In this WBUR podcast with On Point US researcher and MSTH ally, Alicia Ventura (Boston Medical Centre), discusses the important role of families in supporting a loved one who is using substances and how we need to focus love and healthy boundaries, rather than “tough love” and hitting “rock bottom”.

Love and healthy boundaries is the message we give in our Holding Hope peer support groups. Have a listen to this conversation with Alicia, who discusses universal principles that we can all apply.

"The old school model of addiction treatment has really focused on this model of moral failing ... and we know that that’s not correct. And what that’s created is a whole lot of stigma around a treatable chronic health condition," says Alicia Ventura.

Furthermore Alicia states: “Again, the way that we define a substance use disorder, or rather the way that it's diagnosed, is not looking at the amount of a particular substance that someone is using, but rather the number of negative consequences that it's having on their life. So this idea that somehow increasing negative consequences is going to get someone to cease their drug use or alcohol use, knowing that the very definition of this disorder is continued use despite these negative consequences. It just doesn't make any sense.”

Have a listen and let us know what you think. You can comment on our public Facebook page or on X (formerly Twitter).

Note: We are sharing this WBUR podcast here to post to our social media platforms and make it widely available, as the Facebook parent company Meta blogs all direct media posts.