One of the biggest mistakes people make early on in their recovery is underestimating the power of the group. Our culture is one that values personal independence and free will. This often leads us to overestimate our ability to handle a change in our lives even when
A more modern and controversial viewpoint on substance abuse and addiction is moderation management. As a therapist and counselor, I have been asked about my viewpoint on this very topic. I hope this article can help to provide a well-rounded perspective on a controversial topic, and provide
Knowing whether or not you are addicted to a particular behavior is not always easy to identify. Part of the problem with this lies in the vagueness of how addiction can be defined. This is one of the reasons why so many clients come into treatment being
If you are addicted to alcohol or another drug, should you go to AA or NA? I will tell my clients that they should at least try it once with an open mind. Many times people have decided that they will despise this type of a support
With New Years upon us, it is inevitable that many of you will be making New Years Resolutions. It seems to be a human, or at least a cultural behavior to set up goals along with calendar landmarks. “I will start exercising on Monday,” “I will stop
Many people believe that addicts will not change their behavior until they hit “rock bottom”. This means that a person loses everything that was important and has nowhere to go but up. Compulsive gamblers are not thought to be an exception to this rule. Although many compulsive
When we think of grief, we tend to think of it as it relates to death. However grief can relate to many other situations in life as well. One of these situations is addictive behavior. Changing your life to abstain from an addictive behavior is something that
I recently read something on a local attorney’s blog that was disturbing to me. This was that some counselors who were evaluating clients were making recommendations based on one screening instrument alone. Thus, I thought it was important for me to write about completing a comprehensive substance
“Where do I get the motivation to change this part of my life?” I hear this from clients on a regular basis. The first thing to note is to give yourself credit for recognizing that you need to change. There are many people who need to make
“How do I convince someone that he/she has an alcohol problem?” This is an obvious issue that many spouses of those who have an alcohol problem deal with. You have to be careful not to push to hard, yet not enable the person at the same time.