My guest for this episode is Dr. Jason Roop! Dr. Roop is the founder and CEO of the Center for Trait-Based Transformation, and the primary developer of the Trait-Based Model of Recovery: an evidence-based, person-centered approach to addiction treatment and recovery that emphasizes enhancing the personal strengths of individuals in addiction to promote success in business and life while in recovery.

Dr. Roop has an absolutely amazing recovery journey of his own: he began his recovery in 2013 after 17 years in active addiction, and by 2022 he had completed a PhD in Business Management and Leadership. Now in 2025, his Trait-Based curriculum for treatment and prevention has partners nationwide.

It was fascinating learning about Dr. Roop’s model for addiction and recovery, and I think you’ll enjoy it, as well. Over the hour we discuss:

• How does the Trait-Based Model of Recovery differ from traditional addiction treatment models?
• Many people view suffering from addiction as being a vulnerability, but you see it as an indicator for latent strengths waited to be tapped. How is this the case, and what are those strengths?
• What are some key traits that your program emphasizes to help individuals entering recovery thrive?
• Developing, validating, and promoting a new model for treatment is ambitious. What have been some early successes and pain points?

And more!

Dr. Roop was also kind enough to share a diagram of the Tree of Traits, a foundational element of his treatment. To download a copy, please click here.

My guest for this episode of Let’s Talk is Dr. George Kolodner! Dr. Kolodner is an addiction psychiatrist and the Medical Director of the Triple Track Treatment program for smoking and vaping cessation. He is the Chair of the American Society of Addiction Medicine Nicotine and Tobacco Addiction Special Interest Group, and a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at both the Georgetown University and University of Maryland Schools of Medicine.

In our conversation we dive into the shortcomings of older models of of nicotine cessation treatment, including:

• If we’ve known how hazardous smoking is to health for decades, why is it still such a public health problem?
• Why does the medical and insurance system treat addiction to nicotine differently than other addictions? And more importantly…should it be treated differently?
• What are the three core tracks in your method, and why are each important for nicotine cessation?
• Which is tougher to quit: smoking or vaping?

And more!

My guest for this episode is Dr. Bonnie Halpern-Felsher! Dr. Halpern-Felsher an endowed professor in the Pediatrics Department at Stanford University, the founder and Executive Director of the Stanford REACH Lab, and the President of the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Dr. Halpern-Felsher is an absolute giant in the field of youth prevention, publishing over 200 manuscripts, and she and her lab have created vaping and THC prevention curricula that have positively impacted the lives of teens from coast to coast.

It was an absolute honor to have her on the show, and I think you'll definitely enjoy the conversation! We talk about:

• Why focus on prevention, particularly right now?
• Based on what we know right now, is it harder to quit vaping or smoking? And what resources are available to help with quit attempts?
• When the reality of how teen substance use impacts the developing brain is legitimately concerning (not to mention high fentanyl presence in the street market), how do you craft effective prevention messaging that doesn't feel like scare tactics?
• Is it possible we can address the youth mental health emergency and teen substance use at the same time?

And more!

If you'd like to learn more about Dr. Halpern-Felsher and her work with REACH Lab, visit her at https://med.stanford.edu/halpern-felsher-reach-lab.html.