Science & Research - Addiction & Mental Health Resources

April 25, 2025

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Addiction: The Science Behind (NOVA PBS)

This incredibly informative documentary from NOVA PBS discusses opioid addiction, highlighting that addiction is not a moral failing, but rather, a treatable chronic medical condition. It provides a general overview of the science behind addiction, detailing how dopamine, the reward pathway, and other brain regions change as a result of substance abuse, and how these changes result in drug-seeking behaviours and withdrawal. While there are several personal stories from those affected by addiction, the primary focus of this documentary is to provide education on the science behind addiction and the importance of evidence-based treatments.

April 24, 2025

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Opiate Addiction: Strategies for Creating Long-Term Sobriety

This webinar provides an in-depth exploration of the unique challenges individuals with an opiate addiction encounter on their journey to achieving and maintaining sobriety. It will examine the physical, emotional, and social barriers that often complicate recovery efforts, including stigma, relapse triggers, and gaps in access to effective care. In addition to outlining these obstacles, the session will present a range of evidence-based strategies designed to support sustained, long-term recovery. Participants will be equipped with practical tools and interventions aimed at improving treatment outcomes, fostering stronger engagement, and building resilience among clients. The webinar will also address critical methods for reducing the risk of premature treatment dropout, emphasizing the importance of early intervention, individualized care planning, and ongoing support systems. Attendees will leave with a deeper understanding of how to better serve individuals struggling with an opiate addiction and contribute to more successful recovery journeys within their communities.

April 23, 2025

The Psychology and Neuroscience of Gambling Addiction

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The Psychology and Neuroscience of Gambling Disorder

In this presentation, Dr. Luke Clark, Director of the Centre for Gambling Research at UBC, takes a closer look at the modern conceptualization of Gambling Disorder as a behavioural addiction. After a quick overview of how it’s diagnosed and how common it is, he explains the psychology and neuroscience of gambling disorder - how it can change the way people think and how these changes are connected to brain chemistry and the brain’s reward system.

April 23, 2025

Gambling Addiction by Design: Slot Machines

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The Dangerous Allure of Slot Machines: Addiction by Design

Anthropologist Natasha Dow Schüll, the author of Addiction by Design: Machine Gambling in Las Vegas, spent 15 years studying how casinos and slot machines are designed to pull users into a trancelike state called the “machine zone” where social demands, worries, and bodily awareness fades away. While in this zone, gamblers are not just playing to win, but rather, to play for as long as possible, regardless of the physical, mental and financial costs. While the gambler loses themselves, the gambling industry profits. She extends this research into digital / smartphone gambling as well.

April 23, 2025

Ketamine: Realms and Realities (Hamilton’s Pharmacopeia)

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Ketamine Realms and Realities: Illegal Drug or Therapeutic Treatment?

In this fascinating journey, Hamilton Morris sits down with Timothy Wyllie, an artist, writer, and architect known for his role in creating the controversial Process Church, a religion that challenged traditional beliefs. Wyllie’s lifelong quest to understand his own mind provides unique insights into the complexities of human consciousness. Morris then travels to India, where he explores the production of ketamine, a powerful drug used in both medicine and recreation. He speaks with doctors, therapists, and experts to learn more about the role of ketamine in our society, its medical uses, and how it’s changing the way we think about the mind. Through this exploration, Morris sheds light on ketamine’s impact and its potential to shape our understanding of consciousness, offering a fresh perspective on this powerful substance.

April 23, 2025

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Beating Alcohol Addiction Through Evidence-Based Treatment

This documentary follows Mike Pond, a therapist managing his alcohol addiction. He was only ever offered one treatment after losing his practice, his house, his family, and becoming homeless: Alcoholics Anonymous. This abstinence-based treatment approach did not work for him, so he started looking for other ways to heal himself and others. Mike is an advocate for “compassionate, evidence-based treatments” and feels that “harm reduction, or any positive change, offers clients the best chance of beating addictions.”

April 23, 2025

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How Cannabis Affects the Brain & Body (Huberman Lab)

In this episode, Dr. Andrew Huberman discuss cannabis (aka marijuana), including the biological mechanisms underlying its effects on the mind and body, its known medical applications, its impact on libido, creativity, hunger, hormones and more. He also covers the known adverse health consequences of chronic and even acute (one-time) use and the factors that determine if cannabis is helpful or harmful.

April 20, 2025

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What Alcohol Does to Your Body (Institute of Human Anatomy)

This video by the Institute of Human Anatomy discusses “the pathway alcohol takes as it travels through your body.” It covers the various organs and tissues that interact with booze and how a hangover occurs, as well as how it can effect people differently. You’ll see real cadavers (body parts) and it’s really quite interesting.

April 20, 2025

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What Alcohol Does to Your Body, Brain & Health (Huberman Lab)

This podcast with Dr. Andrew Huberman, a professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine, discusses what alcohol does to your body, brain, and overall health. Some topics include (1) the physiological effects of alcohol on your brain and body, (2) genetic differences that predispose some people to alcoholism, (3) alcohol metabolism and how it acts as a poison, (4) the impact it has on neuronal functioning, thus changing our thinking and behaviour, (5) the impacts on inflammation, stress, neurodegeneration, gut microbiome, brain thickness, mood, and more. It is a 2-hour podcast that dives deep into this topic and provides an interesting and easy-to-understand look at how alcohol effects your brain and body.