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© 2025 Hopestream: Parenting Kids Through Addiction & Mental Health
Description
When your teen or young adult is misusing drugs or alcohol, you need more than just tactics—you need hope, healing, and a path forward for your entire family.
Hopestream delivers expert guidance and emotional support for parents navigating their child's substance use and mental health struggles. Hosted by Brenda Zane, Mayo Clinic Certified health coach and CRAFT-trained Parent Coach who nearly lost her son to addiction, this podcast goes beyond "how to get them into treatment" to address the full ecosystem of this journey.
Episodes features:
- Leading addiction, prevention, and treatment experts
- Real stories from families who've been there
- Evidence-based strategies for helping your child
- Self-care and coping tools for parents
- Deeper conversations about finding meaning, joy, and even unexpected blessings through the hardest times
Whether you're dealing with a teen or young adult's drug use, alcohol misuse, or co-occurring mental health challenges, Hopestream offers the comprehensive support other parenting and addiction podcasts miss. This is your safe space to heal, learn, and discover you're not alone.
New episodes weekly. Join us between the episodes at hopestreamcommunity.org.
299 Episodes
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ABOUT THE EPISODE: Your 3am Google search spiral feels beyond frustrating when you're usually the one with answers. In this week's solo episode I acknowledge the unique exhaustion of spinning your wheels while your child struggles, and offer a concrete 8-step menu of ways to move from wishing into actionable planning and hope. If your existing parenting toolkit isn't working to create positive change in your family this episode will offer ways to rethink and recharge. The best news is, ...
ABOUT THE EPISODE: When your child doesn't believe they need help, finding a path forward can feel nearly impossible and is exhausting in every way. Dr. Xavier Amador offers profound hope through his LEAP method—a neuroscience-backed approach born from both his clinical expertise and the raw reality of loving family members with schizophrenia. Dr. Amador's journey began with seven transformative days at his brother's side, where traditional confrontation failed spectacularly. His brother, bri...
EPISODE DESCRIPTION: If you've ever found yourself tiptoeing through your own home, rehearsing conversations to avoid triggering an explosion, or even putting a lock on your bedroom door for protection—you're not alone. Today's conversation with Dina Cannizzaro, Hopestream's Director of Education, confronts the uncomfortable reality so many parents face: how profoundly we normalize dangerous situations when our child struggles with substances. Dina brings battle-tested wisdom from parenting h...
ABOUT THE EPISODE: When a young person you love is struggling with substances or challenging behaviors, the instinct to fix everything can feel overwhelming. In this illuminating conversation, marriage and family therapist Todd Sarner brings decades of attachment science into sharp focus, and offers a roadmap for parents navigating the turbulent waters of adolescence. Drawing from his training with Dr. Gordon Neufeld and other attachment pioneers, Todd reveals why our kids' most hurtful...
ABOUT THE EPISODE: In this episode Cathy and I discuss unique skills from the business world that can be applied to our relationships - especially one with a struggling teen or young adult who is misusing substances and has mental health challenges. I share a surprising learning I picked up from reading a book about hostage negotiation (you may even be able to relate to that kind of situation) and we dig into why it’s important for parents not to take your child’s actions an...
ABOUT THE EPISODE: If someone in your life has an unhealthy relationship with drugs and/or alcohol, you likely already know my guest for today’s episode - Amber Hollingsworth. Amber hosts the wildly popular YouTube channel, “Put The Shovel Down,” with nearly 1 million subscribers. Amber and I sat down to talk about her addiction-riddled family of origin, and the best advice she gives family members from her two-plus decades in the field of addiction counseling. We cover what to do if pa...
ABOUT THE EPISODE: Trevor Hanson had accumulated a pretty good life - from living on a beach in Hawaii, to getting a great job at Tesla and engaged to be married. One year later, he was unemployed, his engagement and his jaw were both broken, and he was living alone in the Reno desert. Trevor suffered depression, nightmares, and suicidal thoughts before deciding to seek therapeutic help. He developed a real appreciation for the process of therapy – but he also had ideas about how it could be ...
ABOUT THE EPISODE: We've all been there. A tense or heated conversation where something flies out of your mouth that you don't really mean, or you inflict your 'help' when it's not wanted or needed. You might, at times, find yourself solving a problem that has nothing to do with you, or you give well-intentioned advice to someone who will never, ever take it. Enter our favorite Hopestream tool...the Lip Clip. A metaphorical device that prevents you from jumping in when you should really stay ...
