involved!
It's Mental Health Month. Since 1949, organizations across the United States have promoted mental health awareness in May by reaching millions of people through health screenings, local events and media. There are a lot of ways you can make a big impact by spending...
A Completer’s Analysis of an Integrated Psychiatric/ Substance Treatment for Adolescents and Young Adults
I first announced the use of Encompass to deliver treatment for Substance Use Disorder in 2013. Four years later, we're seeing some results. Study Title: A Completer’s Analysis of an Integrated Psychiatric/ Substance Treatment for Adolescents and Young Adults...
World drug policy experts to UN: Prevention first
The United Nations' 60th Session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs today wrapped up a week of meetings in Vienna, Austria, where world drug policy experts advocated for stronger efforts to prevent harms associated with drug use. Among them was Pubudu Sumanasekara,...
National Academies of Science report finds marijuana harms, calls for more research
After a review of more than 10,000 peer-reviewed academic articles, The National Academies of Science (NAS) has concluded that marijuana use is related to several health problems, including: - mental health problems, such as suicidal thought, psychosis and social...
Colorado marijuana use climbs steadily since legalization
Two federal surveys tracking drug use rates show marijuana use continues to rise in Colorado. Monitoring the Future First, let's look at the national Monitoring the Future study conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan for the National Institute on Drug...
Read the book
Clearing the Haze is a guide designed to help parents determine whether their child may have a substance problem and, if so, how to begin to address it. This book includes the voices and insight of experts in substance abuse counseling, young people in recovery, and parents who have lived the nightmare of adolescent addiction.