The Dr Suzette Glasner Podcast

Dr. Suzette Glasner
  • 5.0 (3)
  • Medicine
  • Updated Weekly

Dr. Glasner is a clinical psychologist, addiction scientist, award-winning author, and Associate Professor of Psychiatry at UCLA in the David Geffen School of Medicine. The Dr. Suzette Glasner podcast discusses the latest advances in addiction science, trends in alcohol and other substance use, misuse, and addiction across the lifespan, and how to use the science underlying addictive behaviors and the effects of substance use on the brain to shape our health behaviors and every day lives. drglasner.substack.com

  1. 9h ago

    Ep. 67: Perez Hilton's Mental Health Crisis: What We Get Wrong About Self-Harm

    After Perez Hilton was hospitalized following a widely reported mental health crisis involving self-harm on a livestream, many people asked the same question: Why would someone do this—especially in front of an audience? In this episode, clinical psychologist Dr. Suzette Glasner explains what the science reveals about self-harm: the functions it can serve, how it differs from a suicide attempt, and what loved ones should—and shouldn’t—do. You’ll learn: • Why people self-harm• The clinical difference between self-harm and suicidal behavior• The risk factors associated with self-injury• How exposure to self-harm content on social media can affect vulnerable viewers• How to respond with compassion while taking the situation seriously CHAPTERS 0:00 Perez Hilton’s mental health crisis2:13 How common is self-harm?3:48 What self-harm does for a person5:31 Self-harm vs. a suicide attempt7:37 What puts someone at risk11:20 When self-harm becomes public13:51 What to do—and how to help15:37 Key takeaways You can view the full episode here: STAY CONNECTED 🔔 Subscribe for weekly episodes on the psychology and neuroscience of mental health, addiction, and behavior. 📩 Send your questions or topic requests: AskDrGlasner@gmail.com 🎧 Listen to more episodes → The Dr. Suzette Glasner Podcast: www.youtube.com/@drglasner 🧩 Learn more about Dr. Glasner: https://drglasner.com CONTENT NOTE This episode discusses self-harm and suicide without including graphic details or descriptions of methods. RESOURCES For immediate crisis support in the United States: • Call or text 988: https://988lifeline.org • Text HOME to 741741 to reach Crisis Text Line: https://www.crisistextline.org • If there is immediate danger, call emergency services. Self-harm-specific resources: • Self-injury Outreach & Support (SiOS) offers coping and recovery resources for people who self-injure and those supporting them: https://www.sioutreach.org • S.A.F.E. Alternatives provides specialized information and treatment for self-injury: https://selfinjury.com These resources do not replace care from a qualified medical or mental health professional. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit drglasner.substack.com

    Ep. 67: Perez Hilton's Mental Health Crisis: What We Get Wrong About Self-Harm

  2. Aug 8

    Ep. 66: Kathryn Burgum: 24 Years Sober to White House Advisor

    Dr. Suzette Glasner sits down with Kathryn Burgum, White House Senior Advisor for Addiction Recovery and Co-Chair of the Great American Recovery Initiative, at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C. Kathryn has been sober for 24 years. In this conversation, she shares her personal journey through alcohol addiction, undiagnosed depression, and years of relapse — and the moment that asking for help changed everything. She and Dr. Glasner talk about the role faith played in her recovery, why addiction should be treated as a chronic disease rather than a moral failing, the shame and stigma that keep people from seeking help, the case for peer recovery support specialists, and what she hopes the Great American Recovery Initiative will change for the next generation. You can watch the full episode here: Chapters:2:01 Kathryn Burgum’s Story: The Moment Everything Changed After Two Decades10:41 Faith, Gratitude, and the Research on Spirituality13:55 Depression, Relapse, and Staying Vigilant in Recovery21:26 The Case for Peer Recovery Support Specialists25:32 A White House With Personal Ties to Addiction — and the Birth of the Initiative35:49 Fixing a Fragmented, Stigmatized Treatment System45:18 What Success Looks Like, and the Cost of Inaction59:20 Turning Lived Experience Into Policy — and Her Message to Anyone Still Struggling If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, call or text 988 for immediate support. To find treatment for addiction in the United States, visit FindTreatment.gov. 🔔 Follow/subscribe wherever you listen for weekly episodes on the psychology and neuroscience of mental health, addiction, and behavior. 📩 Send your questions or topic requests: AskDrGlasner@gmail.com 🧩 Learn more about Dr. Glasner: https://drglasner.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit drglasner.substack.com

    Ep. 66: Kathryn Burgum: 24 Years Sober to White House Advisor

  3. Jul 31

    Kratom. A Twin's Death. Told by Twin Filmmakers.

