Meghann Perry, Dr. Dani Snyder-Young, and Dr. Felipe Vasudevan, Dignity Starts With Us: Rewriting the dominant narratives of substance use

Redemption stories in recovery are often more harmful than helpful. We’ve all absorbed the War on Drugs narrative—but even well-intended stories about substance use often reinforce stigma. In this episode, Meghann Perry and Dr. Dani Snyder-Young explore how internalized shame shapes personal and public storytelling, influencing care access and policy. They discuss research and applied storytelling techniques that shift the dominant narrative, promoting dignity and inclusion for people with lived and living experience of substance use. By embracing strength-based storytelling, we can rewrite the script—reducing stigma, fostering resilience, and broadening pathways to well-being. Tune in to learn how you can help change the conversation around substance use to prioritize dignity for people who use and used drugs.Learning ObjectivesDescribe the mechanism of belonging as it relates to storytelling, stigma and social supportIdentify the binary effect of redemption stories in the dominant narrative of substance use and recovery in the United States and how that impacts care for individualsName and apply three characteristics of strength-based storytelling in their personal or professional roleHost & Guest BiosDr. Felipe Vasudevan completed an Internal Medicine & Addiction Medicine fellowship at NYU, and then ran a consult service at Woodhull Hospital in Brooklyn, NY before directing the Addiction Consult Service & Bridge Clinic at UCLA Hospital. His interests include reducing barriers to pharmacotherapy and addressing stigma in the hospital setting for people who use drugs and improving access and visibility to methadone and contingency management programs.Meghann Perry, CARC, RCPF, is a Keynote Speaker, Educator and Addiction Recovery Coach Professional who has spent the last decade working in peer support, recovery advocacy and program design. She is best known for two groundbreaking programs: Recovery Storytelling and Embodied Storytelling and delivers high-impact presentations on storytelling as a tool for healing and advocacy for highly stigmatized conditions for organizations like NIH, NAADAC, HRSA, Peer Recovery Center of Excellence, and the Hazelden Foundation. Meghann is a former drug user who passionately supports people across the full spectrum of substance use, harm reduction and recovery and leads a team of dedicated facilitators redefining education in the substance and mental health field.Dr. Dani Snyder-Young is Associate Professor of Theatre at Northeastern University. She led the NEA-funded Theatre participation and arts-integrated peer leadership in substance addiction recovery processes, which examines the role of theatre in supporting recovery from substance use disorder. Dani's forthcoming book, Sticking Stigma: Affect, Performance, and the Movement of Social Norms explores how performances manipulate stigma to address social inequalities.Timestamps:[00:00] - Introduction to the podcast and episode theme[01:00] - Expert guest intros and their credentials[03:00] - Learning objectives of the episode[04:37] - Dani shares how theater intersects with recovery[05:50] - Meghann shares personal recovery journey and critiques of dominant narratives[08:03] - Defining stigma and its layers[10:00] - The deep link between storytelling and social belonging[14:21] - Unpacking the “redemption story” and its damaging effects[29:00] - Debunking the idea that shame leads to healing[42:33] - How strength-based storytelling shifts narratives and promotes careLinks & LearningsAMERSAErving Goffman, Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1963).E. Summerson Carr, Scripting AddFind us online at amersa.org/amersa-podcast Frontiers in Substance Use & Stigma & Substance Use are sponsored by Provider’s Clinical Support System – Medication for Opioid Use Disorder (PCSS-MOUD). Learn more about PCSS-MOUD at pcssnow.org.Funding for this initiative was made possible by cooperative agreement no. 1H79TI086770 from SAMHSA. The views expressed in written conference materials or publications and by speakers and moderators do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Department of Health and Human Services; nor does mention of trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.Substance Use Across the Lifespan and Innovation in Action are sponsored by the Opioid Response Network (ORN). Learn more about ORN at opioidresponsenetwork.org.Funding for this initiative was made possible (in part) by grant no. 1H79TI088037 from SAMHSA. The views expressed in written conference materials or publications and by speakers and moderators do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Department of Health and Human Services; nor does mention of trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.