Travis and Suzanne entered my office, sat down at opposite sides of the room, and immediately began to speak at once, competing for airtime. Travis was addicted to cocaine, Suzanne his long-suffering wife. The last time Travis used cocaine had been eight months ago; but at that point he had been repeatedly leading the familyContinue reading “A Reconciliation Case Study”
Tag Archives: Addiction
The ACE Study
Bringing you the best of mental health It makes no sense, but one of the most remarkable and important findings in recent psychological research hasn’t gotten the attention it deserves and still has not had much impact on the practice of psychotherapy. I’m talking about the ACE Study. In the 1990’s, the CDC and theContinue reading “The ACE Study”
The Opioid Crisis
Bringing you the best of mental health Considering how serious the opioid epidemic has become, and how many people have needlessly died, wouldn’t it be nice if there was a medication that people could take that could control their addiction to the substances? Funny, but there is. Federal law limits its availability.
Learn to Walk
Stand with your feet comfortably together. Take one foot and stick it out in the direction you want to go until you throw yourself off balance. Then, at the last instant, when you’re about to fall on your face, bring the other foot forward to stop yourself from falling. Repeat this dangerous operation as longContinue reading “Learn to Walk”
If You Can’t Find Help
Let’s face it, it is a whole lot easier to acquire a Problem than it is to get help in eradicating it. In many localities, there are drug dealers at every corner, but to get your loved one to a clinic, takes two buses. Intake coordinators will make him wait in a room with oldContinue reading “If You Can’t Find Help”
Team Up with the Person Against the Problem
If you get the opportunity to work with your loved one to vanquish the Problem, don’t mistake this opportunity for the Problem, itself. You could blow your chance because of the presence of your own Problem. Let’s say your husband has not been able to keep it in his pants. He’s flirted with others, cheatedContinue reading “Team Up with the Person Against the Problem”
How Caretaking Can Be A Problem
You may have actually said it, and it’s true. Taking care of a person with a Problem gives meaning and purpose to your life. Your life needs meaning and purpose. It makes your life worthwhile; it indicates your existence matters. That’s important. Sometimes, it’s the only thing that keeps you going. It’s something you canContinue reading “How Caretaking Can Be A Problem”
Unbroken Brain
Bringing you the best of mental health every week. People have often asked me to recommend a book about addiction. For thirty years, the only one I ever urged people to read has been the Big Book of AA, written eighty years ago, when we knew next to nothing about addiction. I’ll get into theContinue reading “Unbroken Brain”
The Road to Reconciliation: Protect Yourself
You’re never going to come to peace with the awful things that have happened if they are still happening, nor should you. The most important thing in the process of coming to terms with the things that have happened is to protect yourself. Maybe your partner has stopped doing that thing that hurt you: drinking,Continue reading “The Road to Reconciliation: Protect Yourself”
Reacknowledgment: April is the Cruelest Month
I posted something like this last year, but it bears repeating. Contrary to popular belief, suicide rates do not peak at Christmas time. Here in Western New York, as elsewhere, they peak in April. So does all kinds of psychiatric hospitalization, depression and relapses of addiction. Why is this so, when hopes of Spring abound?Continue reading “Reacknowledgment: April is the Cruelest Month”
Keith Wilson - Counseling 