ABOUT THE EPISODE: Substance use and recovery can shift every aspect of a young person's life - even the faith that has been deeply ingrained in someone’s upbringing. Parents often have visions and expectations of their child's lives, and for parents of faith, that usually includes a life of shared values and traditions. So what happens when our kids choose differently? My guest today, Heather Frazier, only developed ideas about this when her own children not-so-politely exited th...
ABOUT THE EPISODE: When Ed and Mary Ternan finally met the police officer who had been on scene at their son's overdose death, he had an off-the-record theory: "This is not official, and you'll have to wait for toxicology to come back, but this is going to be fentanyl," the officer told them. News about the synthetic opioid is inescapable today, but in 2020, the couple had never heard of it. Charlie was a popular, successful student with no substance use issues. How could this have happened? ...
ABOUT THE EPISODE: It’s hard to come to terms with how little control we have over whether our kids choose recovery or remain in an unhealthy lifestyle. In this episode, you’ll get to hear from Dina Cannizzaro, a mom who has been through hell and back (more than once), but has channeled all that fear and anxiety into taking actionable steps toward relearning how to connect with her son and how to harness the surprising power of self-care. You’ll hear how far she and her son Parker have ...
ABOUT THE EPISODE: It’s the season parents often dream of - their high school senior has successfully walked the stage and they’re now packing the family car to make the ceremonial drive to the four-year university their family goes to. They’ll do Parent Weekend, buy the sweatshirt and bumper sticker and wave their child off until they see them at Thanksgiving. But it doesn’t go like that for everyone, and it sometimes feels like a facade if your child is on their way to a four-year universit...
EPISODE DESCRIPTION: In this summer 'from the vault' episode I'm resharing an impactful interview with Dr. Mark McConville, a clinical psychologist specializing in adolescents and young adults. We discuss: Strategies for parents to transition from directive parenting into a consultant roleHow to offer wisdom while allowing your child to take the initiativeThe difference between enabling and supportingHow pre-competence might look like incompetence and what to do about itThe value of thinking ...
EPISODE DESCRIPTION: A fresh new, 'from-the-vault' episode that is as relevant today as it was in 2022! Navigating life with a young person who’s misusing substances and struggling with mental health can feel like a ride in a very stormy sea. Parents need to be well-equipped for the journey, but often aren’t sure what the mandatory, life-saving provisions are to bring along. In this episode, Cathy Cioth, Hopestream Community co-founder, joins me to share our top six recommended provisio...
EPISODE DESCRIPTION: In this 'from the vault' episode of Hopestream (originally episode #100), I share my journey since launching the podcast in January 2020 and curated the top 11 learnings and insights I gleaned from my incredible guests. If you want a lot of bang for your buck, this is the episode for you. I dive deep into topics such as letting go of control, embracing discomfort, practicing radical acceptance, and fostering open communication. I emphasize the profound influence we as pa...
EPISODE DESCRIPTION: Need a way to better navigate even the most challenging conversations? Over time, I've learned that making a request of someone can go south quickly when you don't know how to set it up properly. In this "from-the-vault" episode from my 2021 archives (perfect for our summer slowdown while I recharge between recording sessions), I share one of my absolute favorite communication frameworks that you can learn in 30 minutes and start using within hours. The SURF techniq...
ABOUT THE EPISODE: In this episode from the vault, I draw from my own experiences to share four counterintuitive strategies that can transform relationships and encourage healing when you're parenting a young person struggling with substance use and mental health. I emphasize the importance of asking questions instead of giving commands, focusing on self-reflection rather than solely on your child, trusting a higher power, and broadening your perspective to see the bigger picture. ...
ABOUT THE EPISODE: This week I’m bringing back an episode from 2020 that is just as relevant today as it was then. The episode covers ten hard truths parents need to face when you recognize potential substance use, or if you know you’re dealing with an addiction. It’s a great episode for those who are new to the experience of having your child dabble in or become dependent on substances, and there are also truths that apply to the seasoned parent who’s been at this for a while. This is ...
EPISODE DESCRIPTION: It's summer and we're diving deep into the Hopestream episode vault to bring you some listener faves and a few that just work when you need connection and understanding. Today, you'll hear about The Secret Menu, originally aired in August of 2023 - with the addition of a new story and insights. Sometimes you can gain a different understanding of things by looking at them through a new lens. This bite-size episode does that for you as the parent of a young person who strug...
ABOUT THE EPISODE: Figuring out your evolving role as a parent during your child’s adolescence is difficult, even if you aren’t dealing with substance misuse. The natural inclination to protect and nurture is already being challenged by your child’s growing sense of autonomy. You’re told to step back, control less, and allow them to make their own mistakes. So, for parents of kids who are misusing substances and struggling with mental health, this process is especially agonizing. How d...
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