Jennifer A. Naspinski, MS, LPC
Adult Children of Alcoholics/Dysfunctional Families are those that grew up in the disease of alcoholism and/or addiction. This definition has expanded and increased in its scope as the field has gained more understanding. Janet Woititz's book "Adult Children of Alcoholics" characterized ACOA as the following: "The same things hold true whether you're five or fifty;... Continue Reading →
We all start from the same point when it comes to substance use. One of the developmental tasks of adolescence (ages 13-21) according to Erikson is identity vs confusion. This is the time when young people begin to try on different personas and explore who they are and who they want to be. Peers have... Continue Reading →
I have spent a lot of time in group therapy discussing this topic with my clients. Writing the sentence "addiction is a choice" on the board is an example of an intervention to start group. It evokes strong feelings in the room. There is a lot to unpack about the word addiction. The first place... Continue Reading →
A frequent topic that arises in recovery is that of shame. It is often met with dread when brought up in the group setting, yet the need to unburden from it is palpable. The most frequent question I have gotten is "How do I get rid of shame?" First, I make sure that people understand... Continue Reading →
The last blog post was about defining addiction and alcoholism as a family disease. The topic of this post will discuss the effects of living with the disease. AA has described the disease of alcoholism as cunning, baffling and powerful. Addiction affects those exposed physically, mentally and emotionally. Some sources will add spiritually to the... Continue Reading →
The American Society of Addiction Medicine defines addiction as the following: "Addiction is a primary, chronic disease of brain reward, motivation, memory and related circuitry. Dysfunction in these circuits leads to characteristic biological, psychological, social and spiritual manifestations. This is reflected in an individual pathologically pursuing reward and/or relief by substance use and other behaviors.... Continue Reading →
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Essential Resources
What you can do to take care of yourself.
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Authentic Path Psychotherapy 