Love Your Heart Model
Addiction is a human problem that resides in people, not in the drug or the drugs
capacity to produce physical effects.
I have always said "I don’t have a problem with drugs, drugs have a problem with me. I
chase them".
The reasons are deeply rooted in the neurology and the psychology of emotions.
"Help me make peace with my greatest enemy – Myself".
At the core of addictions there lies a spiritual void. Lately at the conferences that are
science based on addiction medicine, it is more common to hear presentations on the
spiritual aspect of addictions and their treatment.
Even though client may be at a very low level of Maslow pyramid you can still work with
them at their level of spirituality, even though it may look like there is none there (in very late stages of addiction), all of has have it always (We are human).
When you help your client to start seeing glimpses of light in all different aspects of their
life it will help them to start seeing their situation clearer and clearer. I am not saying that
you are expected to bring them to enlightment, they will do that for themselves as their
personal growth continues.
"What lies before us, what lies behind us, is nothing compared to what lies within us"
When considering a Recovery Model our team of councilors here at Flipside recovery has agreed on steps that would be helpful in any form of addiction:
- Entry – everyone is welcome
To start a healing process at Flipside recovery all a client has to do is show up. - Unconditional acceptance – of each other and ourselves
Few of as have experienced it consistently, the addict has never experienced it, least of all for herself. Carl Rogers wrote: Warm caring attitude which he called unconditional positive regard "it has no conditions of worth attached to it. This is carrying, it is an atmosphere that simply demonstrates "I care, not I care for you if you behave this way or that way. - Re-labeling
The belief in a label that someone attaches to your condition keeps the condition in place, empowers it and makes a seemingly solid reality out of a temporary imbalance. By refraining from labeling it mentally, addiction is reduced to one or several of these factors: physical pain, weakness, discomfort or disability. That is what you surrender to, not the idea of addiction. Now that we now the components we can start to work with them one by one. - Surrender to your heart – get you of your mind
Addicts are preoccupied with thoughts, they are constantly in their head even though they look like they are out of their mind.
Drug addiction damages the parts of the brain responsible for decision making. When certain brain areas are damaged there are predictable patterns of impaired rational decision making and diminished impulse regulations. "People say you have a choice when you use drugs". I think that the choice is only there in very early stages of use, once you are addicted the choice is out of it, because your addiction is driving you to do what you do. You have given yourself to a drug. Your mind is unconscious so therefore you cant make choice you can only make choices in a conscious mind. Addiction is primarily about the self about the unconscious, insecure self that at every moment considers only its own immediate desires and believes that it must behave that way. The mind of an addict is always worrying soothed only by addictive substance or activity. - Forgiveness
Don’t blame life or others for treating you unfairly, and don’t blame yourself ether (waste of energy). Let go of guilt and shame, forgive yourself. Use the suffering to force you into the present moment, into the state of conscious presence, now you can start to work with your issues as they come.
Responsibility to save ourselves with the outside help but not to be confused on relying on outside power. The power is in ourselves and the higher power that we are a part of. - Assessment
Specifically treat each client according to their level of addiction. Help client self-asses and paralelly myself assess their situation, measure things not as good or bad just look at things from clients point of view. Take my own value system out of it and see what value something has for them. - Action – Self Empowerment
To see addiction as the only problem is to leave intact the context that triggered the addiction in the first place. There is always a way to fulfill a need; the skill lies in finding a sustainable way to fulfill it and in a way that gives more pleasure than pain. At this point we start working on all different areas of client life. Positive reinforcement, cognitive strategies, diet, relation techniques, body healing through meditation, education or job training, self reliance. - Maintenance
In choosing sobriety we are not so much avoiding something harmful as envisioning ourselves living the life we value.
Recognizing our stressors. Stress is a major trigger for substance abuse and other addictive behaviors and most predictable trigger for relapse. Stress interacts powerfully with the biology of addiction in the brain and increases the risk of relapse. Most potent stressors are loss of control and uncertainty in important areas of life. Counselor is to coach a client in relearning of pleasure in the recovery process. Coach them to enjoy more moderate stimulation in all things of life. - Exit point
When the client is learning and experiencing the Joy of Being.
At Flipside Recovery we believe in healthy spirit, body and mind.
"The difference between spirituality and religion is that – religion is for those who are afraid of going to hell...spirituality is for those that have already been there"
