Amber HollingsworthRecovery Conversation Simulator, Amber's Recovery Practice Lab · Interactive learning tool trained on Amber methodoloy

Addiction Treatment Without Change Talk is a Recipe for Stagnation. 🤐

4 Dec 2023 · 1 min

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Amber Hollingsworth advises family members about the right timing to discuss treatment with a loved one who may have an addiction. Core guidance in this chunk: if you are receiving zero 'change talk' from the person, do not initiate conversations about treatment or recovery; instead wait until their life shows signs of unmanageability. She notes that even as problems grow, the person often blames loved ones and resists treatment, and that raising treatment when the person is still functioning (working, no legal issues) will likely be counterproductive.

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When to engage with your loved one regarding getting them into recovery. Sort of. I guess the summation would be know when to hold them, know when to fold them. And without having any preparation for this at all, my gut is always, if you are getting zero change talk, do not start talking about treatment or recovery. You know, remember, we're waiting for them to have some unmanageability in their lives before they're going to do anything about it anyway. So if they're still functioning fine, like I talked to someone this morning and their loved one was still working, not in any trouble whatsoever. Like driving around, had never gotten any legal problems and the only problem was between the spouses. And she was like, should I start talking about treatment? I was like, no, not at all. He's going to think you're crazy. And you know, you guys all know that. That's what they think anyway. Even as their life starts to become unmanageable, they blame us and they focus on what we're doing wrong.