April Smith
Contributor
American Addiction Centers (AAC)
American Addiction Centers (AAC) is the leading provider for addiction treatment across the U.S. specializing in evidence-based treatment and mental health care.
At AAC, we aim to treat the whole person, which includes those with co-occurring mental health disorders, physical illnesses, or social issues related to addiction treatment.
About
April Wilson Smith, MPH, is a PhD student in Population Health at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. Her research focuses on harm reduction approaches to people who use substances when they enter the healthcare system.
April's other interest in healthcare is interprofessional education and teamwork. Her work with the Jefferson Center for InterProfessional Education won the 2016 James B. Erdmann PhD award for Excellence in Interprofessional Education. She is currently building a large, multidisciplinary coalition to create an interprofessional education module for healthcare professionals in best practices for the care of people who use drugs when they present in the acute care setting.
April is a Certified SMART Recovery facilitator and founded the first SMART Recovery meeting in the Philadelphia city limits. She is also co-founder of the only Harm Reduction, Abstinence and Moderation Support meeting in Philadelphia.
April recently accepted a position as Harm Reduction Epidemiologist with Families for Sensible Drug Policy, which is a non-profit dedicated to helping families advocate for drug policies that save drug users' lives and keep families together and healthy. Co-founder and President, Barry Lessin, is also a Pro Talk columnist .
April graduated from Yale University in 1996. She was a union organizer for healthcare workers for 18 years before going back to school for her Master of Public Health, and spent ten years as Director of Organizing for Pennsylvania's largest nurses' union. She lives in West Philadelphia with her beautiful black cat, Loviefluffy.
Credentials
- Master of Public Health PhD candidate in Population Health at Thomas Jefferson University Recipient of the 2016 James B. Erdmann PhD award for Excellence in Interprofessional Education
Authored (58 Posts)
- Handling Crisis in Early Recovery: Tips for the Whole Family
- The First Slip, or the First Sip?
- Making the Transition Home After Rehab Easier on Your Family and Yourself!
- Please Don't Take My Cat: Don't Threaten What Your Child Loves Most
- Don't Act Weird: When Your Loved One Comes Home From Rehab
- Crashing Yourself Out: When Substance Use Is an Escape Route
- Families Get a Bad Rap When Confronting Addiction
- Do You Need Meetings to Recover?
- Trauma-Informed? Questions You Should Ask
- Trauma and Recovery: It’s Not What You Think It Is
- Helping Families Understand a Substance-Using Loved One’s Trauma
- Drinking and the Stigma of Blaming Sexual Assault on the Victim
- Liver Damage: When the Consequences of Alcoholism Get Very Real
- Nursing Homes Turn MAT Patients Away
- The Undeniable Link Between Problematic Alcohol Use and Traumatic Brain Injury
- Interview with Bryan Cressey, Founder of Above and Beyond Recovery Center
- Alcoholics Anonymous Finally Addresses the Issue of Safety
- A Harm Reductionist Takes a Fresh Look at the 12 Steps
- Alcohol Poisoning: 3 Things to Expect During Your ER Visit
- A Psychology Major's Experience With Addiction and Ibogaine Treatment
- Is Prohibition Killing Our Kids?: My Chat With Jerry Otero, Host of the Morning Show With Mista Oh and Founder of Cre8tive YouTH*ink
- Gas Station Bathrooms Use Blue Lights to Stop IV Drug Use
- Do You Drink Or Use to Repress Your Rage?
- Interview with Valerie Farragher, Founder of New Choices 4 Her, An Organization That Helps Irish Women Change Their Drinking
- 5 Questions to Ask If You're Thinking About Going Rehab
- An Interview with Efrem Nulman, PhD Psychotherapist and Addictions Specialist
- What’s Going on in North Carolina? Harm Reduction Partners with Gov't and Law Enforcement to Fight the Opioid Epidemic
- My Friend Hates Alcoholics (And I'm in Recovery)
- High Doses of Baclofen Medication to Suppress Alcohol Cravings
- When Someone Asks for Help and You Have to Say No
- Wasn't My “Rock Bottom” Low Enough For You?
- Naltrexone for Alcohol Dependence: Is This Medication Right For You?
- Vivitrol Isn't the Magic Bullet We've Been Led to Believe
- I'm Getting Sober With My Girlfriend
- The Wellness Recovery Action Plan: A Tool for Getting Through Crisis
- 5 Questions to Ask a Rehab if You're Dealing With Trauma
- Agoraphobia and Substance Abuse: A Bad Combo
- 5 People to Avoid While You're in Rehab
- Founding a Non-12 Step Support Group Meeting: SMART Recovery Philadelphia
- Suboxone: 5 Perks of Office-Based Opioid Treatment
- An Inside Look at Youth in Recovery With Brooke Feldman
- Recovery Supergirl: An Overachiever Goes to Rehab
- A Sober Home Horror Story: Do Your Research
- A Mom and Daughter Learn How to Talk About Alcoholism
- Kenneth Anderson Talks Harm Reduction, Activism, and Challenges in the Field
- Post-Acute Withdrawal Syndrome – When Will This End?
- Living With Addiction and Mental Illness: Ellen’s Story
- When Parents and Children Share an Addiction
- Do Your Research - Avoid These Rehab Nightmares
- The Rules of Rehab: Embracing Blackout Time
- An Introvert’s Guide to Rehab: It's the End of the Line
- An Introvert’s Guide to Rehab: It's Time for Group!
- 5 Ways to Make Sure Your Loved One Does NOT Recover
- An Introvert's Guide to Rehab: Taming the Fear
- Putting Space Back Down
- Covering the Latest Harm Reduction Conference in San Diego
- Nothing Matters More Than Saving His Life: A Case for Heroin Prescription in Acute Care (Part II)
- Nothing Matters More Than Saving His Life: A Case for Heroin Prescription in Acute Care
American Addiction Centers (AAC)
American Addiction Centers (AAC) is the leading provider for addiction treatment across the U.S. specializing in evidence-based treatment and mental health care.
At AAC, we aim to treat the whole person, which includes those with co-occurring mental health disorders, physical illnesses, or social issues related to addiction treatment.