By Sherry Montgomery, LSCSW, LCSW
A couple of months ago a patient arrived for a scheduled
assessment to participate in our Substance Abuse Intensive Outpatient
Program. He was a young man who had a
history of more than 1 DUI and was living in a detention facility. Clearly he was not interested in
treatment. He reported being in three
previous treatment programs and needed to meet requirements to get probation.
During the interview he was courteous but disinterested in
what makes our program different from others in this area. He made it clear the goal was to get into
treatment as soon as possible and then move to a local group home.
The next day he showed up for the first session and each
session after for more than two weeks.
He began to ask questions and take part in the group process. In the third week of treatment this client
revealed he had many trust issues and was starting to understand how powerless
he was over his addictions. At that
point, he broke down and let go of many years of sadness and trauma. Despite fear and anxiety he began working to
understand what had led him to this place in his life.
Over the next month, Bob (not his real name) attended every
session, completed every homework assignment and told the group therapist, “I
never knew this kind of treatment was available”. During his time here he found a job, moved
into the group home, set boundaries with his family and was able to support his
girlfriend in making a move to another state in order to further her
career. Simply put, Bob turned his life
around. He also served as a mentor to
new clients entering the group, attended Aftercare, AA, and is currently
engaged in individual therapy.
Bob, and the fundamental belief in the ability of people to
change, is the reason many mental health/substance abuse therapists bring their
best game, day in and day out.
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