Addiction treatment outcomes are determined in large part by motivation. Like most endeavors that require long term actions, motivation is vitally important. In the beginning, a client’s motivation might be that some consequence will come about if the client doesn’t go to treatment, such as…
Learning to recognize relapse triggers and relapse warning signs in addiction recovery is critical. Triggers are sights, sounds, people, smells, places and things in general that remind the person in recovery of their drug of choice. Some cocaine addicts in recovery can see powder…
In addiction treatment and recovery, we talk about lapse and relapse. Lapse is when someone is just beginning addiction treatment and starts using again shortly after. Lapsing is common. Think about dieting and how easy it is in the beginning to eat a candy…
I could have titled this recovery and holidays rather that alcoholism and holidays, but I believe we all need to come to terms with the word “alcoholism”and “alcoholic”. Alcoholism is perceived as a harsh word that some prefer to soften with terms like Alcohol…
There are basically three types of motivation in addiction treatment. One is to avoid unpleasant consequences through compliance. These clients are usually pushed hard to get into treatment, and they’re the most likely to return to their drug of choice. Another form of motivation is calculation —…
In his book The Fifth Discipline, Peter Senge wrote about a virtuous cycle. Senge was writing about learning organizations, but the same principles apply to individuals and a virtuous cycle in addiction recovery. We’ve all heard about the vicious cycle — addiction is a prime example of a vicious…
So, what is outpatient addiction treatment? First of all, the lingo is changing in the addiction treatment field. Although most professionals in the field still refer to addiction as addiction, there are some organizations referring to addiction as Substance Use Disorder or Alcohol Use Disorder….
I would like clarify my ideas and write something more on Recovery Management. In a practical sense, Recovery Management is about checking off items on a recovery plan list — nutrition, exercise, support group, relationships, work, etc, right on down the list of areas of concern…
Most people, especially younger people, who are in treatment contemplating what recovery and abstinence will be like foresee boredom and a constant struggle to avoid temptation. They fear the loss of friends and any kind of social life. What does a person do if they…
I’m as guilty as anyone writing about the problem more than the solution. It’s no wonder that many in society have a negative perception of addiction — they hear about the problem and consequences of addiction and substance abuse, yet hardly ever hear about or…
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