Meet the Patient where they are at, NOT where you want them to be at
Often times the angriest patients are the ones in the most psychic pain
If you work in the addiction field and are in recovery yourself, keep your recovery program separate from your work
No one ever broke out because they stopped going to meetings, you need to help them look at what was going on or not going on just prior
You show me a person with ten plus detoxes, and I will show you a person that has other issues going on aside from substance abuse/chemical dependency
I’m glad you made it back to the detox…not everyone does…
12 Step is not the answer for everyone…
Always have a family meeting at the detox if the patient is willing…the apple does not fall very far from the tree (family dynamics)
You really do not see a lot of addicts/alcoholics sent to long-term inpatient psych facilities. That is where you find their friends and families( without substance abuse issues) that have been trying to make sense out of their loved ones’ use (without supports for themselves)
Said to a fellow counselor (in recovery) after hearing his interaction with a patient at the detox: ‘just because a course of action worked for you, that does not in and of itself mean it will work for the patient you are working with (are you hearing them or just waiting for them to stop talking so you can take on the Expert Role)’
And
‘Hey, are you a professional counselor, or, looking to be a sponsor for all the patients?’
And
‘Hey, nice boundaries, you better see them at the meeting on Saturday after they discharge?’
And
‘I’m concerned, (to a fellow counselor), from how you describe your life everything centers around work and meetings…nothing else’
‘When going to a new therapist/counselor, the first session should consist of the client interviewing the therapist with emphasis on their clinical and academic background, as it pertains to their issue(s)’
‘Clinical usually trumps Academic. However, Academic Greatly enhances Clinical’
‘There is no place for sympathy on the part of a therapist toward the client; empathy and compassion yes, sympathy, no’\
‘I believe every person that works as a therapist/counselor needs not only supervision, but ongoing therapy in order to stay healthy’
They are not ‘bad’ people trying to become ‘good’…They are ‘unhealthy’ people trying to become ‘healthy’
‘Psych is the bastard child of medicine, and, Addiction is the bastard child of Psych’
‘As I see it, the only benefit derived from the advent of HMO’s was the forcing together of Psych/Addiction, to the benefit of the client’
People in Psych, People in Addiction- Never have two groups had so much in common, yet been so separated by a common language (sort of churchillian, no?)
Layman’s definition of Bipolar I & Bipolar II: Bipolar I, “I am God,” Bipolar II, “I act like I am God”
No one grows up wanting to become an addict or alcoholic…I have yet to see it on a resume
Show me a person that espouses the view that addicts and alcoholics ‘want to be the way they are,’ and I will show you a person that more than likely, has rampant addiction issues in their families
Spirituality should not be confused with emotionality
The patient has to want recovery for themselves as much as, or greater than I want it for them
Hope without a plan of action is pretty much dead in the water
So long as my patient/client is breathing, change is possible
I wonder how many drug overdose deaths are suicides without a note
1 comment:
When I wrote my resume as an addictions counselor, I DID put my addiction and recovery in, as well as childhood abuse and prison time. Got me the job!
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