According to the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" (DSM-5; American Psychiatric Association, 2013), an substance use disorder (SUD) involves patterns of symptoms caused by using a substance that an individual continues taking despite its negative effects. Though there are 11 specific DSM-5 criteria for an SUD, they…

Social media companies are increasingly being called to account for how their apps are affecting young people. Robert Kim explores "In re: Social Media Addiction," a lawsuit that combines multiple cases that have been brought against social media companies for their addictive effects. The cases illustrate the tension between product…

This love letter is a call to higher education professionals to raise their critical consciousness of the ways addiction and recovery affect professional practice in higher education. Some questions for consideration to raise critical consciousness around addiction and recovery in the academy are: what is your relationship to drugs and alcohol? Do…

Beginning with a brief review of the literature related to the importance of religion/spirituality (R/S) in counseling clients with substance use disorders and addictions, this article provides classroom exercises that educators can use in the addiction curriculum to foster student insight and awareness, leading to increased R/S competency.

Students will analyze article excerpts that demonstrate how the opioid crisis was fueled by a five-sentence "letter to the editor" that was uncritically cited as "evidence" that opioid addiction was rare. Indirectly this activity demonstrates why ChatGPT and other generative artificial intelligence platforms should never be…

For professionals tasked with fostering student growth, supporting emotional and academic needs, and handling crises, the pressures of the college student affairs profession (SAP) can be overwhelming. The issue of substance misuse may remain hidden, with professionals suffering in silence rather than accessing support or resources. This article…

Decades of the authors working in higher education--as a student affairs professional and a person in long-term recovery (Becki), as a counselor and counselor educator (Eran), and as scholars studying collegiate recovery (both)--have yielded countless stories of the primacy of recovery from substance use disorders (SUDs) among students, staff, and…

A revised way of thinking is essential for promoting harm reduction strategies and reducing the negative implications of injection drug use (IDU). Despite the growth of harm reduction approaches in the United States, there is limited guidance for designing and implementing multi-sector efforts that address the external determinants that promote…