Some Thoughts on Recovery

I am a Recovering Veteran and chemical dependency Counselor.

There is a "frame-of-mind" that is common to those that Recovery is more likely to work for. 12-Step programs have an identifying directive, of sorts. "Stick with the winners!" Working in the Addiction Recovery field, you learn to identify people whose chances seem to be greater than others, by observing attitudes.

It is sad but true that most Addicts have to have exhausted every option except discontinuing drug use, before they really have a chance at abstinence or sobriety. Many people working in this field of Addiction treatment, claim that they can swing a person "over-the-fence" to the Recovery side. That may be true but that percentage is small, almost to the point of insignificance, in my opinion. Do I believe that we should strive to do that? Of course I do, but expectations based on the ability to have that happen are misplaced.

Expectations are an issue for the Addict in Recovery, and also for those providing care for them. Unreal expectations on the part of Professionals in this field can form a subconscious attitude that is detrimental to their effectiveness with those they intend to help. The point being, that they can end up making judgments regarding who does and does not have chance, thus disregarding others. It is really impossible to make those kinds of predictions accurately. So what do we do about being dealt a hand that says the odds are against success, most of the time? Being human beings, we can't help but try to make assessments directed at our usefulness in this World. A strong desire to "Help" is inherent in the type of people who decide to work in the Recovery field. Most of those counseling now, are Recovering Addicts themselves.

To be effective, we have to accept the facts and figures that say that the average addict or alcoholic(most of them), is going to require multiple episodes of treatment. We have to understand that when looking at a single episode of treatment there are a lot of major obstacles to be overcome. In a controlled environment, most addicts do far better than they do outside of that environment (alcoholics are addicts, because alcohol is a drug). Rather than directing too much focus on some and too little on others, we need to learn to use what we have at hand. When a potential success is identified, we need to use that individual as part of the treatment "team", so to speak. It builds their self esteem, while instituting the well proven success philosophy of "Addicts helping Addicts" can achieve miracles.

Group education and group counseling have proven to be effective beyond one-on-one counseling, in the Addiction Treatment field. Fear and lack of trust are embedded in the personalities that develop in Addicts. Commonly though, Addicts will put trust in fellow Addicts before anyone else. Enlisting those who seem to have surrendered to the problem and are "seeking" help and guidance is essential to forming a group situation that is therapeutic. Thus, the Therapeutic Community concept has also proven itself to be a preferred modality for many, many in-patient programs.

Even in the out-patient mode, the group is central. Thus the counselor becomes more of a guide than a therapist as Psychiatrists and Psychologists are. This is a distinction that is of some controversy at this time. In California, The Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselors Law, AB 1367, an attempt to create specific treatment standards, has encountered some resistance from psychiatrists and psychologists, and their respective Associations, as it will License trained counselors much like Registered Nurses are. I'm sure this resistance is rooted in rates or finance. Even a highly trained CAADAC (California Association of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselors) counselor, is paid at a rate at least 50% lower than the psychiatrist or psychologist. Topping that off is the fact that the treatment provided by trained counselors in treatment programs is generally considered to be the more successful form of treatment. CAADAC is spear-heading efforts to raise the standards originally proposed in AB 1367, as I write.

Not only the Therapeutic Community model of treatment, employs the group treatment model. 12-Step programs are founders of the "Group" concept for addressing Alcoholism and Addiction problems. Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith, originally discovered the effectiveness of one Alcoholic helping another Alcoholic, and thus formed the group, Alcoholics Anonymous. Alcoholics Anonymous or AA, started in the 1930's, spurred the formation of Narcotics Anonymous or NA, in the 1970's and is now responsible for hundreds of different group organizations, addressing many problems that evolve into an Addiction. In these groups no single individual has a "Lead" position that gives them "Authority" over others. Individuals do moderate meetings but ultimately they have no authority to demand anything from, or preside over others in a meeting. Only a group consensus can anyway rule over or make rules for a 12-Step Group. This again evolved, as a result of fear and lack of trust on the part of those suffering from Addictions. This is provided for in the 12-Step Traditions. Early on Bill W. and Dr. Bob recognized this as being necessary to retain members of AA long enough for the Group to effective.

Thus, an effective substance abuse Counselor, while being in a position of authority, cannot depend on authority as a primary characteristic of his position. Drug and Alcohol treatment counselors become guides down-playing demands and advice. Their ultimate goal becomes helping Addicts learn to come to better decisions on their own. Criticism needs to be used very sparingly and mostly as a product of group thinking. Confrontation becomes a group responsibility, even though the group may need guidance to properly confront a group member. The group should evolve under the assumption that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Thus, the individual having the hardest time becomes the most important person, rather than an outcast. This is often the time at which a Counselor may have to exert authority. If an individual in the group absolutely cannot become "part of the group" a decision may have to be made, for the good of the group. Another mode of treatment may need to be found or that individual may just not be ready to change. At any rate, the welfare of the group is primary. This may require only some one-on-one time between that person and his Counselor, or an intervention by the group. Often, it does mean rejection from the group and quite possibly a return to the drug sub-culture. Hope that the individual survives for another try, is eternal. Cold, but a truth that is part of Addiction and Addiction Recovery.

In conclusion, these are just some thoughts I pondered over today, and thought might be good to share with others. If you have anything to say in regard to todays thoughts, please comment or visit my Web Site, Addiction: Why Me? @

and use my EMail-Me form for direct contact comments or suggestions.