    After several episodes deep in the policy side of the kratom story — the DEA’s action on 7-OH, the regulatory fight, and the science, this week, we delve into a heartbreaking true story told by documentarians - in their forthcoming film. Jason and Jamie Neese are twin brothers, and Emmy-nominated producers on Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy. Their new documentary, “Kratom: Side Effects May Include,” just had its world premiere at Dances With Films in New York and has since screened in Los Angeles. But before any of that, it started with a phone call and a story they couldn’t shake: Patti Wheeler had lost one of her twin sons to kratom. He died in his twin brother’s arms. As twins themselves, that detail hit Jason and Jamie differently than it might hit anyone else — and it’s a big part of why this conversation goes places most film-promotion interviews don’t. We talk about what it was like directing this project together as brothers, what surprised them most during production, and where they’ve landed on the policy fight now splitting the kratom industry, including their response to American Kratom Association figure Mac Haddow’s public claims about Patti’s motives. In this episode:– Growing up as twins, and directing a film together as adults– How making the film challenged their assumptions about addiction and stigma– Patti Wheeler’s story, and what it meant to hear it as twins themselves– Their take on kratom and concentrated 7-OH after making the film– The pushback from the kratom industry, and how they’ve responded– What they hope the film actually changes Watch or listen to the full conversation below: If you want to go deeper: watch the trailer for “Kratom: Side Effects May Include,” here: https://kratomsideeffectsmayinclude.com Visit Patti Wheeler’s nonprofit, A Beautiful Life Stolen: https://abeautifullifestolen.com If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction: SAMHSA National Helpline, 1-800-662-4357. If this one lands for you, forward it to someone who’d want to hear it. 🔔 Follow/subscribe wherever you listen for weekly episodes on the psychology and neuroscience of mental health, addiction, and behavior. 📩 Send your questions or topic requests: AskDrGlasner@gmail.com 🧩 Learn more about Dr. Glasner: https://drglasner.com #Kratom #KratomAwareness #7OH #AddictionScience #OpioidCrisis This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit drglasner.substack.com

    Kratom. A Twin's Death. Told by Twin Filmmakers.

  4. Jul 24

    Ep. 64: A Mother's Fight After Losing Her Son to Kratom — Patti Wheeler

    Ep. 64: A Mother’s Fight After Losing Her Son to Kratom — Patti Wheeler Patti Wheeler spent fifteen years traveling the world as a flight attendant, then became a mother to twin sons, Gannon and Wyatt, and an author of the beloved Travels with Gannon & Wyatt book series. On October 25, 2022, everything changed: her son Wyatt, 27, died after taking kratom — in his twin brother’s arms. He’d turned to kratom as a way to stop drinking, with little or no awareness of the potential risks associated with its use. In this episode, clinical psychologist and addiction scientist Dr. Suzette Glasner talks with Patti about who Wyatt was before she lost him, and what the science actually says about kratom — its effects on the brain, its risks, and its potential benefits. Dr. Glasner and Patti also discuss how Patti turned unimaginable grief into action — executive producing the documentary Kratom: Side Effects May Include (directed by Jamie and Jason Neese of The Umbrella Academy) and founding the nonprofit A Beautiful Life Stolen — along with the political fight over regulating 7-OH and kratom extract, and what Patti wants every parent and lawmaker to understand. You can watch the full episode here: Chapters:2:16 Turning Grief Into Advocacy — and Facing the Backlash6:07 What Patti Wheeler Wishes She'd Known about Kratom10:17 Who Patti Was Before Kratom Changed Everything15:28 Wyatt's DUI and His First Brush With Kratom19:53 October 2022: The Warning Signs in Aspen26:37 The Smoke Shop, the Concentrate, and the Science of 7-OH33:49 The Night Wyatt Died41:19 The Toxicology Report: Setting the Record Straight45:13 The Regulatory Fight: What Should Happen to Kratom and 7-OH50:28 Becoming a Documentary Producer52:36 What Would Wyatt Say? Content note: this episode includes a detailed account of a child’s death and may be difficult for some listeners. Learn more / get involved: Documentary: Kratom: Side Effects May Include — kratomsideeffectsmayinclude.com Patti’s nonprofit: A Beautiful Life Stolen — abeautifullifestolen.com If you or someone you love is struggling with kratom dependence: SAMHSA National Helpline, 1-800-662-4357 🔔 Follow/subscribe wherever you listen for weekly episodes on the psychology and neuroscience of mental health, addiction, and behavior. 📩 Send your questions or topic requests: AskDrGlasner@gmail.com 🧩 Learn more about Dr. Glasner: https://drglasner.com #Kratom #KratomAwareness #7OH #AddictionScience #OpioidCrisis This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit drglasner.substack.com

