Year End Summary
I got pretty emotional today while I watched a duo exercise in our Intensive Outpatient Program. A duo is basically two participants pairing up and one acts like the counselor and the other acts like the client. After the exercise is over they switch roles. This is how we practiced in graduate school, this is how we conduct business at Basic Steps Mental Health. Why I became emotional was...Learn More
Something I’ve Avoided
There is one subject I have tried to sidestep for decades, not wanting to upset people who cannot relate to religion or spirituality. As my practice has progressed, I’ve realized that the mindset I have gained through a spirituality lens has gotten me through each and every day and can only be of benefit to others. I received my master’s degree in Spiritual Psychology – not from a religious...Learn More
Special Memory #9
For 11 years I worked at the first-ever, mental health urgent care center in the country. I was fresh out of graduate school with a crisp new, Doctoral degree, and trying to prove myself. This was the first facility of its kind, established to take pressure off of the local jails and emergency rooms and we had no clue what was going to enter our unit. My friend Patrick, who graduated with...Learn More
Can an Addiction be Good?
What is an addiction? An addiction is something that you are compelled to do and find it almost impossible to stop. I know this isn’t the clinical definition, but this explanation is easy to understand in layman’s terms. It might be surprising to read that not all addictions are bad. Addiction to exercise, healthy diet, personal growth work, and helping out humanity definitely help both you...Learn More
Relapse – A Slip in Reasoning
Since 1994 I entered this industry in hopes of making some sort of impact. My first internship was at Tarzana Treatment Center in southern California, a 12 Step facility that housed over 100 people. It taught a combination of the 12 Steps and what they termed “I.T.” or industrial therapy. Industrial therapy was basically having the clients mop, clean, cook, and serve the meals. If clients were...Learn More
Partial Hospitalization – Discharge Insights
When someone finishes our program, we make a big deal out of it. Our Partial Hospitalization program runs 4 weeks and goes 5 days a week for 6 hours a day. It is the equivalent of residential treatment, but you don’t need to get locked away from family and friends. Facing yourself for an entire month to me is the hero’s journey. Who wants to deal with the worst parts of themselves? Here we do...Learn More
Independence Day
Independence day. They are just two words but emotionally can mean a lot. If you are not independent you are dependent. So what are you dependent on? The definition of Dependence is: The state of being determined, influenced or controlled by something else. The state of being dependent on another for financial support. The condition of being dependent on a substance such as a drug or on a...Learn More
Changing for the Better
This article should be entitled personal responsibility since in changing ourselves, it has to be done by ourselves. So often people want to have others swoop in and rescue them because we feel it is their fault, they are making me feel this way, when the truth is, it is all about us. In taking personal responsibility, we are no longer victims of what others do or say. In all actuality, it is...Learn More
Active Recovery
When I began my career in 12 Step Recovery a whole new world opened to me. It was what I liked, being around a lot of people, people opening up and talking about their difficulties, and others lending support. The 12 Steps were new to me because my recovery was basically white-knuckling it and praying the cravings would go away. My recovery was simply five months of pacing my apartment and...Learn More