Another look at the rigging

The mechanisms that power a sailboat through the world of winds and currents toward the skipper’s goals are unpredictable as are the processes and context that drive clinical outcomes in mental health care. I post thoughts on current literature that may translate into how research results might be used in clinical practice. This includes snippets that remind me that science is also a motivated and very human art form that reaches towards a paradox. We are always working in the space between.

Friday, January 3, 2014

"If the only tool you have is a hammer,

everything looks like a nail..." While my work generally involves services provided to the most severe substance use cases, I am regularly reminded that the number one task regardless of severity is ENGAGEMENT; the principle behind Client Directed Outcome Informed and Motivational Interviewing, and the necessary ingredient in all therapies. The following link takes you to a NY Times article that speaks more broadly to this point as it relates to the misuse of alcohol.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/02/opinion/cold-turkey-isnt-the-only-route.html?_r=0

I have never encountered a client that was not more complex than any program or diagnoses applied.