    Ep. 64: A Mother's Fight After Losing Her Son to Kratom — Patti Wheeler

  5. Jul 17

    The Lindsay Clancy Trial: Why Treatment Wasn't Enough

    Nearly half of people who die by suicide saw a healthcare provider in the month before their death. Many were already receiving treatment. That statistic challenges one of our most common assumptions about mental illness: that psychiatric tragedies happen because people never ask for help. The upcoming Lindsay Clancy trial raises an even more difficult question. What happens when someone is already receiving extensive psychiatric care—and a catastrophic psychiatric emergency still isn’t recognized? In this episode, Dr. Suzette Glasner—licensed clinical psychologist and scientist at UCLA—examines the Lindsay Clancy case through the lens of clinical psychology rather than true crime. Instead of asking whether Lindsay Clancy is guilty or innocent, she explores what this case may reveal about the limits of current psychiatric risk assessment. The episode examines the parallels between missed suicide risk and missed postpartum psychiatric emergencies, the critical differences between postpartum OCD and postpartum psychosis, why clinicians routinely screen for suicide but may not be trained to assess risk of harm to children, and the warning signs that families and healthcare professionals should recognize when a psychiatric emergency is unfolding. Watch the full episode here: Chapters 0:00 Intro — A Statistic That Should Change How We Think About Psychiatric Tragedy 1:12 Lindsay Clancy’s Mental Health Treatment Timeline 3:27 Why Being in Treatment Doesn’t Always Mean Someone Is Safe 6:00 The Blind Spot: Why Clinicians May Not Assess Risk to Children 7:54 Understanding Filicide Risk in Postpartum Psychiatric Illness 8:40 Postpartum OCD vs. Postpartum Psychosis: Why the Difference Matters 10:54 What Families Should Watch For—and When to Seek Emergency Help 13:28 The Lindsay Clancy Trial: The Insanity Defense Explained 15:27 Why This Case Matters Beyond One Family 📩 Questions or topic requests: AskDrGlasner@gmail.com 🧩 More from Dr. Glasner: https://drglasner.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit drglasner.substack.com

    The Lindsay Clancy Trial: Why Treatment Wasn't Enough

  6. Jul 11

    The DEA Just Moved to Schedule 7-OH — Here's What That Actually Means

    The DEA recently did something it tried and failed to do ten years ago: it moved to put a kratom-derived compound into Schedule I — the same category as heroin. In 2016, the DEA tried to ban kratom outright and had to walk the action back within six weeks after a massive public backlash. This time is different, and the details matter — they reveal something real about how we regulate substances that live in a gray zone between supplement, medicine, and drug of abuse. In this episode, Dr. Suzette Glasner — clinical psychologist and addiction scientist — breaks down what just happened with 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH), why regulators are treating it as an opioid, and what a decade of regulatory back-and-forth reveals about the limits of catching dangerous drugs before they cause harm. Watch the full episode here: Chapters: 0:00 Intro — Why This DEA Action Matters 1:19 Kratom vs. 7-OH — What’s Actually in These Products 3:59 The Pharmacology — Why 7-OH Acts Like a Potent Opioid 6:22 The 2016 DEA Failure and a Decade of Patchwork State Laws 10:27 How Drug Scheduling Actually Works (Schedule I Explained) 13:01 What the DEA’s New Notices of Intent Actually Do 14:24 Why the Kratom Industry Is Supporting This Action 14:51 The Caveat — Natural Leaf Kratom Isn’t Risk-Free Either 17:53 Recap and What to Watch For 📩 Questions or topic requests: AskDrGlasner@gmail.com 🧩 More from Dr. Glasner: https://drglasner.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit drglasner.substack.com

