We were reading Dr. Sally Satel’s review of “Memoirs of an Addicted Brain” by Marc Lewis, M.D., and came across the following, “Dr. Lewis reminds us that people keep using … because drugs serve a purpose.” Dr. Lewis further notes, “In one way or another, … people take drugs because they are not feeling right.” [...]
Assertiveness, Anyone? We’re always looking for common themes among our clients and how these play into alcohol abuse. Over the past 20 years a number of traits have emerged as contributory factors. While the ones we often share are loneliness, boredom, anxiety, and escape, the traits that lead to these conditions and the need to [...]
Just after we wrote last week’s article for couples we received the following e-mail. “Hi Mary Ellen, Just wanted to let you know that things are going well with us almost a year after we first met you and Ed. We desperately needed help getting back on track at that time and are so grateful [...]
“May I Have This Dance?” We do a lot of work with couples and what neither spouse nor partner understands is that they are really dancing together. That’s right — it isn’t just the drinker’s problem, but a problem they have created together. It’s a dance they join into automatically and whenever either of them [...]
“Does outpatient rehab work?” This is another of those frequently Googled search phrases that has folks finding their way to our website. The problem? The question makes a couple of assumptions that are false to start with. First, the question implies that residential programs “work” when there isn’t any actual evidence that they do and [...]
Yes, we know it’s Super Bowl Sunday, so you probably won’t be quitting today, but tomorrow… Well, it’s not rocket science – or magic… Leaving your alcohol abuse behind isn’t a change that depends on the “magic of the steps” or complicated scientific approaches. Nor is it as simple as “Why don’t you just quit!!!” [...]
Rehab Or Quit On Your Own, Which Has The Best Results? It’s a fair question. The answer isn’t all that difficult to decide if you sort out the real options. The trouble is, when we start trying to figure out what to do we’re usually in such a mess that we don’t always make good [...]
We offer all of the following: Luxury! Privacy! Confidentiality! Individuality! Effectiveness! Affordability! What more could you ask for? That’s right – we offer everything anyone else claims to, but in much less time, and at far less cost, much more choice – all under your control – not some program’s control – and with successful [...]
Couples! Several times a year we work with couples who both have alcohol problems (as we also do with couples where only one is the “designated client”). We can do this very effectively when no one else can. Why? First, because we work as a team. If you’ve every been to “couples counseling” you know [...]
A recent client from Chicago said: “I visited dozens of websites before I called you. I called because yours was the only one that actually told me how you propose to help me, and the only one to tell me the cost!” He went on to note six other important points: When I called, I [...]