Posts tagged rehabilitation
The Future of Psychedelics with Dr. Matthew Johnson
The Future of Psychedelics with Dr. Matthew Johnson

In this interview, Don MacPherson is joined by Dr. Matthew Johnson, an expert in psychoactive drug effects, addiction, and risk behavior. They discuss clinical research on psychedelics including psilocybin, ayahuasca, DMT, MDMA, LSD, and more. They also dive into the potential therapeutic applications for psychedelics including treating depression, PTSD, and addiction, and improving individual happiness, creativity, and selflessness.

Matthew W. Johnson, Ph.D., Professor at Johns Hopkins, is an expert in psychoactive drug effects, addiction, and risk behavior. He has worked with psychedelics since 2004. He developed and published the first psychedelic treatment of tobacco addiction in 2014. With colleagues, he conducted and published the largest study of psilocybin in cancer distress in 2016. He is Principal Investigator on upcoming psilocybin studies treating opioid addiction and PTSD, and LSD research treating chronic pain.

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The Futuredon macphersonMedical, Psychedelics, Ethics, experimentation, rehabilitation, recovery, Innovation, opioids, prison reform, addiction, STEM Fields, drug abuse, Cancer, Alzheimers, neuroscience, Incarceration, Creativity, PTSD
The Cleaner, Greener, and Smarter Jail of the Future - An Interview with Ken Ricci
The Cleaner, Greener, and Smarter Jail of the Future - An Interview with Ken Ricci

An established justice architect, Ken Ricci discusses the impact building design has on those involved in the justice system. Nearly two thirds of those held in jails are still innocent in the eyes of our legal system, yet they are detained in dark, dingy, unsafe spaces that deprive them of a healthy lifestyle and access to the outside world. Driven by a passion to make correctional facilities more humane, Ken has dedicated his career to using innovative design to create facilities that are both safer and more comfortable for those inside.  

In this interview, Ken describes the impact of design on the detention experience and provides insight into how we can build facilities that are safer for the guards and the detainees while still providing comfortable, open spaces with natural light. Ken also discusses his perspective on the future of our justice facilities.  

Ken Ricci is a nationally recognized leader in the field of justice planning and design. Ken has devoted his entire career to designing better correctional facilities and he continues to educate others as a lecturer for the American Institute of Architects and the National Institute of Corrections.  

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Innovation, Creativitydon macphersonInnovation, leadership, Creativity, Culture, social change, mental illness, Architecture, Advocacy, drug abuse, Equal Rigths, homelessness, Justice, rehabilitation, justice reform, prison reform, criminal justice
From Active Addiction to CEO - Jim Geckler’s Story of Recovery
From Active Addiction to CEO - Jim Geckler’s Story of Recovery

Since overcoming his own addiction, Jim Geckler has spent his life helping others battle drug and alcohol abuse. There are tens of millions of people in the United States alone who struggle with addiction. They, along with their families and friends, can listen to this interview and walk away with a sense of hope.

Part One - Jim’s Personal Journey Through Recovery

At the age of 13, Jim Geckler drank beer and used marijuana for the first time. From that moment and for 20 more years, he was crippled by drug and alcohol addiction until he hit rock bottom. For Jim, rock bottom was an arrest that proved to be the catalyst to help him overcome his addiction. From there, Jim got a job in a coffee shop and has risen through the recovery community to become CEO of Harmony Foundation in Estes Park, CO. This incredible story will give hope to people struggling with addiction, in recovery, or supporting someone who needs help.

Part Two - Advice for People Struggling with Addiction…The Addicts, Their Friends, and Families

In this part of the interview, Jim discusses:

  • The root causes behind the opioid epidemic in the United States

  • What people struggling with addiction can do to find help

  • How families and friends can provide support to people with a history of alcohol and drug abuse

  • The difference between pain and discomfort and why understanding this is important

  • Technology advances that are assisting in successful recoveries

Organizations, people, and resources mentioned: Dr. Christopher Reveley, Jeff and Debra Jay, Love First, The Way Out, Soberlink, Dr. Mel Pohl, The Intervention Show, The Minnesota Model, Harmony Foundation

“What we don’t always look at is the effect it has on the family, the effect it has on society, on the workplace, on safety in general.”

Jim Geckler, CEO of Harmony Foundation, discussing the ripple effects of addiction.

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Changedon macphersonaddiction, recovery, drug abuse, hope, opioids, Kindness, LGBTQ+, Empathy, Reinvention, rehabilitation, Leadership