Comments on: Autism expert can help those who struggle with addiction

By: sarahk

sarahk — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 03:31:23 +0000

What I hear in this blog is the importance of replacing unhealthy objects with healthy behaviors. I really appreciated what you had to say about the various ways that this can be achieved, such as doing new behaviors, joining groups, or participating in things previously uncharted. In a class I have on interpersonal neurobiology, we talk about creating new “pathways” by trudging through this uncharted territory. Research shows that the plasticity in the brain is high, and that there are many ways that growth can occur for individuals not only struggling with addiction, but struggling with social relationships of any kind. Trauma can stunt areas of the brain, causing development to halt for a period of time or in some areas of relational functioning. This post brought to mind the importance not only of psychotherapy, but also of relating openly and honestly in social relationships in new, uncharted ways.

By: Kendra

Kendra — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 06:01:49 +0000

I think I’m a Greenspan fan, this guy is great! Hearing him in this interview (albeit brief) really makes me want to see him in action. I understand that he values “meeting the client where he’s at” but honestly I’m not sure what that looks like. For example, I would love to see Greenspan do a session with a typical 10 year-old, and then do a session with an adult who possessed developmental constraints and restrictions that would make him similar to a 10 year-old. I wonder what differences and similarities there would be in his tone and technique?

By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 05:02:35 +0000

I appreciate the importance being placed on emotional development. This is often the root of the problem. I think that counselors spend too much time “hacking at the leaves” because they don’t know any better. Real change necessitates going deeper and helping clients increase their emotional development. At this stage in my education I do not know much about how to do this, but I know that I will be looking to learn more as it is so important; not just for addiction treatment, but for the treatment for all clients.

By: Kelly Lash

Kelly Lash — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:48:14 +0000

The following statement struck me: “Unfortunately, many treatment programs and therapists will intervene in ways that never advance emotional development, resulting in a lot of hacking at the leaves instead of getting to the root.” Getting to the root of addiction rests in working with the underlying trauma and problematic relationship patterns that clients have experienced throughout their lives. Getting to the root of these deeply rooted problems inside clients with addictions seems like an extremely difficult task that requires many therapeutic skills and techniques. Using DBT is very complex and takes extensive training, and I imagine that many addictions counselors are not trained in DBT, because many do not a have a graduate-level education. If professionals are not thoroughly trained and educated to treat people struggling with addictions, then how do clients receive the most effective therapy from these professionals?

I also think we must be constantly thinking back to prevention and education. We can’t expect to exclusively treat addictions effectively after the roots have sprouted into dysfunctional and diseased branches and leaves, especially if we do not have the training to do so effectively. We already know that the acute based treatment system is ineffective in many ways. Therefore, we have to prevent the unealthy roots from growing unhealthily to begin with. The very first and most crucial step is to ensure that the “soil” is healthy. Child development is very much dependent upon their environment. As teachers, counselors, community members, and parents, we must ensure that we identify children in these unhealthy environments and do everything we can to help them when they are young. Children must also have the proper prevention services available so that they can learn how to be healthy before their problems get too deeply rooted. It is much easier to uproot a sapling than it is an old-growth tree.