If you lead prevention work, you already know the uncomfortable truth: most people in this field care deeply — and yet some of the most common “go-to” approaches can quietly miss the mark.

That’s why this latest episode of Pathways 2 Prevention is such an important listen. 

We sat down with Matej (UTRIP), author of Prevention Gone Wrong: The Do’s, Don’ts, and the Common-Sense Lessons in Drug Prevention, to talk about why good intentions aren’t enough — and what practical course-corrections actually look like.

Tune into the conversation here.

The core idea: stop shipping “fast food prevention”

Matej names a pattern many of us have felt but haven’t had language for: prevention that’s designed to look impressive in the moment — but doesn’t build durable protective factors over time.

Think:

  • One-off assemblies with no skill-building
  • Fear-heavy messaging that gets attention but erodes trust
  • Campaigns built for awareness, not behavior change
  • “Big events” that substitute for sustained dosage + follow-through

Here’s the twist nobody tells you: the more pressure you’re under (time, funding, optics), the more tempting these approaches become — because they feel fast, tangible, and measurable.

But “felt impact” isn’t the same as real impact.

A 5-minute pressure test (use this before you fund, plan, or promote anything)

If you take nothing else from the episode, steal this. Run every prevention idea through these questions:

  1. What outcome are we actually trying to change?
  2. What skill or protective factor are we building?
  3. What’s the follow-through after the event?
  4. How are families and the environment involved (even lightly)?
  5. How will we know it worked beyond “people liked it”?

If you can’t answer those in plain language, you’re not ready to launch — and that’s a gift, because it means you can redesign before you waste money or lose trust.

3 action steps you can take this week

1) Audit one current activity

Pick one active program, campaign, or event and score it with the 5 questions above.

  • Green = clear, specific answer
  • Yellow = vague but fixable
  • Red = unclear / missing

2) Replace fear with skill

If any part of your messaging relies on shock or scare tactics, ask:

  • What skill are we trying to build instead?
  • What is the smallest practice opportunity we can add?

Example: refusal skills, stress regulation, help-seeking, parent communication, peer norms correction.

3) Add “aftercare” (even if it’s simple)

One-off doesn’t have to mean pointless — but it does need follow-through.

Add one of these:

  • A 2–3 touchpoint follow-up plan
  • A parent/caregiver take-home with a script for a 10-minute conversation
  • A referral pathway + warm handoff option
  • A booster session or mini-series

If you design prevention programs, manage grants, run coalitions, or shape school/community initiatives — this conversation will sharpen your instincts.

And if you’ve ever looked at an initiative and thought, “This will look great… but will it actually help?” — you’re exactly who this is for.

Links & resources

Bottom line? Prevention is too important to be left to slogans. Let’s build the kind of prevention that actually holds up over time.

Listen now here.