Understandably, our clients are feeling a lot of stress and anxiety when they come to us. Time and time again we hear the same relieved voices: “You aren’t going to yell at me? Or tell me how stupid I’ve been? Or…” We know that that’s how most programs work – or, more accurately, don’t work. [...]

Occasionally we come across articles we like to share. Such is the case this week and we are pleased that our friend Dr. Neill Neill of Vancouver Island, British Columbia has granted us permission to pass along his excellent perspective on the importance of self-labeling. Thrivers, Survivors and People in Recovery Dr Neill Neill We [...]

Here are our answers to two common questions: “Will it work?” Or the question that comes later from others: “Did it work?” It seems many people think there is a magic cure for the mis-use of alcohol, a “treatment” that fixes the problem. We wish that was the case. But it’s not. Leaving alcohol abuse [...]

Callers often ask why we use a 5-Day format. We know the answer isn’t obvious so here’s a short version. It takes about that long to figure out why you’re abusing alcohol; consider better alternatives; reorganize your day-to-day life where needed; and to establish the working relationships we need to continue through the 12 weeks [...]

Last week we received a letter we especially wanted to share with you. Our friend in Australia has granted us permission to reprint excerpts and we hope you appreciate his words and perspectives as much as we do. Dear Ed and Mary Ellen, With the help of your ideas and practices and similar ones that [...]

This week several parents posted new comments to one of the columns we wrote for Good Therapy called “Freeing the Parents of Adult Alcoholic and Addicted Children” . This is one of the most widely read pieces we have published with reprint requests having come from as far away as Australia. We think that the [...]

About 6 months ago a client sat across the table from Mary Ellen and me and said, suspiciously, “You don’t do 12 Steps, you have 3 Steps! Get a grip. Get a life. Get outta here.” She was pretty much right. What do we mean by “get a grip?” Mostly you need to grasp the [...]

Every once in awhile someone asks me, “Ed, how many years of sobriety do you have?” These days I usually say, “I don’t know, but I suppose it must be getting up around 60.” That usually elicits a stare and a long pause (though one groggy individual did once say, “Damn! You musta started awful [...]

We’ve spent the past week working with a couple. This isn’t particularly unusual except in this case they’ve both been official clients from the beginning of their treatment. Usually we start out with one person being the “designated” client and only later does the process expands to include the other spouse. This shouldn’t seem unusual [...]

Last week we looked at the benefits and costs of continuing alcohol abuse. We also wrote about motivation and that it’s tough to give up short term benefits for long term ones. This week we’d like to take a look at how you’ve been talking to yourself. This is another area where the reality – [...]