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, self-destructive and/or self-defeating behaviors including eating disorders, cutting/self-harm, aggression, medical non-compliance, anti-social activity, etc. Many of these clients fail to
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 to hear? Not only is this frustrating for you, it can make everyone dread coming to group. In order
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 change through which individuals improve their health and wellness, live a self-directed life, and strive to reach their full potential.”
“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 more about mindset than techniques. The traditional mindset has been to “make” our clients change. It’s an “us” (the experts)
“Motivational interviewing is a directive, client-centered counseling style for eliciting behavior change by helping clients to explore and resolve ambivalence.” *
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 like hanging out with my friends, but now that I have a job, I’m gone all the time and I
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 group. Belonging helps us feel safe and supported. It also shapes our identity – our sense of who we are.
“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 what to do doesn’t work. It just creates resistance and gives our clients something to push back against. This is
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 ways to help your clients explore the qualities that drive their addictive behaviors or identify desirable qualities that will help
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 others to be less critical, more attentive, more affectionate, more responsible, less needy, or simply different. But therapy doesn’t work
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 them cope with their emotional lives. They drink, get high, shop, gamble, self-mutilate, starve themselves, comfort eat, or binge to
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 because I believed that if I could gather the right data and write the right paper, I could make a