This powerful and compassionate talk challenges the traditional disease model of addiction. 

Drawing from the Safe Recovery philosophy, Bruce Whittemore explores addiction as an adaptive response to pain, trauma, and disconnection, not a lifelong identity. Grounded in neuroscience, Internal Family Systems (IFS), and somatic tools like Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), this talk offers a trauma-informed approach to healing that emphasizes self-awareness, emotional regulation, and compassion for ourselves and those we love. Attendees will come away with a radically new perspective on addiction, one that reframes it as a survival strategy, and recovery as a path toward integration, wholeness, and a deeper connection to life.