I am working with a couple who are very concerned about their son’s problematic usage of alcohol and other drugs. They have tried everything they could think of to make their son stop using. Sometimes they have short-term successes, but eventually Charlie starts up again, and too quickly, the problems also start again. They feelRead more
Johann HariAuthor of ‘Chasing The Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs’ It is now one hundred years since drugs were first banned — and all through this long century of waging war on drugs, we have been told a story about addiction by our teachers and by our governments. ThisRead more
By ABC sports editor David Mark, July 9, 2016 Trent Moran can now watch a game of football without his heart racing; without having an anxiety attack. He can sit at a table with friends, without making secretive bets on his mobile phone under the table. The 29-year-old project manager no longer wonders whether suicideRead more
By Louise Merrillees . Updated 4 Apr 2016, 7:56am FOMO, FOBO, and NoMo are among a growing list of acronyms relating to people’s fear of not being able to check their social media feed, and the issue has psychologists scrambling to keep up. “Every time you have a spare moment, people are checking their FacebookRead more
By Brendan Trembath, posted 15 Apr 2016, 1:06pm In a bold attempt to get more younger people into cinemas, one of America’s largest cinema chains is considering allowing customers to use mobile phones during films. Concerned film critics are likening it to the end of civilisation. The idea comes from AMC’s new chief executive, AdamRead more
Joan and Frank come to me to discuss their fifteen year old daughter Mary. She was beginning to experiment with cannabis, and they wanted advice about how to cope and stop her experimentation before it led to something worse. They agreed that they were hoping that she would become an independent, responsible adult. They alsoRead more
By Hayley Gleeson, ABC, 27 Jun 2016, 9:40am The sheen on the world of wellness — of sugar-free this, and gluten-free that — is finally starting to wear off. During a visit to Australia earlier this year, celebrity chef Nigella Lawson gently denounced clean eating and other restrictive diets as unbalanced and unsustainable. “I wantRead more
Mario and I had been working together for a few months because he really wanted to stop his active drug addiction. We had discussed many issues to prepare him for stopping so that he would detox more successfully than in previous attempts. We had analysed all the lessons he had to learn from his pastRead more
ABC Health & Wellbeing By health reporter Olivia Willis, first posted 21 December 2018. It’s becoming something of a sombre routine: a young person dies from a drug overdose at a music festival, calls for pill testing are ignited, calls are summarily rejected, and we wait until another young person takes a gamble with theirRead more
