Adams Recovery Center - Addiction, Recovery, Change: A How-To Manual for Successfully Navigating Sobriety

Copyright 2016 by KiCam Projects

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Cover and book design by Mark Sullivan

ISBN 978-0-9970815-6-5 (paperback)

ISBN 978-0-9970815-7-2 (e-book)

Printed in the United States of America

Published by KiCam Projects

www.KiCamProjects.com

contents

Introduction

v

Chapter One: Setting Expectations after Treatment

Chapter Two: Finding Sober Supports

Chapter Three: Assessing Your Relationships

Chapter Four: Breaking Free of Codependence

Chapter Five: Battling Boredom

Chapter Six: Encountering Temptation

Chapter Seven: Common Questions and Thinking Errors

Conclusion: Tying It All Together

Bibliography

introduction

Seeking Sobriety

When we conceived this book, we wrote it for the person who is contemplating or has just entered substance abuse treatment, sometimes called rehabilitation or rehab. Almost everyone who abuses substances has hesitation, if not outright fear, about entering treatment. In addition to the stigma attached by many to it, being in treatment can feel like an admission of defeat against something so smalla powder, a drop of liquid, a vapor. These small things can take control of lives, leading people into treatment, where they have to spend time away from their jobs, their friends, their families, and their familiar lives to get things straight. Treatment is scary. Drug use is scary.

Sobriety can be downright terrifying, especially for those who have just completed the beginning portion of their journey out of insobriety.

Therefore, we changed the focus of this book. We wanted to help the person who has just shaken off the cobwebs, probably after spending some time in a detoxification program or in treatment, and finds herself or himself asking, Now what do I do?

If that sounds like you, or like someone you care about, we believe this book can help you.

Contrary to what some might say, sobriety isnt a trade secret. You wont join any secret society and learn magic phrases or code words that enable you to remain sober. Quite frankly, sobriety is much simpler than you might realize. Even if you are still in what we call the pre-contemplation phase, you will gain valuable insight and learn how to use tools for sobriety in this book.

Of course, reading alone wont do it for you. You have to put into practice what you read. Sobriety sounds great on paper, and when applied, its magnificent. You start to deal with life on your own terms instead of letting life tell you how youre going to be dealt with.

Ask yourself this question: Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired? Youve probably been asked that, or youve asked yourself that, in the pastmore than once. We bet that the answer is yes, you are sick and tired of being sick and tired. But the effort to get clean and stay clean is overwhelming. In this book, were going to discuss various stages and phases you will go through and also address common thinking errors. Well discuss pitfalls, traps, and dangers that unfortunately lurk around many corners. Some of those pitfalls, traps, and dangers come in the form of familiar people, places, and things, so well give you tips and strategies for dealing with them. After all, if youre sick and tired of being sick and tired, you are looking for something to help you get on the path of Right Living (a phrase you will hear often and which will be explained later in this book).

One thing needs to be made clear up front, whether you are the person who is entering sustained sobriety, or you are the loved one of someone getting sober, or if youre just a concerned individual who wants to learn more. A sad truth is that most people who get clean use substances again. This is not at all to be considered a failure. Substance abuse is alluring. It is literally stimulating on so many levels. People use again for more reasons than we can list in this book. But using substances again after getting clean does not in any way, shape, or form indicate the person who uses is a failure. It simply means the strategies and tips learned were not sufficient to overcome the desire to use substances. Using again after getting clean gives you a chance to figure out what went wrong and, we hope, to correct that.

Theres no sugarcoating the fact that some people who use again could end up dying. No one is immune from the potential for an overdose. If you are under the delusional belief that you cannot end up harmed or dead from using substances, I strongly urge you to spend just a few minutes on the Internet reading the tens of thousands of It could never happen to me! stories to find out how many people are no longer with us. Substance abuse destroys.

Wed like to help you avoid becoming an unnecessary casualty.

Who We Are

We are Adams Recovery Center, a separate-gender drug and alcohol treatment program located in Clermont County, Ohio. We offer residential, intensive outpatient, and individual counseling services. Our program is a modified Therapeutic Community running the Hazelden clinical curriculum, and we use the latest evidence-based practices and incorporate cognitive behavioral therapy, rational-emotive behavior therapy, and behavior therapy to maximize client gains in the program. Our inpatient program is designed for an approximate 180-day stay. Our staff includes drug and alcohol counselors and mental health counselors.

When a client has made sufficient evident clinical and personal progress, the client graduates and is referred for aftercare.

Not every client who attends ARC graduates. No program on the planet can guarantee 100 percent success. Many programs exist, and many models exist, but in the end, its up to the person going through the program to put the work into the program and benefit from what she or he learns.

What Qualifies Us to Help You

The staff at Adams Recovery Center comprises individuals who are certified or licensed in various disciplines. All clinical staff hold, at the bare minimum, certification as a chemical dependency counselor in the state of Ohio (Chemical Dependency Counselor Assistant). Most staff are licensed as chemical dependency counselors (Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor, Level 2 and Level 3), and others hold the Licensed Independent Chemical Dependency Counselor (LICDC). Two staff members hold the LICDC-CS, which is the Clinical Supervisory endorsementthe highest form of chemical dependency licensure in the state of Ohio.

Additionally, several staff are licensed as mental health counselors (LPC) in the state of Ohio. Several of these mental health counselors are under direct supervision as Clinical Residents and are working toward their independent licensure as Licensed Professional Clinical Counselors (LPCC) in the state of Ohio. Our medical coordinator is a Registered Nurse (RN) in the state of Ohio, along with holding a CDCA.

We come from various counseling backgrounds, from a variety of schools of thought. We draw from cognitive behavioral therapy; behavior therapy; rational-emotive behavior therapy; reality therapy; choice therapy; existential/gestalt therapy, etc. We bring a diverse therapeutic orientation to the table, which allows multiple techniques and interventions to be used.

If you tally the years of experience of every clinical professional at Adams Recovery Center, you approach triple digits quickly! We never take a generic, cookie-cutter approach, and we believe this diversity allows us to help clients reach their goals without being placed in a one-size-fits-all box.

As ARCs clinical director, I wrote this book by pulling from the expertise of the entire ARC team. My name is Matthew Rupert, and Ive spent more than twenty years working in behavioral health. For the past ten years, my focus has been on addictions. Initially, I wanted to be a therapist helping people with depression, anxiety, and similar issues. I discovered my love for this field because of the people who need the help. Theyre no different than anyone else. Sure, they have a substance abuse issue, but theyre certainly not immoral demons. Theyre people. Some of them have done some really bad things (Ive worked with sex offenders, murderers, arsonists, etc.), but they are still people . By refusing to judge the person and instead focusing on his or her behaviors, I discovered how intricately woven the behavioral issues are in substance abusers. I also enjoy the personalities in this field. I meet some absolutely fascinating people!