Drug Rehab Center

In this 3rd instalment, Cathy talks about ‘flow‘ which is based on the work of Mihaly Czikszentmihalyi. It’s about families finding something that inspires them and helps nourish inner joy. Importantly, it’s important to find something that doesn’t revolve around a loved one.

In part 2 of this series on supporting families affected by a loved one’s addiction, Cathy Patterson-Sterling highlights the the second of her five greatest wishes for families – maintaining healthy boundaries.

In this first instalment, Cathy invites loved ones to consider the first of five techniques that wil help them deal with addiction in the family: healthy emotional detachment.

This is the first instalment of a new topic on what we can learn from the research on works in addiction treatment. How do we gauge the effectiveness of therapy? This question has been the focus of researchers for a long, long time. In the old days, for example, the expert therapist would tell us that treatment was effective because of an observed change in personality (think Sigmund Freud). The client wasn’t considered competent enough to report on clinical matters. Nowadays, in contrast, we get feedback from clients as opposed to the person treating the client. For example, researchers will ask the client to report on how they cope with challenges to their sobriety both before and after treatment. Another example is whether a person who is shy (introverted) may become more outgoing (extroverted) after treatment. Anger (or the tendency to resort to anger) and impulsivity are also measured as clues to a change in personality.

This is the second instalment on this topic of what works in treatment. Dr. William Silkworth, stressing the importance of change, was quoted in the Big Book as saying “recovery demands an entire psychic change.” In the research of Dr. William R. Miller, he observed that those who experienced a radical or “quantum” change after treatment was due to a shift in values, or a reprioritizing of what is important such as from wealth-building to nurturing important relationships.

The research tells us that The easiest way to determine whether addiction treatment has been effective is to observe behaviour. The biggest change, of course, would be if the person stops using or drinking. This is the most obvious but researchers also want to know if the person hasn’t been abstinent then how much drinking (amount consumed) or how many days has a person been clean and sober compared to before treatment. Researchers also want to compare how people are spending their time before and after treatment such as going to meetings, going to the bar, reducing absenteeism from work, reducing problems associated with the law, etc. Researchers are also interested in the relational component. For example, is the person spending more time with loved ones or if they feel a greater affinity to their family and friends. If there is a change then researchers then become very interested in what therapies in treatment may have led to the change in behaviour.

In part 3 of ‘What works in addiction treatment’, Geoff discusses one of the keys of successful recovery – getting a sense of connection with others. It is probably the most consistent finding of research and the most consistent factor from feedback from our clients. In practical terms, this would mean connecting to their counsellor or to their peer group. This need for meaningful connection may also explain the success of support groups such as AA, NA and Lifering.

From a psychological point of view, we know from research that we are ‘relational beings’ that are ‘hardwired’ to connect with others. Researcher Roy Baumeister theorizes that human children take much longer than other animals to reach maturity because they have to learn how to be ‘social’ animals. Many clients in our program express feelings of loneliness, of isolating. This is a key characteristic of addiction. Forming an authentic, deeply emotional connection is, apparently, key to breaking the addiction cycle.

Welcome to the 4th segment on what researchers have observed when addiction treatment works. A common thing researchers find is that there is often a shift in thinking, that people begin to think in a new way. This new way of thinking involves the ability to see another perspective, even someone else’s perspective. For example, those successful in recovery may no longer take it personally when they get cut off in traffic, realizing that it is a complete stranger in the other car. In those instances when it may be personal, for example when a friend offers them a beer after completing treatment, instead of getting offended or hurt they may consider the possibility that the person thinks that treatment cures addiction, that those cured can drink again. Maybe the world is not out to get you.

Psychologist Dr. Albert Ellis used to say that if a person can change the way they think about things it will help them feel better about themselves. When a person feels better about themselves the way the react in life (their behaviour) will also change for the better. The technical term for a shift in thinking is ‘cognitive restructuring’.

In this final instalment in ‘What works in addiction treatment’, we see another example of people successful in recovery seeing the world in a new way. Getting a new perspective can, however, be more challenging depending on the issue. For example, altering a person’s belief that he/she will die if they get on an airplane is, relatively speaking, fairly straightforward. For more complex conditions like addiction, depth psychology is often required. At Sunshine Coast, we use depth psychology because we encourage the clients to look at themselves in a deep, profound way. Looking into the grey areas of life is part of the therapeutic process. Therapists at Sunshine Coast help clients recognize that suffering is part of life.

Clients at Sunshine Coast are encouraged to try to make sense of their world, to understand themselves at a deeper level. People who feel they are making headway in their therapy find their actions reflect their intentions, that they are being true to themselves.

Over the past four videos in this series on Addiction According to Meaning Therapists, Geoff Thompson has been reviewing the work of meaning-oriented therapists Jonathan Diamond, Jefferson Singer, Kirk Schneider and James Crumbaugh. Their work is by no means identical, but all of these therapists share four core principles:

1. We must treat the whole human being. Human beings are complex and unique. We are not going to separate out their addiction and forget the person with the addiction. Therefore, we don’t treat the addict, we treat the person.
2. You must connect with others. In this era of neuroscience, we are finding that humans are ‘hardwired’ to be in relationship with other people. Evolution has created us this way.
3. You must live life. We need to do something in our recovery. We need to put it into practice. We need to experience life fully. Taking risks is part of recovery. All of these therapists we highlighted in this five-part series pointed out that dangers of isolating and being a couch potato.
4. Start looking at positive things in life. Stop dwelling on negativity. This point reminds us of the importance of attitude. Build your resilience, or what Dr. Frankl calls the defiant human spirit.

In this 4th instalment of Addiction According to Meaning Therapists, Geoff introduces us to Dr. James Crumbaugh who created a model of alcoholism treatment based on the philosophy of Dr. Viktor Frankl. His treatment model can be summarized as five stages:

Stage 1 – make a decision on how you are going to view life. For example, are you a machine? Are you more than a machine? Your choice will determine what options you have available to you.
Stage 2 – develop self-confidence. You must have a belief that you are capable of overcoming your addiction. Remember! Millions of people have
Stage 3 – persevere, think creatively. You are going to have some difficult days and you need to work through these times in order to achieve your objective of sobriety.
Stage 4 – encounter. You need to have a relationship with people. We are relational beings. Our job is to connect with other people. We need other people to give us feedback and validate our existence.
Stage 5 – dereflection (borrowed from Dr. Frankl). You need to stop looking at your life as a failure and start focusing on your strengths, your successes, the times in life when you were courageous.

These five stages, according to Dr. Crumbaugh, are key to overcoming alcoholism and, Geoff believes, can be extended to drug addiction as well. For more information on Dr. Crumbaugh’s program see Logotherapy: New Help for Problem Drinkers.