“Rock Bottom”? Of all of AA’s many myths I doubt any are more harmful than the one which states that a person must hit “rock bottom” before they can move to being “in recovery.” There are any number of ways to approach debunking this foolishness but I’d like to begin with its tie to [...]
Summer – Not a Cure-All, But… It’s interesting that not just in substance abuse offices but in health offices generally the numbers of calls and visitors drop significantly come Memorial Day. As an old Alaskan the reasons are readily apparent – in the winter, oppressed by cold and dark – there isn’t much to [...]
What are your real priorities? Most of us can rattle off a set list of our supposed priorities: My partner; My children; My parents; My health; My financial condition; My career. Many of us will include “all of the above.” Few will include “my drinking.” How do we separate our real ones from the [...]
No, I can’t do anything for you or to you that’s going to fix your alcohol problem. However… I can work with you to support you in fixing your problem and keeping it fixed. Yes, I know – almost everyone else claims they can do it for you and all in comfort while you [...]
Winter? It’s been a strange few months here in western PA. Dec, Jan, and Feb are all record-breaking months for the least snow and the highest average temperatures. Not much rain either. It seems we are dwelling in this “donut hole” where nasty weather passes north and south of us, ends to the west [...]
Home Again Three weeks post-op and able to write/talk/etc. for a couple of hours at a time. I appreciate those who’ve opted to schedule free consultations and the ones who chose the assessment as well. That said, a couple in their late 40s had come to see me with a variation on a common [...]
Happy New Year! I am thankful the holiday season is over and I can return to what I consider to be my “normal” life. If only it were so… Last year – the one that ended yesterday – I had a very complicated surgery done on my right knee followed by 3 months in [...]
Happy Holidays! Sometimes, in the midst of our own difficulties, it is hard to remember that while there is much in life we can’t control, there is also much we can. Example? It’s been a difficult year medically with the problems continuing for another year. Last July started the surgical clock on my right [...]
I occasionally receive follow-up letters/calls/emails from former clients and these comments are always appreciated. Both my work as a therapist and as a writer are very isolating occupations without much in the way of feedback. Yes, there are plenty of verbal comments, but the written insights are the most helpful as well as the [...]
Proposal A woman I have worked with off and on recently asked me for a proposal for continuing work to address other aspects of her life – specifically enhancing her life now that she’s in her 50’s. I also realized Labor Day weekend was roling around again, beginning the annual I’ll fix “it” after [...]