Criminal Lawyer / Cliffside Malibu

Living In Sobriety: Dealing With Clients Who are Addicted

January 8, 2013

January 8, 2013

Living In Sobriety: Dealing With Clients Who are Addicted

You have a client who has been charged with a drug-related offense. Is your client a full-blown addict, someone with a substance abuse problem, or an average person who made a minor mistake in judgment that could have some major consequences? It’s hard for a lawyer to know. There is no “test” for addiction like there is for the flu or high-blood pressure or diabetes. Yet, there is an evidence-base that provides information about substance abuse and addiction that could be useful to you and your clients – from what substance abuse and addiction are to the kinds of successful treatments that are available.

What is substance abuse and addiction?

Substance abuse can be described as a behavioral disorder. Persons with addictions (and those on their way to becoming addicts) abuse substances because they are in pain. A painful period or traumatic event has occurred that the addict does not have the resources to deal with.  S/he uses a substance and finds temporary relief from that pain.  When the effects of the substance wear off, the pain returns.  The individual uses again and again until substance use is habituated.  The combination of impacts on mind, body, and spirit has become so profound that the individual cannot break his/her habit.  This is the nature of addiction.

How do I know whether or not my client has an addiction?

The diagnosis of addiction is given based on a variety of behaviors and occurrences that an individual must in most cases self-report. Those who have worked with addicts know that usually only those who are on the brink of death are willing to accept that they have a problem.

However, there are two simple questions that you can ask to determine whether or not substance abuse or addiction is an issue for your client. 1) Have you ever missed an activity because you were too hung-over to attend? and 2) Has anyone in your life (spouse, parent, boss, child, friend, physician, etc.) ever suggested that you might drink/use drugs to excess?

Once I have determined that addiction or substance abuse is a problem for my client, what can I do to help him/her?

It is unlikely that your client will be able to recover on his/her own.  S/he will need treatment.  Hearing this will undoubtedly not go down well with your client. However, treatment can be the best gift your client can receive both for his/her health and the case s/he is facing.

The key to long-term addiction recovery is highly individualized, holistic treatment that is underpinned by intensive individual psychotherapy and addressing issues based on a person’s readiness to change.  To help them understand not only the nature of their problem, but that there is hope for recovery, they must be met at their individual level of readiness to change. Cliffside Malibu uses the “Stages of Change” model to help someone struggling with addiction know that s/he has a problem and believe that there is hope of recovery.  Once that is accomplished, intensive one-on-one psychotherapy combined with holistic (mind-body-spirit) interventions are used together to help addicts face the root cause of their pain and give them tools for moving through that pain.

What is the Stages of Change model?  Why is an integrated approach to treatment so effective?

It suggests that life-change occurs in predictable stages.  By understanding a client’s readiness and willingness to change, we can employ specific interventions to help the addict find the fortitude to face the problems of his past. By doing this in a safe, supportive environment with a dedicated therapist, the addict can work through his issues and learn the skills s/he needs to meet life’s challenges sober.  This is a complete life transformation in which using drugs or alcohol simply becomes unnecessary.

It is estimated that 83% of those who leave treatment are using again within a year. This failure is because most treatment programs do not provide a holistic, integrated approach to treatment. People with addiction illness have deficiencies and problems on the levels of mind, body, and spirit.  They must be given the physical support (nutrition, rest, exercise, yoga, orthomolecular medicine, acupuncture, massage, etc.) to get their bodies to a state of good health, the psychological support (intensive one-on-one therapy with a loving therapist, small group work, family therapy, etc.) and spiritual support (life coaching, meditation training, access to clergy) to change the path on which s/he is traveling.  It is only with this kind of intensive support using a team of professionals in a safe, secure environment that addicts transcend their addictions with ease.

Does Cliffside Malibu work with attorneys or the courts?

Yes. Our policy is to work hand-in-hand with criminal attorneys to get the best possible outcomes for our clientele with respect to sentencing, etc.  If an attorney asks or requests, we have our clinical director give testimony on behalf of clients.

Richard Taite, CEO and Constance Scharff, PhD, of the Cliffside Malibu treatment center in Malibu, California, have written a new book that describes what addiction is and how it can be overcome for good.  The book is titled “Ending Addiction for Good” and can be purchased at Amazon.com or any major book retailer in both paperback and electronic versions.

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