Sustainable Change: Understanding the Stages©
Clients often come to treatment because other people feel that they need to change and/or because external forces such as family, probation, courts and/or employer are concerned about their addictions, […]
Who Like Me?©
Have you ever tried to run a group in which group members clam up and only respond with one syllable answers or simply tell you what they think you want […]
Embodying Recovery: A Roadmap for Thriving Across a Lifetime
Map created by Ruth Riddick, CARC, RCP/f, RTR-S Sobriety Together Your client got sober! That’s great. What’s next? The goal is recovery. SAMHSA defines recovery as “a process of […]
Motivational Interviewing 101©
“Motivational interviewing is a directive, client-centered counseling style for eliciting behavior change by helping clients to explore and resolve ambivalence*.” Stephen Rollnick and William R. Miller Motivational Interviewing is […]
Working with Clients’ Defenses and Ambivalence: Psychodrama Meets Motivational Interviewing©
“Motivational interviewing is a directive, client-centered counseling style for eliciting behavior change by helping clients to explore and resolve ambivalence.” * […]
Motivational Interviewing in Action©
If you work with clients who use marijuana or other substances on a regular basis, the following exchange using Motivational Interviewing might sound familiar: Client: “It’s weird. I really […]
Bridging Divides
To thrive, we need to belong. We need to feel connected to others who share similar beliefs, values, and/or experiences. We need to feel like we are part of a […]
Social Atoms in Substance Abuse Treatment©
“Show don’t tell” is one of the “golden rules” of writing. It should also be one of the “golden rules” of counseling because telling our clients what to think and […]
Sobriety Shop©
As a counselor working with substance abusing clients, have you ever wished you had some exercises you could use to enliven your groups? Have you ever struggled to find engaging […]
Being Your Better Self
Many people who come to therapy to sort out relationship issues come with the hope that somehow, in the process of therapy, they can make other people change. People want […]
Making Change Sustainable: The Right Tool at the Right Time ©
As counselors, we know the importance of using the right tool for the job. Our client’s often come to us because they’ve been using the wrong tools to help […]
Why I Became a Psychodramatist©
True confession: When I started out, I didn’t want to be a therapist. I was an activist and I wanted to save the world. I wanted to be an academic […]