Accountability Part 2

I ended the previous post indicating that from the very beginning of my recovery I had incorporated 2 invaluable components. So, to continue...

They are:            

Twelve step programs

And

Intensive Treatment

Twelve step programs are the foundation of groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous.  Intensive Treatment comes from Treatment Facilities that the client attends for various forms of group and one-on-one counseling.  

I use the term intensive because, although an individual facility may have a component of it’s program that it refers to as intensive, the client must ensure that they are intensive about the entire process in order for there to be any real chance of success. To take it lightly is to continue to take your life lightly, which, in the case of most alcoholics and drug addicts is to ensure their ultimate demise. This is no laughing matter. It is literally a case of life or death.

A good treatment facility will assist the client in discovering the ‘whys’ of their using, and enlighten them as to the tools to be used to deal with the complexities of their struggle with themselves.

A knowledgeable and comprehending case manager will deal with the client on a more personal, and insightful, level. I consider myself to be extremely fortunate in that my personal case manager is very adept at what I refer to as ‘casting the hook’. Yet she does not assume the responsibility of then reeling in the issue or problem that her hook has pierced. That is left up to me. As it should be. For, then, I am an active participant involved in a process, rather than the recipient of someone else’s efforts. I get to experience a sense of accomplishment, which is an antidote for shame. I could spend the next ten pages discoursing my perceptions of the undeniable benefits of the many different facets of Intensive Treatment, but I feel that I have described the gist of it well enough for the purposes of this writing.

               Twelve Step programs work in unison with the learning’s derived from a treatment center. This is not meant to imply any association between the two, except for the association that the person in recovery must make if they are to have a fighting chance. Again, these are the personal perceptions of one recovering addict-alcoholic. I know that for me, as an individual, the combination of the two is working. I have strong doubts that either one on it’s own would have an effective chance of working even partially well. In learning the ideals supporting the Twelve Steps, I am able to more readily grasp and consider the teachings and suggestions of my case manager and the premise of the Treatment Facility. To assist me in the learning of the Twelve Steps, I have another sort of case manager, in the form of a Sponsor. This is the individual who, in the Twelve Step program, works with me on a more personal, one on one basis.

               One of the most endearing aspects of this two-pronged recovery plan is the unintentional yet undeniable incidence of overlap. Frequently, my Twelve Step Sponsor gives me the key to understanding a concept first examined with my Treatment Center group or case manager, and vice versa. I know that the two separate portions of my recovery armaments do not converse with each other, so, how can they so often operate in concert. Could it be because the one consistent ingredient in this two panned course wants to survive the mixing, preparing, and serving of the meal? I believe it will result in a feast, and I’m pretty darned hungry!