STICK WITH THE WINNERS? –
March 31, 2026 – Dr. Sonnee D. Weedn is a clinical, forensic and neuropsychologist. She has been in private practice for 46 years with offices in Novato and Newport Beach, CA. She is the author of several books, including, “Many Blessings: A Tapestry of Accomplished African American Women,” featuring interviews with 30 amazing contemporary women, and a workbook series, “8 Ways To Wellbeing for Recovering People,” “8 Ways to Sustainable Wellbeing for Teens and Families,” with Jamison Monroe, and “8 Ways to Wellbeing for Reliance Vitality,” with Jan Kingaard, all based on the research of Dr. Roger Walsh at UCI.
Q. If you are in recovery, what was your drug(s) of choice and when is your sobriety date?
A. I am not a recovering person. Drugs and alcohol never interested me much. I’m the girl who asks the bartender if he/she will sell me a half glass of wine because I won’t drink the rest and its a waste of money and wine. But, I had a pre-doc internship in a hospital treating chemical dependency and loved the work and the emphasis on Higher Power, an element I thought was missing from traditional psychotherapy. My name went around at AA and NA and pretty soon most of my practice was recovering people or people seeking recovery, or who needed it even if they weren’t seeking it. It became my area of specialization and I have consulted at numerous treatment facilities across the U.S.
Q. Do you think addiction is an illness, disease, a choice, or a wicked twist of fate?
A. I think addiction is complex and unique to the person suffering. Some of the complexity has to do with genetics, neurological factors, environment, social influences, and other factors. This complexity is the reason I believe that so many people relapse after traditional treatment. Treatment that does not or cannot take all these factors into consideration and provides essentially, “cookbook” treatment simply does not work, as the statistics bear out.
