Recovery Reform: Navigating Harm Reduction, Recovery, and Drug Policy

Rachel Shuster on Lived Experience, Addictions Nursing, and Changing the Narrative

Rachel Shuster is a registered nurse and a person in recovery from opioid use disorder. As a high-achieving high schooler and college student, she never imagined that she would fall victim to having a substance use disorder. 
Recognizing that secrets die in the light, she is passionate about sharing her story, but is also interested in advocacy, evidence-based practice, harm reduction, and policy change within the addiction treatment field.
Rachel graduated from Waynesburg University in 2012 with her Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN). After graduating, Rachel worked in critical care for over 4 years prior to her switching specialties to addictions nursing following her personal journey through addiction to recovery. Academic papers: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/inm.70024 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33647158/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nurserachelshusterInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/mrsrachelshuster/ Threads: https://www.threads.com/@mrsrachelshuster Twitter / X: https://x.com/mynameisrachel

Kirsten - AKA Sobriety Bestie - on Deconstructing AA

Kirsten - AKA Sobriety Bestie - last had an alcoholic drink in 2009, then spent over a decade in AA. She left AA in 2020 and began doing the work of unlearning and deconstructing AA dogma, told that she was powerless, "diseased" or forever broken. Now she is dedicated to telling the truth about recovery and about how to rebuild after leaving AA.
 
She created her YouTube channel and podcast to be the voice, support, and truth that she felt that she needed in her early recovery and when she was looking to leave AA.
 
Website = https://www.sobrietybestie.com/messages/15-years-of-addiction-recovery-advice-in-41-minutes
YouTube = https://www.youtube.com/sobrietybestie
Apple Podcast = https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sobriety-bestie-podcast/id1750328642
Spotify Podcast = https://open.spotify.com/show/48bBadXm0tgvgbGzr6pDuF
Instagram = https://www.instagram.com/sobrietybestie/

Mary Beth O'Connor on finding alternative recovery to becoming a Judge

Mary Beth O'Connor is the author of the book "From Junkie to Judge: One Woman’s Triumph Over Trauma and Addiction." She began her recovery from methamphetamine use disorder, abuse, trauma, and anxiety in 1994. She never found traditional recovery spaces such as step-based recovery programs helpful to her, and found alternative recovery spaces early on.
Six years into her recovery, Mary Beth attended UC Berkeley School of Law. She worked at a large firm, then litigated class action suits for the federal government. In 2014, she was appointed a federal Administrative Law Judge, a position from which she retired early in 2020.
Mary Beth is now a Director for She Recovers Foundation and for LifeRing Secular Recovery. She also is on the Advisory Council for The Hyer Calling Foundation. She regularly speaks on behalf of these organizations and about multiple paths to recovery..
She develops relationships with other organizations, such as Women for Sobriety and trains attorneys, judges, and medical professionals. Mary Beth regularly writes opinion pieces which have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, Recovery Today, and other publications. Her memoir writings have been published in Memoir Magazine, Awakenings, and Ravens Perch, among others. Website: https://junkietojudge.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mary-beth-o-connor-8aaa4b121/
Bluesky: https://web-cdn.bsky.app/profile/marybethoconnor.bsky.social

Patrick Doyle, LCSW on Family Addiction Coaching and the evolution of SUD treatment

Join us for a conversation with Patrick Doyle, LCSW on a conversation breaking down his own evolution in SUD treatment and his approach in coaching people who use drugs and their families to help improve their lives and address the problems that can be caused by substance use. As a licensed clinical social worker and Family Addiction Coach, Patrick Doyle has dedicated his life to helping families to navigate the challenging journey of addiction recovery. He is an expert guide with the latest approaches for families who refuse to give up on their loved one.   The core of what Patrick can do for you is to teach people how to solve problems caused by substance use, helping to guide people through actionable steps to improve their situation and their relationships. Patrick Doyle’s family coaching works best for someone who wants to learn communication, problem-solving, safe and responsible boundary-setting, and self-care skills to improve their relationship with a loved one struggling with a substance use disorder. Check out his website at: https://familyaddictioncoach.com/ He also hosts a podcast called "Family Addiction Coaching Podcast" which you can check out here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/family-addiction-coaching/id1483344454

Kratom: Breaking Down The Plant from The Extracts

Our co-hosts McCauley Sexton and Dr. Taylor Nichols talk about "Kratom" - both the plant and the extracts such as "7-OH" or 7-Hydroxymitragynine - as well as how the active alkaloids function in your body, including binding to opioid receptors, and how to be mindful about understanding and using unregulated substances.

The Continuum of Care in Substance Use Treatment

Co-hosts McCauley Sexton and Dr. Taylor Nichols break down the "continuum of care" in substance use treatment and discuss their experiences from the patient and provider side of the continuum - from interventions to inpatient hospitalizations, residential treatment to outpatient or clinic based treatment. Please subscribe, leave a rating and review, and tell others about the podcast. We really appreciate all of your support!

Dee-Dee Stout on Harm Reduction Therapy

Harm reduction is more than "needles and Narcan" and Dee-Dee Stout is the perfect person to talk to about the evolution of harm reduction therapy. Through her own training and her experience as a person who used drugs, Dee Dee has been at the forefront of studying and teaching about harm reduction based modalities of treatment.Dee-Dee has a degrees in Psychology, Human Sexuality, and Business Management as well as an interdisciplinary Master’s degree in Health Counseling for Special Populations. For nearly 25 years, Dee-Dee has been a member of the international Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT) and a founding member of the California Association of Harm Reduction Therapists. She is an Adjunct Associate Professor at St. Mary’s College, teaching courses in motivational interviewing, trauma-informed work, and substance use disorders. She regularly conducts trainings in client-centered approaches such as motivational interviewing, Harm Reduction Psychotherapy, and Solution Focused Therapy, and is additionally certified in Emotionally Focused Family Therapy (EFFT), Tapping, and Brainspotting. Check out the recently released second edition of her groundbreaking book “Coming to Harm Reduction Kicking & Screaming: Stories of Radically Loving People Who Use Drugs.”

Jordan Scott on Unlearning and Advocacy

Jordan Scott is a person with lived experience with opioid use disorder and powerful harm reduction advocate and person who continues to uses drugs in her recovery. While initially sought recovery from her opioid use disorder through abstinence based culture, which helped her initially obtain abstinence, she has spent years unpacking and unlearning.
She joined McCauley Sexton and Dr. Taylor Nichols and to discuss her unlearning journey, how she came to harm reduction, and her advocacy work.

Stigma in Healthcare and Recovery

Stigma: a set of negative attitudes, prejudices, or false or unfair beliefs that a society or group of people hold about specific traits or people. The negative attitudes held against people people who use drugs or people with substance use disorders both within healthcare and within recovery spaces cause harm to people who use drugs or are seeking recovery. As a society, we have the power to change that stigma, and we should.

Recovery Reform 2024 Year in Review

McCauley and Dr. Taylor Nichols review their first year of Recovery Reform, what they have learned and unpacked over this past year, and what they are looking for coming up in the next year.
 
Thank you all for listening or watching, for doing the work of unpacking substance use disorders and recovery, and for being a part of the Recovery Reform community. We truly appreciate all of you.
 
If you haven't already, please subscribe and leave a comment. That's the best way for other people to find out about us, and to ensure that you get the newest episodes directly into your feed, and to let other folks know about Recovery Reform as well.Happy 2025!