Stay Tuned . . . (This was the LAST posting on the OLD SITE) . . .

I hope that someone is reading this other than me (smile).

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Today, July 18, 2015, family, friends and I are honoring my mother’s 92nd birthday!

Therefore, I’m going to have a blog-entry-delay (smile) . . .
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Additionally, I am working on a New Counseling on a Shoestring Blog Theme . . . which is exciting, stressful, time-consuming and worthwhile (I hope).
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 . . . There is SO MUCH behind-the-scenes to getting the blog to look and do what I want (this reminds me of the joke:  How many counselors does it take to change a light bulb? …. ANSWER:  None, the light bulb has got to want to change — haa haaa haaaa!).
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I do digress well (smile) . . .
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Anyway, you will be getting an email in a couple of days–announcing a “new” posting …. and an email in a few weeks announcing a total BLOG FACE-LIFT (with a new address as well).
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My blog will be as major of a change as Bruce to Caitlyn Jenner!
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 So, please be patient with me … Rome wasn’t built in a day … and I’m ready to Roam
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Thanks for stopping by, thanks for letting me share—let’s keep in touch!

“Those People”

Welcome Back! . . . July 11, 2015

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. . .  and thanks for all of the positive feedback and support of my blog—I hope to keep you engaged.  (I’m under 500 word-count this time ~smile ).

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People say to me, “You work with ‘those people’?” …

And I rebuttal, “no, YOU work with ‘those people’”.

You’re in the community—where the alcoholics and drug addicts run riot!

Have you noticed the amount of beer and wine sold in stores these days? . . .

And let’s not even mention prescription drug use—with the “ask your doctor ads”; a drug store (or two) on every corner, pharmacies in grocery and department stores, and check out the impact of online pharmacies —whew! ….

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Au contraire, I’m working with people who are in recovery (for whatever reason: legal, financial, professional, medical, relational, and sometimes even personal–smile).

As a substance abuse counselor, I work with people who have a chance to make a positive life change.  One of my favorite recover slogans is:

IF NOTHING CHANGES, NOTHING CHANGES

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Note that the 2013 National Survey on Drug Use reports that 76 percent of all binge and heavy drinkers are employed.  And over half of the adults aged 18 or older with substance dependence or abuse were employed full time in 2013.

To read more from the 184-page report (a survey of the primary source of information on the use of illicit drugs, alcohol, and tobacco in the United States aged 12 years old or older), click here:  The 2013 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), an annual survey sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)

Or, to learn about Nationwide Trends on drug use (a 4-page pdf file), go to DRUG FACTS: Nationwide Trends

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THE ROY-BLOG BITE:

This week I asked my buddy Roy, “How does bringing the confederate flag down in South Carolina relate to recovery?”  . . . Roy replied, “Better late than never!”

STAY-TUNED:  I realize that I keep using the word RECOVERY–yet, some don’t know what it means.  Tune-in next week!  ~ Tighten your laces . . . (smile) ~

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THIS WEEK’s RECOVERY QUOTE:

When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change

Quote by:  Wayne W. Dyer, Ph.D.—an internationally renowned author and speaker in the field of self-development.


To view Wayne Dyer on YouTube doing a 3-minute speech of this topic, go to: https://youtu.be/urQPraeeY0w


Thanks for stopping by, thanks for letting me share—let’s keep in touch!

Welcome to my 1st Posting ~ Free to Blog, 4th of July!

I have been waiting to exhale–and now I can . . .

Illustration by Ronald Slabbers
Illustration by Ronald Slabbers

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Over the years I’ve written for small papers, editorials, “other’s blogs”, and personal expression.  As a result, I experienced tight constraints, impossible deadlines, projects fold, poor editing, and lack of motivation.  I had to be certain to be “politically correct” —‘cause wouldn’t want to hurt anybody’s feelings (really?)!  I had to be certain to stick to “assigned topic”; otherwise, I’d get canned (smile).

In other words, I always felt “censored” while writing—not to mention the number of editorials that were never printed—my voice, “they” did not want heard.  And then along came BLOG (smile)!

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I’m now a member of the BLOGOSPHERE (blog stratosphereJ)—and I’m ready to be heard—at 56-years-proud, I’ve lots to share, lots to say.

Initially, the goal of this blog was to provide support to substance abuse counselors who are working with agencies with zero-budgets (as I’ve done for many, many years)—thus, “counseling on-a-shoestring”.  $$

I wanted to not only give fellow counselors moral support to not give-up, but also hands-on tools that were shared with me—tools that WORK.  I primarily know I have “working tools” as a result of repeated feedback from clients of varied races, gender, economic backgrounds, faith, professions, etc.

You see, one thing about addiction, and recovery, is that we are more alike than we are different.

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Does that mean that I ignore cultural diversity?  NO! . . . on the contrary; I, and those I work with, CELEBRATE differences while embracing similarities.

When addressing the big “D” word of addiction—Denial, I often suggest that clients “compare themselves in, rather than compare themselves out”.

During the creative-time of my blog-development, I had an epiphany when I was about to give the heading a subtitle to address alcoholism and drug addiction.  I said to myself, “Wait, Self (smile), ALL counselors can benefit from your professional experience—after all, some type of addiction is frequently at the core of many issues—often masked as ‘anger’, ADD, depression, anxiety, etc.  In fact, perhaps many medical doctors and psychiatrists would be less likely to prescribe medications if they better understood (or cared about chemical addiction).”

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I remember when drug and alcohol counseling was considered a “field” and not a profession.  I was very fortunate in being trained by the “old school” counselors in recovery (and for some I use that term loosely –smile), as well as, experienced professionals and scholars.

I’ve experienced what most don’t.  I’ve seen addiction first hand from my family and friends; I’ve seen it glorified when I worked in corporate America for ten years; I see it repeatedly play-out in the media; and having been a substance abuse counselor for over 20-years, I’ve directly witnessed the damaging affects addiction has on individuals and families.

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For sure, alcohol and other drug addiction (misuse, abuse, dependency—whatever we choose to title it) is the most non-discriminating, equal opportunity thing in the world!

It doesn’t care about economic-group, age, race, religion, gender, intellect, occupation, education, zip code, family-of-origin, title, weight, talent, looks, popularity, fame, etc.—it destroys ALL equally.

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And then there is RECOVERY . . . which is just as non-discriminating —PEOPLE DO RECOVER!  . . . and my passion comes from having witnessed thousands of people (and their families) recover from the destruction of addiction.

My goal for this BLOG is to share with fellow counselors many of my “tricks of the trade” that clients have repeatedly said helped them, as well as, provide valuable information for anyone interested in recovery.

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Counseling on a Shoestring is my way of helping to motivate kind-natured therapists who are about at the point of burn-out (or in the words of one of my best buddies, and fellow counselor, Roy, “you is burnt-up”) because of an insurmountable task to perform with little to no funding.

Another frequent quote from Buddy Roy is:   “We live in the biggest state in America, the ‘State of Denial’.”   Note: I will quote Roy throughout my blog-life, he is a cross between Mark Twain and Richard Pryor—so I’ll be sharing my Roy-moments in future blogs (smile).

Well, my blog-training-manual suggest no more than 300-words per posting … I’m over 700 … obviously, I’ve an extra-long shoestring (smile).

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Thanks for stopping by—let’s keep in touch!

. . . and I intend to always end with a Recovery  Quote:

“As long as the ties that bind us together are stronger than those that would tear us apart, all will be well.” Basic Text, p. 57

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NOTE:  This posting was originally posted on my FIRST blog site…I moved it here in order to keep all of my writing together.