Re: The internet


"Bam" <deercounselor@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:47j0noFfe17sU1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Now, absolutely no offense intended, but unless you have graduated from
the school of hard knocks, division of drug addiction, you're not going
to
have much credibility with most drug addicts.

No offense taken at all. No validity to your assumption either, but
that's
okay. You need to believe what you need to believe. I see by result what
sort of counselor I am with the addicts I come in contact with. And
whether
or not I was/am/will ever be an addict has nothing to do with it. Going
with your assumption, a therapist could not counsel someone depressed
unless
they've BEEN depressed, a priest could not counsel married couples never
having been married, etc.

I think anyone who has experienced the issues that they are counseling
people for is going to be much more sensitive, knowleadgeable and credible
than someone who has not.

That being said, I think your analogies are logical, but in the realm of
actual practice, addicts generally have certain character traits and trust
issues in regards to who they will open up to and be receptive to.



You speak from YOUR vantage point of YOUR addiction Ed and I respect that.
I just happen to know your quote above is incredibly wrong.

No, I don't speak from MY vantage point. I speak from the vantage point of
someone who has associated several times a week for several years with a
huge number of addicts in recovery and who listens to what they express in
regards to all kinds of issues, including this one.


And I agree there is *some* spiritual aspect to recovery, but I disagree
that you can't charge for services and inject some spirituality. Given
that
I do not embrace any conventional religion, I would have to guess you'd
assume (again wrongly) that I also could not counsel on that basis.

You can counsel anytime you want, but you view your counseling as a
"business venture." Recovery is a huge business in this country, and I
don't believe that having a bottom line is conducive to what I see as
something that requires spirituality, which again, I believe can only be
freely given and freely received. That is not just my opinion, but also
shared by many recovering addicts.


Thankfully, the results are in my therapeutic puddin'..... my clients and
I
have wonderful rapport (no, not 100% of my clients, that would be unheard
of) and for those I've followed over the last 3 years, approximately 88%
have stayed sober. I don't take credit for that at all, but I, and they,
acknowledge that the team we made, made a difference. Given that only
approximately 25% of the people going through rehab stay sober, that's not
a
bad record thus far.

Maybe you should make some house calls:).


And that's why I'll be working with those IN recovery eventually, and not
preaching religion or spirituality, and not judging, and not excusing, and
not assuming......

You can't really preach spirituality. What I see working for addicts is the
therapeutic value of other recovering addicts sharing their experience,
strength and hope.


I"m good at what I do. Very good in fact. And whether or not I was/am/or
ever will be an addict has little to do with that.

I think it has everything to do with it.

ed


.

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