Systemic Failures in Treating Substance Use and a Mother's Story of Love, Loss, and Addiction w/ Patricia Roos [Episode 139]

Patricia Roos, Retired Professor Emerita of Sociology at Rutgers University speaks with Paul Krauss MA LPC about her personal story of losing her son to addiction as well as the systemic failures that contributed to his death. Pat and Paul take a deep dive into the sociological issues, mental health and addiction stigmas, the criminal justice system's approach to addiction, and many addiction treatment centers that are not in-line with what the latest research is reporting works with people experiencing substance use addiction.

Mother’s Day 2024 will mark nine years to the day since the police showed up on Patricia Roos’s door to report that her son died. In 2015, Roos’s twenty-five-year-old son, Alex, died of a heroin overdose. Turning her grief into action, Roos, a professor of sociology at Rutgers University, began to research the social factors and institutional failures that contributed to his death. Surviving Alex: A Mother’s Story of Love, Loss, and Addiction (Rutgers University Press) tells her moving story—and outlines the possibilities of a compassionate and effective approach to addiction treatment and policy.  

Patricia Roos' website contains resources and more about her work.

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Paul Krauss MA LPC is the Clinical Director of Health for Life Counseling Grand Rapids, home of The Trauma-Informed Counseling Center of Grand Rapids. Paul is also a Private Practice Psychotherapist, an Approved EMDRIA Consultant , host of the Intentional Clinician podcast, Behavioral Health Consultant, Clinical Trainer, Counseling Supervisor, and Meditation Teacher. Paul is now offering consulting for a few individuals and organizations. Paul is the creator of the National Violence Prevention Hotline as well as the Intentional Clinician Training Program for Counselors. Paul has been quoted in the Washington Post, NBC News, Wired Magazine, and