Hopestream is the defacto resource for parents who have a teen or young adult child who’s misusing drugs or alcohol, hosted by Brenda Zane. Brenda is a Mayo Clinic Certified health & wellness coach, CRAFT Parent Coach, and mom of a son who nearly lost his life to addiction. Guests include addiction, prevention, and treatment experts, family members impacted by their loved one’s substance use, and wellness and self-care specialists. You’ll also hear heartfelt messages from me, your host. It’s a safe, nurturing respite from the chaos and confusion you live with. We gather in our private communities between the episodes, The Stream for moms and The Woods for dads. Learn more at www.hopestreamcommunity.org.
When a Nurse Couldn’t Fix Her Own Son Tara Norbeck spent her career as a level one trauma ICU nurse — someone trained to evaluate a problem, figure out what intervention was needed, and fix it. Then the script flipped. Her son began struggling with drug addiction and mental health issues, and she found herself
How Kim Muench became a parent coach Kim’s path to parent coaching started when her oldest son, in his early 20s, developed a dependency on alcohol — very likely, she said, as a result of anxiety, depression, and diagnosed OCD. The family moved through detox, an IOP program, and eventually residential treatment. Along the way,
Strategies For Parenting A Stuck Young Adult, with Kim Muench Read More »
Episode 346 ABOUT THE EPISODE: It’s the green powder in the shaker bottle, the little blue shot by the register, the “herbal supplement” your kid bought for focus. If you’ve been quietly wondering whether kratom is something to worry about, drop everything and tune in. Dean Francis’s son Cameron was an elite college runner, closing
Kratom, 7-OH and Gas Station Drugs: What Every Parent Needs to Know, with Dean Francis Read More »
Why Non-Reactivity Is a Strategic Tool, Not a Soft Skill Brenda and Cathy opened this conversation by naming something that often gets overlooked: the acceptance and non-reactivity piece of the Invitation to Change approach — which combines CRAFT, motivational interviewing, and ACT (acceptance and commitment therapy) — tends to get ‘lobbed off and forgotten about.’
The Surprising Power of Non-Reactivity When Your Child Is Struggling, with Cathy Cioth Read More »
Where Janice’s story began Janice didn’t have the typical teenage warning signs many parents describe. Her son’s struggles with substance use emerged during and after COVID, and the moment of clarity came when she found something she Googled and confirmed was crystal meth. She describes having two choices in that moment: feel sorry for herself,
What Parent Recovery Really Looks Like: One Mom’s Journey Read More »
Episode 343 ABOUT THE EPISODE: You’ve heard some version of it: Leave me alone! I know what I am doing! You don’t understand me!” Ciara Fanlo said all of that to her mother, but what her mom didn’t know was that those statements were hiding a plea…please help me. Ciara was a sensitive kid in
From Self-Harm to Healing: A Highly Sensitive Girl’s Path to Recovery, with Ciara Fanlo Read More »
Brook McKenzie’s personal story of addiction and recovery Brook McKenzie’s journey into addiction began around age 13 or 14. By 15 he needed treatment, and he went through three adolescent treatment programs between 15 and 17. His brother took a very different path — college, career, marriage — while Brook’s life looked nothing like that
Episode 341 ABOUT THE EPISODE: You‘ve probably watched your child make a decision so obviously terrible you could not understand how it made sense to them. Darren Hobbs can tell you exactly how it looked, because he made that decision. He had done treatment. He had a sponsor, a home group, a year chip. Then
His Mom’s Hard Boundary Drove His Recovery, with Darren Hobbs Read More »
Why parents struggle with boundaries Before she understood what boundaries were, Brenda described feeling invisible — like a doormat — with rules that nobody followed and no way to enforce anything. ‘I felt like I was invisible, like I was a doormat, like none of my rules were being followed,’ she shared. That frustration didn’t
What Are Boundaries and Why Parents of Struggling Teens Need Them Read More »
The pressure to get your kid across the finish line By the time a struggling teenager reaches senior year, most parents have already been through so much that graduation itself feels like a personal accomplishment. As Brenda put it, ‘I got my son graduated from high school. I should get the diploma because I’m actually
Sending Your Struggling Kid to College: Decisions, Alternatives, and Grief Read More »
