California Sober

California Sober

There are some concepts in the field of addiction and recovery that have become outdated with time.  For example, the consensus decades ago was that the only true path to recovery from addiction were 12-Step fellowships (like Alcoholics Anonymous).  We now know that...
Parents Can Have An Impact

Parents Can Have An Impact

Generally, we publish blogs that focus on parents with adult children that are suffering from addiction. This month’s article focuses on teens and how substance abuse gets started and what you can do.  We appreciated the message and the resource, and we hope it will...

Families and Addiction, a podcast

Episode 31: Families and Addiction with Dr. Brian Licuanan by Aaron Weiner, PhD https://palgroup.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/episode-31-family-s-impact-on-addiction-and-recovery-with-dr-brian-licuanan.mp3     Dr. Aaron Weiner, licensed clinical...
Protecting our behaviors with excuses keeps us stuck

Protecting our behaviors with excuses keeps us stuck

Have you ever become aware of an unpleasant part of yourself that you didn’t want to see? Becoming self-aware is a foundational principle and an inevitable part of the process of change.  We must learn to step back and observe ourselves from a distance, so we can...
The Unknown

The Unknown

What do we do when we feel powerless towards other people, places, and things? What do we do when the unknown takes over our thoughts? Let’s first talk about what powerlessness is.  It is a feeling or idea that we lack control of what is happening in our life.  When...
Are you loving someone to death?

Are you loving someone to death?

 As a professional who has been working in the field of addiction and mental illness for many years, I have seen the worst. I have stood in front of high-risk relapse populations working tirelessly to end this horrific epidemic that still remains largely hidden. I...