David Votruba PhD PLC

03/24/2026

Upcoming Alcohol Awareness Month Community Forum: Hope, Support, and Healing for Families on Tuesday, April 7, 2026, from 6:30–8:00 PM at the Ann Arbor Senior Center.

This forum is being held in observance of Alcohol Awareness Month and will focus on how alcohol use affects family systems, as well as resources and support available in our community. The event will include brief presentations from local experts and an opportunity for discussion and connection with community members and organizations. Speakers include representatives from Dawn Farm, Washtenaw Face Addiction Now, and Michigan Medicine Addiction Treatment Services.

Event details:

03/05/2026

This should be a fascinating and elucidating professional presentation and consversation:

02/21/2026

This is a very helpful and easy to read summary of the immediate and longer-term health effects of alcohol consumption:

From the moment you take a sip, drinking starts to influence your biology. Here’s an inside look.

12/16/2025

11/17/2025

The University of Michigan University Health & Counseling and Wolverine Wellness teams are doing some excellent work to support students contending with problem gambling and gambling addiction. I had the opportunity connect with colleagues and learn more about how the University is responding to these rapidly developing problems at today's "Beyond the Bet" presentation. You can learn more about the University's student wellness initiatives here: https://wolverinewellness.umich.edu/

10/16/2025

Remember: Agency and community are both strong prophylaxes and therapies for trauma. It can take time and energy to find and nurture both agency and community, but the return on investment in strength and healing makes it well worth the effort.

08/25/2025

This interactive article from the NYT provides good introductory, age-specific information about sleep-related problems, goals, and potential solutions:

Sleep needs shift throughout the lifespan. Experts offer tips to get more rest — no matter how old you are.

06/10/2025

New from Michigan Medicine via CNN: Even small amounts of alcohol disrupt sleep and contribute to physical and mental health problems:

Though an alcoholic drink may have you falling asleep quickly, sleep specialists say it’s the middle of the night where that drink comes back to haunt you. CNN’s Randi Kaye got all hooked up at University of Michigan’s sleep lab to see what happens after a martini or two.

01/24/2025

Here's some helpful information for people thinking about reaching out for help through psychotherapy:

Here’s how to make the most of your visits.

08/19/2024

"The findings add to a mounting body of evidence that is shifting the paradigm in alcohol research. Scientists are turning to new methodologies to analyze the risks and benefits of alcohol consumption in an attempt to correct what some believe were serious flaws in earlier research, which appeared to show that there were benefits to drinking."

Virtually any amount increased the risk for cancer, and there were no heart benefits, the researchers reported.

07/01/2024

I'm excited to announce that I've been appointed an Adjunct Physician Instructor for the University of Michigan's Department of Psychiatry. I'm looking forward to providing Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Training for Michigan Medicine psychiatry residents. !

We recognize the importance of balanced training, not only between psychological and biological therapies, but also between traditional psychoanalytic therapy and newer empirical therapies.

06/07/2024

Today is National Gun Violence Awareness Day and I both to honor all the loved ones who should be alive today but aren't because of gun violence and to demand urgent action from lawmakers to