Listening to Change: How Nurse Practitioners Are Confronting Stigma in SUD Treatment

In the effort to dismantle stigma around substance use disorder (SUD), one of the most powerful tools we have is storytelling — especially when it comes directly from those on the front lines of care. The American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) recently tackled this issue in a compelling episode of their official podcast, The NP Pulse: The Voice of the Nurse Practitioner®.

🎧 Episode Title: Building Trust: Reducing Stigma in Substance Use Disorder Interactions🔗 Listen to the episode

Why This Episode Is Worth Your Time

This conversation goes beyond clinical protocols. It challenges providers to examine how historic punitive approaches, implicit bias, and misinformation have shaped the way patients with SUD are treated — and often judged — in healthcare settings. Through firsthand accounts and expert perspectives, the episode calls on listeners to shift their mindset from control to compassion.

The episode also addresses:

• The origins of stigma in medicine and public health

• How past systems have punished rather than supported people with SUD

• Why trust-building is essential to patient recovery

• What a more trauma-informed, person-centered approach actually looks like

A Call to Do Better — Together

This is more than a professional development resource — it's a reminder of our shared responsibility to create healthcare spaces where patients with SUD are seen, respected, and supported.

Whether you’re a nurse practitioner, clinician, policymaker, or someone working in public health, this episode is a strong invitation to reflect, unlearn, and rebuild how we support recovery.