    The DEA Just Moved to Schedule 7-OH — Here's What That Actually Means

  7. Jul 4

    Ep. 61: Joe Rogan on Ozempic: Getting the Facts Straight

    Joe Rogan spent twenty minutes on Ozempic and GLP-1s recently. He said the drugs kill desire, that people fall out of love, that they treat addiction, that discipline alone would do the same job as the medication. Millions of listeners heard it as settled fact. Some of it holds up. Some of it doesn’t — and the gap between the two reveals a lot about how addiction, appetite, and reward actually work in the brain. In this episode, Dr. Suzette Glasner — clinical psychologist and addiction scientist — goes through Rogan’s biggest claims and checks them against the research. GLP-1s sit at the exact intersection of what she studies: appetite, reward, and behavior change. Watch the full episode here: In this episode:0:00 Intro — Why Look at Joe Rogan's Ozempic Claims1:20 Claim 1: "It Kills Your Desire" — GLP-1s, Mood, and Anhedonia6:21 Claim 2: Can GLP-1s Curb Addiction? (Alcohol, Smoking, Gambling)10:22 Claim 3: "Just Use Discipline" — Is Obesity a Willpower Problem?13:11 Claim 4: Why Weight Comes Back After Stopping GLP-1s14:48 Recap: What the Science Actually Shows GLP-1s are reshaping addiction treatment and the way we think about weight, willpower, and what it means to struggle with your body. This episode is about what the research actually shows. 📩 Questions or topic requests: AskDrGlasner@gmail.com 🧩 More about Dr. Glasner: https://drglasner.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit drglasner.substack.com

    Ep. 61: Joe Rogan on Ozempic: Getting the Facts Straight

  8. Jun 26

    Ep. 60: Daveigh Chase - Lost to Fentanyl at 35

    In 2002, a twelve-year-old girl voiced one of the most beloved Disney characters of a generation. That same year, she terrified audiences in The Ring. Her name was Daveigh Chase, and for a moment, she was everywhere. Last month, she died in a Los Angeles hospital at 35 years old. The cause of death was sepsis — a bacterial infection that overwhelmed her body. She had been living near Skid Row, malnourished and without access to healthcare, after years of opioid dependence that began with a prescription after a back injury and eventually progressed to heroin and fentanyl. According to her family, she had been missing for nearly a decade. She was not a cautionary tale. She was a person with a treatable disease who didn’t receive adequate treatment. In Episode 60 of The Dr. Suzette Glasner Podcast, addiction scientist and clinical psychologist Dr. Suzette Glasner examines the forces that shaped Daveigh Chase’s story — and why it keeps repeating. From the specific psychological vulnerabilities that make child performers uniquely susceptible to addiction, to the way opioid dependence progresses from prescription use to fentanyl, to the homelessness-addiction spiral that claimed her life long before the infection did — Dr. Glasner walks through what the science actually tells us about how this happens and what it would take to intervene earlier. You can watch the full episode here: Daveigh Chase’s death wasn’t an overdose in the traditional sense. It was a body weakened by years of fentanyl use, malnutrition, and disconnection from care, exposed to an infection it couldn’t survive. That’s what dying from addiction often actually looks like — not a single moment, but a slow accumulation of harm that the healthcare system never found a way to interrupt. Dr. Glasner also addresses what families can do when someone they love seems unreachable — drawing on evidence-based approaches including CRAFT, harm reduction, and Housing First that don’t require waiting for rock bottom. Tylor Chase. Tyler Christopher. Daveigh Chase. The names change. The structure doesn’t. This episode is about why — and what we can do better. Resources mentioned in this episode: * CRAFT (Community Reinforcement and Family Training): smartrecovery.org * SAMHSA National Helpline: 1-800-662-4357 — free, confidential, 24/7 * Al-Anon: al-anon.org * Naloxone locator: nextdistro.org If this episode resonated with you, please subscribe to The Dr. Suzette Glasner Podcast so you never miss a new episode — and consider leaving a review. It makes a real difference in helping others find the show. Have a question, a topic you’d like Dr. Glasner to cover, or a story you think deserves attention? Reach out at AskDrGlasner@gmail.com — she reads every message. 🎧 Listen and subscribe: The Dr. Suzette Glasner Podcast / Dr. Suzette Glasner 🧩 Learn more: drglasner.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit drglasner.substack.com

    Ep. 60: Daveigh Chase - Lost to Fentanyl at 35
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About

Dr. Glasner is a clinical psychologist, addiction scientist, award-winning author, and Associate Professor of Psychiatry at UCLA in the David Geffen School of Medicine. The Dr. Suzette Glasner podcast discusses the latest advances in addiction science, trends in alcohol and other substance use, misuse, and addiction across the lifespan, and how to use the science underlying addictive behaviors and the effects of substance use on the brain to shape our health behaviors and every day lives. drglasner.substack.com

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