This episode of The Teaching Journeys Podcast, hosted by Dave Roberts, features Lisa Katona Smith, founder of Parallel Recovery and a leading advocate for family-centered addiction recovery. Lisa shares her personal journey navigating her son's substance use disorder, which inspired her to develop the Parallel Recovery framework—a structured, compassionate approach that empowers families to heal alongside their loved ones.
The conversation explores the limitations of traditional family support in addiction treatment, emphasizing the need for practical tools, healthy boundaries, and self-reflection for family members. Lisa and Dave discuss the importance of addressing stigma, building therapeutic relationships, and treating addiction as a family disease. Lisa outlines her framework, which focuses on self-understanding, communication, grief, and self-compassion, and describes the services she offers to families and organizations.
The episode concludes with Lisa’s advice that meaningful change begins with oneself, and she provides information on how listeners can access her book, TED Talk, and services.
Lisa's Bio and Contact Information
Lisa Katona Smith, M.Ed., is a TEDx speaker, educator, and author of Parallel Recovery—a family-centered model that empowers loved ones to heal alongside someone facing mental health and substance use challenges. Known for her clarity, compassion, and systems-level insight, Lisa helps families and professionals build sustainable, connection-based recovery through consulting, training, and transformative conversations.
📚 Learn more about Lisa Katona Smith:
Book - https://a.co/d/aVes2nB
TEDx - https://youtu.be/bAguAjVzE7o?si=eZqTEczLz5SljaAx
Website - https://lisakatonasmith.com/
Email - Lisa@parallelrecovery.org
Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-katona-smith-985b48212/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/parallel_recovery/
To find out more about Dave go to david robertsmsw.com and his author page psychologyprofessorandminister.com
