Topic: counseling skills

I contend that the outcome of a given treatment episode is often determined right at the outset, based on why the clients is in treatment in the first place.

A better approach is to seek out the motivation behind the belief.

…we should be looking at modifying our historical approach to the addicted cannabis client, away from emphasis on legal consequences and mandated compliance, and towards a more patient-centered model.

It seems to me that it’s entirely possible for one person to be lying, ambivalent, and in denial at the same time.

If you’re not careful, the whole thing turns into an endless game of cat-and-mouse, that leads nowhere.

Like a stroke patient who suddenly finds himself needing to relearn basic skills that were once automatic, it may require a level of personal commitment unseen for many years.

The practitioner’s job is to tease apart the clinical picture to identify likely contributors to focus on in treatment.

Try thinking of recovery as a learning process based in experience rather than the acquisition of information.

The therapist’s faith in the approach appears to be more important than the approach itself.

This is not about results. It’s about attention. Our clients want to feel as if somebody’s actually listening to them.