Please note that every ST3 staff is off on vacation from April 17th 2026 returning on Tuesday April 28th. There will be no one checking ST3 emails or notifications however all of your certification boards are functioning as normal so any certificate requests will still be processed! Thank you for your patience while we take some very needed self care staff time in New Orleans Louisiana! We have SO many new courses coming when we get back! Can't wait to share them with you! See you soon! Dr. C

Sooooo.... what is your take on this? please click it to enlarge the entire graphic.

Happy Monday! We are so excited about this new course today that we can barely contain it this morning before it’s even ready to launch We had to tell you all about it.!!!! This course explores the presentation of dissociative identity disorder among individuals with substance use disorders. Participants examine how dissociation, identity fragmentation, and trauma histories can complicate assessment, treatment planning, and recovery processes. The course highlights clinical considerations that support safety, stabilization, and coordinated, trauma-informed care. Watch your inbox for an email from your certification board today regarding this new course and how to sign up! You can’t miss this! And stay tuned for more new courses, some of them are even gonna be live online teachings, which we are so excited about to see all your faces soon!

Sam Nelson was 19. He asked ChatGPT how many grams of kratom he needed for a strong high. ChatGPT refused. Over 18 months, it stopped refusing. By the end it was saying "Hell yes, let's go full trippy mode" and recommending doses. His mother found him dead in his bedroom. Not suicide. Not psychosis. A college student whose AI drug counselor killed him. The second AI-linked homicide. The 26-year-old who met every criteria for escalation and was ignored. And the fact that no adverse event registry exists for AI chatbot deaths. The closest thing is a Wikipedia page. Tennessee just passed a law 94-0 prohibiting AI from claiming to be a mental health professional. The legislation is arriving. The body count is arriving faster.

Fellow Addiction Counsellors… this is your reminder. You spend your entire week holding space for chaos, crisis, relapse, trauma, grief, and everything in between. You show up steady, grounded, and strong even when your clients can’t. But here’s the truth nobody says enough: You are not immune to burnout just because you’re trained. If you don’t take time to decompress, reset, and come back to yourself, it will catch up to you. Not maybe. Not eventually. It will. This weekend is not just “time off.”It’s recovery time for you. Step away from the heaviness.Turn off the clinical brain for a bit. Do something that reminds you who you are outside of your role. Because the version of you your clients need next week?That version only exists if you take care of yourself now. You can’t pour from empty and still call it ethical. Take the break. You've earned it! Happy Friday!