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Transcript of Ed Johnson, M.Ed., MAC, LPC The Carolinas and Kentucky Program Manager Southeast Addiction...
THE LANGUAGE OF RECOVERY
RECOVERY HEALTH SUMMITWINNSBORO, SOUTH CAROLINASEPTEMBER 30, 2014
Ed Johnson, M.Ed., MAC, LPCThe Carolinas and Kentucky Program ManagerSoutheast Addiction Technology Transfer Center, HHS Region 4 www.attcnetwork.org/southeastEMail: [email protected]
SOUTHEAST ADDICTION TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER CENTER (SOUTHEAST ATTC, REGION 4)
Southeast ATTC is one of 10 Regional and 4 National Focus resource centers for addiction-related information funded through by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Southeast ATTC, located at the National Center for Primary Care at the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, serves the states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.
WORDS & LANGUAGE
WORDS
Words are important. If you want to care for something, you call it a flower; if you want to kill something, you call it a weed.
Don Coyhis
LANGUAGE MATTERS • Language is the key to changing the way
people with substance use disorders see themselves and the way they are seen by others.
• Changing language is a way to personally and culturally close one chapter in our history and open another.
• Our goal today is to open a discussion about the layers of meaning that fill our personal and professional language while being respectful to all points of view.
• Be willing to question your beliefs and assumptions about the language we use
Watch your thoughts, they become words
Watch your words, they become actions,
Watch your actions, they become habits
Watch your habits, they become
characterWatch your character, it becomes your destiny
Anon.
“We know from the research that has been conducted by some of the worlds leading neuroscientists that drug addiction is not a moral failing on the part of the individual, it’s a chronic disease of the brain and it can be treated. This isn’t my opinion and is not a political statement and it really isn’t open for debate because the evidence is clear and it’s unequivocal. It’s a fact born out by decades of study and research and it’s a fact that neither the government nor the public can ignore.”
Gil Kerlikowske, Director of National Drug Control Policy Betty Ford Center June 12, 2012
TYPES OF CHRONIC DISEASES
Hypertension Diabetes Asthma
THE LANGUAGE OF RECOVERY
RECOVERY “Recovery is a process of change whereby individuals improve their health and wellness, to live a self-
directed life, and strive to reach their full potential.”
SAMHSA/CSAT 2011
GUIDING PRINCIPLES OF RECOVERY Recovery is person-driven Recovery occurs via many pathways Recovery is holistic Recovery is supported by peers and allies Recovery is supported through relationships
and social networks Recovery is culturally based and influenced Recovery is supported by addressing trauma Recovery involves individual, family and
community strengths and responsibilities Recovery is based on respect Recovery emerges from hope
LANGUAGE OF RECOVERY
THE MOST RESPECTFUL WAY OF REFERRING TO PEOPLE IS AS PEOPLECurrent Alternative ReasoningClients / Patients / Consumers The people in our program
The folks we work withThe people we serve
More inclusive, less stigmatizing
Alex is an addict Alex is addicted to alcohol Alex is a person with a substance use disorderAlex is in recovery from drug addiction
Put the person first Avoid defining the person by their disease
The terms listed below, along with others, are often people’s ineffective attempts to reclaim some shred of power while being treated in a system that often tries to control them. The person is trying to get their needs met, or has a perception different from the staff, or has an opinion of self not shared by others. And these efforts are not effectively bringing them to the result they want.
Mathew is manipulative Mathew is trying really hard to get his needs met Mathew may need to work on more effective ways of getting his needs met
Take the blame out of the statement Recognize that the person is trying to get a need met the best way they know how
Kyle is non-compliant Kyle is choosing not to… Kyle would rather… Kyle is looking for other options
Describe what it looks like uniquely to that individual—that information is more useful than a generalization
Mary is resistant to treatment Mary chooses not to… Mary prefers not to… Mary is unsure about…
Avoid defining the person by the behavior. Remove the blame from the statement
Jennifer is in denial Jennifer is ambivalent about……Jennifer hasn’t internalized the seriousness of….Jennifer doesn’t understand…………
Remove the blame and the stigma from the statement
Current Term / Phrase Alternative
Self Help Groups Mutual Aid Groups
Substance Abuse / Addiction
Substance Use Disorder
Drug of Choice / Abuse Drug of Use
Denial Denial / Ambivalence
Relapse Recurrence/Setback
Relapse is Part of Recovery
Recurrence may occur as part of the Disease
Clean & Sober Drug Free; Free of illicit or non-prescribed medications
DESCRIBING A RECOVERY ORIENTED SYSTEM OF CARE
Recovery-oriented systems of care shift the question from “How do we get the client into treatment?” to “How do we support the process of recovery within the person’s environment?”
H.Westley Clark, MD, JD, CAS, FASM
Recovery Management (RM) is a philosophical framework for organizing addiction treatment and recovery support services across the stages of:
pre-recovery identification and engagement
recovery initiation and stabilization (treatment), and
long-term recovery maintenance
With the ultimate goal of quality of life enhancement for individuals
and families
THE LANGUAGE THAT WE USE
They’re not ready They don’t want it bad enough They haven’t hurt/lost enough They’re too resistant They are in denial
“THOSE PEOPLE” Alcoholic Addict Drunk Old Wino Crack Head Junkie Needle Freak Benzo Queen Garbage Head
Burn Out Pot Head Loser Waste Case
And then there is “Chronic Relapser”
or“Chronic Recidivist”
My clients don’t hit bottom; they live on the bottom. If we wait for them to hit bottom, they will die. The obstacle to their engagement in treatment is not an absence of pain; it is an absence of hope. —Outreach Worker (Quoted in White, Woll, and Webber 2003)
PATHOLOGY VS. STRENGTH BASED
“When I stopped living in the problem and began living in the answer, the problem went away” Alcoholics Anonymous p.449 (3rd Edition)
TO SUM IT ALL UP By us changing our language we can start the
process of the general public changing their language and perception
We need to bring unequivocal messages of hope that the problems of substance use disorders can be resolved
The focus needs to be on the solutions that recovery brings The reality of recovery The diversity of patterns of recovery The variety of methods used to achieve recovery
If you have some respect for people as they are, you can be more effective in helping them to become better than they are
John W. Gardner