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Over the years, people have asked me where many of my ideas about mental health, addiction, recovery, human services, and institutional systems actually come from. The answer is definitely NOT social media. They came from decades working inside these systems — but also from reading researchers, psychologists, sociologists, philosophers, trauma experts, recovery thinkers, anthropologists, cult researchers, and people willing to ask uncomfortable questions about power, identity

After writing my last post about how nursing homes and the mental health system can start to feel emotionally similar, a question hit me: Why didn’t I get stuck there? Because honestly? By all odds, I probably should have. I’ve spent over 30 years inside mental health and addiction systems. I’ve worked in shelters, clinics, housing programs, crisis services, recovery programs, and peer systems. I’ve seen 100s of people slowly disappear into diagnoses. Into routines. Into stab

Most therapists are not lying to you. But there are things they can’t say out loud. Not because they don’t care—but because of the system they work inside. And once you understand those limits, the entire experience of “treatment” starts to look very different. 1. They Can’t Question the System Too Much If you walk into therapy, one thing is almost guaranteed: You will be understood through a diagnosis. Not because your therapist personally believes you are “disordered” in a

If you live in New York—especially in places like Buffalo—you’ve probably been told the mental health system exists to help people recover. That’s the story. But the reality is more complicated. Because behind every service, every diagnosis, every appointment… there’s a funding structure. And that structure quietly shapes everything. The System Doesn’t Run on Recovery — It Runs on Billing In New York, most mental health services are funded through: Medicaid (the biggest playe

There’s this ridiculous, antiquated, and dangerous idea everywhere in the recovery system: Fix your past. Work through your trauma. Get stable. Get healthy. THEN, you’ll stop drinking. Then you’ll stop using. Then you can start building your life. Sounds right. Logical. It isn’t. There is NO evidence whatsoever that shows that even if you: go to therapy work through your past get in shape build support and connection “do everything right.” That these things will help you stop

There’s a narrative out there that nothing in the mental health system works. And honestly… a lot of it doesn’t - and I write and speak about that side of things a lot. But every once in a while, something cuts through the noise. Something that actually helps people. Something that doesn’t just check boxes or push paperwork or keep people stuck in cycles of “treatment.” ACT teams are one of those things. What ACT Actually Is ACT stands for Assertive Community Treatment . But

MENTAL HEALTH MYTH: “You have a chemical imbalance that needs to be corrected.” WHY THIS ONE IS SO DAMAGING: There is ZERO scientific evidence proving that ANY mental health condition is caused by a simple serotonin deficiency or chemicals in the brain being "off." Yet millions are told this as fact Once someone believes this, everything changes: Their distress becomes a defect Their identity becomes “disordered.” Their solution becomes external (medication, system dependenc

For decades, I’ve lived inside the mental health system. Not just as a professional. Not just as an observer. But as someone who has had to navigate it from the inside - where the policies, labels, and decisions become personal. Over the past nine years, I worked toward a Doctor of Education in Health Services Administration. On paper, that’s the milestone. But what it really represents is something else: Time spent studying the system from both sides - living it, working in

Enough with the polite language! The modern mental health system is not failing by accident. It is doing exactly what it was built to do : move massive amounts of psychiatric drugs into human bodies while calling it care. This isn’t about “a few bad actor s. " It ’s abo ut a business model that requires people to stay sick, dependent, and compliant . And if that sentence makes anyone uncomfortable— good. It should. This Is Not a Medical Model. It’s a Sales Model. Let’s start

Trauma is not “just in your head.” It lives in your body, nervous system, and subconscious. It changes your stress responses, your sense of safety, and even how you view yourself. But healing isn’t a mystery. Here are five scientifically proven, evidence-based trauma recovery tools —and how you can begin using each one right now. 1. Somatic Therapy: Releasing Trauma From the Body Trauma lives in the body—and that's where healing begins. Why it works: Trauma often gets "stored

The modern addiction recovery system—rehabs, 12-step programs, court-mandated treatment—isn't saving lives, it's destroying them. Instead of empowering people to change, it traps them in a lifelong identity of weakness and disease. And it does this all while claiming to be their only hope. The Freedom Model of Addiction - backed by dozens of REAL research studies - flips that narrative on its head. It argues that addiction is not a disease. It's not something you "recover" fr

"Only in the addiction field has it been considered a great advance to define yourself, permanently, by your most damaging trait, by the lowest point in your life, by your trauma."– Stanton Peele And somehow, we’re supposed to call this progress? Let’s be honest: in what other area of life do we ask people to wear their pain like a name tag forever? No one tells a rape survivor to introduce themselves by their trauma. No one tells someone who beat cancer that they’ll always b

We all have a "shadow"—the desires, feelings, and memories we'd rather cram in a back closet than admit to ourselves. First described by Carl Jung, the shadow is not "bad"; it's just the unloved aspect of you. If you don't address it, it will run your life from behind the scenes (think unexplained anger, jealousy, or self-sabotage). I know this has been something we here at ETS have all dealt with! But when you approach it with curiosity, you regain energy, creativity, and co

When we talk about homelessness, addiction, or mental illness, the conversation often centers around what we can see—substance use, lack of housing, or behavioral symptoms. But beneath those surface-level struggles lies a deeper, less visible issue that often fuels and sustains them: disconnection. Disconnection as the Root, Not the Side Effect Many people assume that disconnection happens because someone is homeless, addicted, or mentally ill. But growing research and lived

For decades, addiction has been widely viewed as a chronic, relapsing brain disease—a model promoted by institutions like the National Institute on Drug Abuse and 12-step programs. However, the Freedom Model of Addiction , developed by Slate, Scheeren, and Dunbar (2017), offers a radically different view. It asserts that addiction is not a disease but a habit —a repeated, voluntary behavior based on perceived benefits. Like nail biting or overeating, substance use becomes hab

I know this is going to piss some people off but, oh well, let's talk about "addiction", or more accurately, what we’ve been told addiction is. For decades, society has been sold a narrative: addiction is a disease. It's something that happens to you, something that takes over your brain, something you’re powerless against unless you enter a treatment program, attend support groups, or get prescribed medication. But what if that narrative is completely wrong? What if addic