As a Therapeutic Coach over the past 30 years, I have worked with thousands of clients who were struggling with drug and alcohol problems. Many were in the early stages of the disease; some were in the advanced stages. What they all had in common was that they had tried many things to control their alcohol and drug use, failing over and over. Working with them on an outpatient basis, using Therapeutic Coaching to support their sobriety, and helping them gain all that they could from A.A., N.A. and Alanon Twelve-Step Programs, Celebrate Recovery, CAIR Self-Help and CAIRing Grace Groups.

The key that made healthy change possible was their heartfelt belief that they could change. Giving them the tools and resources needed for successful sobriety and recovery was the focus of Therapeutic Coaching. The first step for you is to realize that there is help! There is a different way! I will take you through a series of steps that can help you develop a healthy approach to this problem.

Step 1: Learning the nature of Alcoholism & Drug Addiction – The cultural context of addiction, character changes caused by addiction. It is important to understand what you are dealing with as you begin the change process.

Step 2: Learning the internal patterns within yourself that feed into and fuel the addictive process. We all have Perceptual Filters that affect what we experience and how we experience it. Several powerful examples of Perceptual Filters that impact alcoholism and drug addiction are: “Demanding Comfort”, “The Time Machine”, “Assuming Feelings Are Fact”, “Powerful Words”.

It is also important to realize we have feelings about our feelings – “Second-Order Feelings” – that fan the flames of emotional labiality in chemical dependency. The belief: “That’s Just The Way I Am” adds a powerless, hopeless dimension. Jerry is an example of applying Therapeutic Coaching treating alcoholism and drug addiction.

Step 3: Learning about the Adult Child Character. In all my years of coaching people struggling with alcoholism and drug addiction, I have never found one that didn’t suffer from wounded parts of self that had been rejected and disowned. These wounded parts play an active role in addiction. Understanding Self-Esteem is a key to unlocking the mystery of identity. The environment we grow up in has a powerful impact on our sense of identity – Developing Self-Esteem.

Step 4: Learning to develop your own “Inner Coach” to approach the healing process. There is a healthy New Program approach to your sobriety. In my experience, how you approach the process of change is the key to successfully making the healthy changes in your life today. Change is possible in the present! It is a lifetime adventure of becoming, living consciously in the present, looking for Nuggets of wisdom about healthy change. Give yourself the tools needed for making healthy growth in your life today. The Action Plan shares some of the resources that can help you make your desired changes the path of least resistance.

Step 5: Realizing that this material is deep wisdom about the process of change, find someone to discuss and share your reactions with as you go through the material. This is a very important step in the healing of your addictions. Select someone you can feel safe being open with in the sharing process, or look into a free support group like CAIR Self-Help Groups, or CAIRing Grace Groups. It is very important to attend A.A. and N.A. meetings regularly, and find a sponsor to help support your recovery.