Why Can’t It Be 6 Months From Now? That’s the refrain we hear all the time, though sometimes it’s “two weeks” or “a month”, but the plea is always the same. I want to have my alcohol problems behind me, but I don’t want to go through the process. Kind of like Woody Allen’s admission [...]
We got a call….. Last week we got a call from a reader who said, “I’ve been reading your Newsletter for a year now, but last Friday I got a DUI.” What’s wrong with this picture? First, merely reading the Newsletter isn’t going to fix anything. Reading is part of the “contemplation” stage of change, [...]
No, You Don’t Have to Wait On Your Spouse We got a call the other day from a long time reader who said, “I just realized I was waiting for —– to do something about the drinking and it wasn’t going to happen unless I did something about my end of the equation.” How did [...]
What If Almost Everything You’ve Ever Been Told About Alcohol Treatment Is Wrong? The sad fact is that almost everything you’ve ever heard about putting “alcoholism” or alcohol abuse behind you is wrong! This starts with the very word alcoholism itself – which implies that the mis-use of alcohol is a disease. But for 85% [...]
Counselors “In Recovery”? We took part in a survey of counselors in treatment programs awhile back and recently read through the preliminary results. One question had to do with how many counselors who considered themselves to be “in recovery” had “relapsed”. Not surprisingly to anyone who’s ever been around a treatment program, one third of [...]
“Impaired Professionals”? We are pleased to announce that we have been recognized as a “recommended provider” of effective and confidential treatment services by the Federation of State Physician Advocacy Groups (FSPAG). FSPAG was formed to combat the abuse of physicians by the traditional HPPs (Health Professionals Programs) that blackmail physicians into expensive, demeaning, ineffectual, and [...]
Control, Influence, Acceptance, and Successful Behavior Change Our February 14th issue addressed changing what we can, last week we wrote about influencing what we can, and this week we’re taking up the challenge of acceptance. There are, of course, things we can’t change: our age, height, who are parents are, and who won the Super [...]
Control, Influence, Acceptance, and Successful Behavior Change Last week we looked at changing what we can and this week it’s time to look at influencing what we can. Much as all of us would like to be able to make someone else change, we can’t. The best we can manage is to change ourselves, which [...]
Valentines Day? This year, why not give yourself a loving Valentine’s gift that will also be a long term present to those you love and who love you in return? Here’s how to start – Control, Influence, Acceptance, and Successful Behavior Change God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage [...]
Why Do “They” Insist You Label Yourself An “Alcoholic”? A frequent question we get from clients after they have returned home is that spouses and/or other family members are adamant that they must now publicly label themselves as “alcoholics” and “admit” they are. Since labeling oneself an alcoholic is about the most destructive thing you [...]