Clinical Psychologist · SFU Distinguished Professor
Forty Years
of Evidence.
One Way Forward.
Dr. Julian Somers has spent his career studying why addiction
crises happen, and proving, again and again, that recovery is
possible when systems are built on evidence instead of
ideology.
150+
Peer-reviewed publications
35+
Years in clinical practice
500
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8
Principles to end mass addiction
About
A career spent
where research
meets the street.
Dr. Somers trained under pioneers of addiction science, then spent four decades working directly with people facing addiction, trauma, homelessness, and severe mental health conditions, while leading some of the largest randomized trials of their kind in North America.
1986
Began clinical work at Riverview Hospital during deinstitutionalization
1990s
Co-developed the adaptive theory of addiction with psychologist Bruce Alexander
2007
Founded a university-based addiction research centre at SFU
2010s
Led At Home / Chez Soi Canada’s largest social science experiment
2020
Named SFU Distinguished Professor
2026
Mass Addiction
Mass Addiction - The Book
Eight principles. One coherent argument.
Forty years of research distilled into a single, practical framework for individuals, families, clinicians, and the institutions responsible for getting this right.
Addiction is Adaptation
01
Addiction is not a moral failing or a mysterious disease, it's a maladaptive compensation for an unmet need as fundamental as nutrition or sleep: psychosocial integration. When people are mistreated, ignored, or disconnected, addiction is often what fills the gap.
Address Demand and Supply Together
02
Supply-side approaches prohibition, the war on drugs, even "safe supply" fail when the demand for drugs is ignored. Demand is fuelled by meaninglessness, poverty, trauma, and hopelessness. All of which can be changed.
Motivation Is Malleable
03
The desire to change fluctuates in response to environment, community, and opportunity. Recovery requires a pathway to life as a fellow citizen, and the support to choose responsibilities worth keeping.
Rescue From Addiction Is Achievable
04
Decades of evidence, from methadone's early successes to modern recovery-oriented care, show that people with even the most complex addictions can recover, given the right social and psychological supports.
Mass Addiction Reflects Corruption
05
When addiction policy is driven by profit, bureaucratic interest, or ideology rather than people, outcomes predictably worsen. Systems drift toward what's easy to implement, easy to market, and politically expedient.
Define Goals, Link Data, Measure Outcomes
06
Clear goals and transparent measurement transform systems. When governments obscure data or avoid evaluation, harmful policies are far more likely to proliferate, and far harder to correct.
Get Profit and Ideology Out of Policy-Making
07
The most effective systems worldwide limit commercial influence and base decisions on outcomes. Left unchecked, ideology and business incentives distort the field, and lose sight of the people it's meant to serve.
Normalize Post-Traumatic Growth
08
Mass addiction carries a hidden cost: collective trauma. Recovery for individuals and communities alike, means more than reducing symptoms. It means rebuilding meaning, identity, agency, and connection.
Forthcoming
Mass Addiction
The root causes of crisis, and the practical principles that can end it. Drawing on forty years of research, clinical work, and a direct confrontation with the politics that derailed it.
Media & Appearances
In the public conversation.
Northern Beat
BC has lost its way on addiction, but there's a path back
Dr. Somers argues billions in public spending have proceeded without outcome accountability, and outlines what evidence-based reform looks like.
Opinion piece
Our Place Society · Podcast
Heart of the matter: addiction, homelessness & real solutions
A wide-ranging conversation on the research behind the headlines and what effective policy actually requires.
Podcast interview
YouTube · Lives Worth Living
A solution-focused series on addiction & homelessness in BC
Dr. Somers' ongoing series presenting evidence-based perspectives directly to the public.
Video series
Northern Beat
BC has lost its way on addiction, but there's a path back
Dr. Somers argues billions in public spending have proceeded without outcome accountability, and outlines what evidence-based reform looks like.
Opinion piece
Northern Beat
BC has lost its way on addiction, but there's a path back
Dr. Somers argues billions in public spending have proceeded without outcome accountability, and outlines what evidence-based reform looks like.
Opinion piece