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 – [...]
This week we thought we’d write about something you wouldn’t expect: The Benefits of Continuing Your Drinking! Let’s be realistic here – there are benefits, otherwise you wouldn’t keep drinking. My Alcohol Use: Relieves my anxiety; Eases my boredom; Mitigates my loneliness; Lubricates social events; Relieves my physical aches and pains; Improves my sex life; [...]
Callers frequently ask us what we do and how it’s different from what 12-Step/AA based programs do. It’s a question worth answering. But first it’s worth noting what we don’t do. We don’t cram you into a one-size-fits-all “program.” Nor do we insult you by suggesting that you need to be converted to the one [...]
I fired a doctor last week. My primary physician and I had decided that I should see a cardiologist for some baseline testing. At my age it seem prudent to go in for a treadmill stress test and discuss whatever factors showed up. I took the test a month ago and the cardiologist seemed upset [...]
We recently received an e-mail that read, in part, “The brevity (of your program) scares me.” We do understand that concern, especially with more and more traditional programs pushing for up to 90 day stays. On the other hand we have clients who have been through those programs and we know that no amount of [...]
February? I remember February when I was growing up in western Pennsylvania. Cold and rainy and spitting snow and sleet. The woods were wet and dark and cold as I poked around swamps looking for the first signs of spring – skunk cabbage pushing its way up through frosty soil and last fall’s leaves. Fifteen [...]