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It’s not just what you present to your client — it’s how you present it. By following a few simple rules, you get better results. It’s not a perfect system, by any means. But it should improve outcomes.

Clients will test boundaries just to see what will happen when they do. If you’re prepared for such tests, and can avoid some predictable errors in response, you’ll find that the course of treatment runs smoother.

Call it a bribe, call it an incentive, call it a clever idea… Giving a reluctant client a reason to comply can help treatment along.

Wasn’t it Archimedes who promised that given a lever long enough and a place to stand, he would move the world? In using leverage, think of credibility as the place you stand.

Understanding how leverage works in the context of addiction treatment can give you the tools to identify your client’s agenda, and help them over the “rough spots” that inevitably occur when you work with offenders.

Mom is determined to stop her son from taking drugs. With that kind of willpower, she’s bound to succeed…. isn’t she?

We’re all familiar with the behaviors of alcoholic and addicted people, now it’s time to use our knowledge to plan a successful intervention.

Our addicted (or alcoholic) loved one doesn’t want to hear about it. Dealing with them effectively starts with learning new ways to communicate.

We can’t expect to address alcoholism without encountering defenses, since they exist to protect alcoholic drinking. But we have an advantage.

When we think of denial, we picture someone angrily insisting he doesn’t have a problem. But denial is more subtle than that.