Parts Work, Neuroplasticity, and Compassion in Recovery — Marc Lewis & Andrew Tatarsky

Dr Andrew Tatarsky and Professor Marc Lewis — two individuals who have been reshaping the global conversation around addiction towards a more compassionate and scientific view.

Marc is a bestselling author, Developmental Psychologist, and the developer of The Learning Model of Addiction. Andrew is a Clinical Psychologist and the creator of Integrative Harm Reduction Psychotherapy.

In this conversation, we explore:

— The power of parts work, compassion, and harm reduction for healing addiction

— The limitations of the disease model and why it may be causing more harm than the drugs themselves

— Marc and Andrew’s views on the future of addiction treatment

And more.

You can learn more about Marc’s work at: https://memoirsofanaddictedbrain.com and Andrew’s at https://www.andrewtatarsky.com.

As a heads up, Marc and Andrew will be teaching the foundational modules on our upcoming Holistic Recovery Course. If you’re interested in learning more about this, make sure to sign up for our email list at https://theweekenduniversity.com/

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Andrew Tatarsky is an internationally recognized leader in the treatment of problematic substance use and other potentially risky behaviors. He has specialized in the field of substance use treatment for 35 years working as a counselor, psychologist, program director, trainer, advocate and author. He has devoted his career to developing a comprehensive psychobiosocial understanding of the broad spectrum of substance use problems and an integrative harm reduction psychotherapy approach to treating this spectrum. This treatment is described in his book, Harm Reduction Psychotherapy: A New Treatment for Drug and Alcohol Problems, and several professional papers that extend the approach. The book has been released in paperback and Kindle, published in Poland by the Polish Office of Drug Prevention and has been translated into Spanish and is available in a free pdf.

Dr. Tatarsky is the Director of Clinical Programming at Freedom Institute in NYC. He is also the Founder and Director of the Center for Optimal Living in NYC, a treatment and professional training center based on Integrative Harm Reduction Therapy (IHRP) for the spectrum of substance misuse and other high-risk behaviors. He earned his doctorate in clinical psychology from the City University of New York and is a graduate of New York University’s Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis. He is a member of the medical and clinical advisory panels to the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services of New York State. Dr. Tatarsky is a founding member and twice past-president of the Division on Addiction of New York State Psychological Association.

Prof Marc Lewis, PhD is a neuroscientist, professor, bestselling author, and one of the world’s leading experts on the neuroscience of addiction. In his academic work, he has authored or co-authored more than fifty journal articles, and for many years was a professor of developmental psychology at the University of Toronto and then Radboud University (Netherlands) before retiring.

For the last decade, he has focused on making his work more accessible to a wider audience through books for lay readers, pop science articles, public talks, and interviews. He is the author of two bestselling books on addiction: “Memoirs of an Addicted Brain” and “The Biology of Desire”, a book which Dr Gabor Mate argues “effectively refutes the disease model of addiction.” He is currently practicing psychotherapy as a clinical psychologist in Toronto, working with clients with addictive problems and other difficulties.

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Timestamps:

00:00 - Intro
01:12 - Innovative Approaches to Addiction
05:09 - Compassionate Approaches to Addiction
10:44 - Understanding Addiction as a Meaningful Experience
18:22 - Harm Reduction and Addiction
28:21 - The Flaws of the Disease Model
37:38 - Learning, Habit, and the Path to Recovery
47:55 - Future Visions in Addiction Treatment
54:26 - Marc and Andrew’s Book and Resources

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Interview Links:

— Marc's website - https://memoirsofanaddictedbrain.com

— Andrew's website - https://www.andrewtatarsky.com