Why would you decide to work with us rather than with one of the thousands of other possibilities available to you?

It’s a good question and one that you would be well advised to consider carefully. After all, success will require that you invest a fair amount of time, energy, emotion and, yes, money. Consequently, you’ll want to have as much confidence as possible that you will achieve the outcome you want.

First, a word about what we aren’t:

  • We aren’t the gateway into AA, any other semi-religious sect, or a personality cult;
  • We aren’t pushing the debunked “progressive disease” model that only leads to failure;
  • We aren’t the “alcohol police”;
  • We aren’t “one-size-fits-all”;
  • We don’t dictate what your outcome must be.

Next are the things we are that no one else is:

  • Confidential;
  • Individual (and couples);
  • Private;
  • Affordable;
  • Customized to fit you;
  • Alcohol only;
  • Adults over 35 only;
  • Two professionals dedicated exclusively to you;
  • And, because of all of the foregoing, effective.

Then there are a few other things we are, as are a few other choices scattered around the country:

  • Research based;
  • Professional;
  • Ethical;
  • Competent.

All this considered, we think you can see why the difference in success rates for “FTS” (Facilitated 12 Step) ranges from 2%-5%; for other non 12 Step programs from 5% – 15%, and why our clients achieve the results they want at a 70% rate or better. And if you want to know what happened to the other 30%, we’d be happy to tell you that too.

That pretty well runs down the options and does the cost/benefit analysis for you. But we imagine you still have, and should have, questions. Why not call and ask them, and discover what questions you might want to ask any other program you might be considering?

“Pathologized?”

One of the more difficult parts of the work we do with you is “de-pathologizing” your condition. This could also be framed as deprogramming you from all of the AA/12 Step mythology that pervades our culture and most people’s thinking.

The most destructive myth is that “AA works.” In point of fact, it doesn’t. Not for 95% of the people who try it. More alarming yet is the fact that for 25 years it has been possible to sort out ahead of time who it may work for from who it won’t and who it harms. But no rehab center that uses AA and the “Steps” wants anything to do with identifying who they are effective with.

The next myth is that “it’s a disease” because “it changes your brain.” Again, anything you do or learn changes your brain, which is a very elastic and plastic entity. Yes, if you drink too much for too long you can do permanent damage that is irreversible. The same is true of playing football – but no one seems to want to suggest that football is a disease. Imagine that.

Moving on – drinking is “progressive.” It can be but rarely is. Most people’s alcohol consumption is remarkably stable, regardless of the level, and increases tend to occur at predictable points in our lives. The end of child rearing, divorce, death, retirement, menopause, and any other events that leave us with too much stress and free time, always present opportunities for drinking to expand to fill the available space.

Interestingly, however, for most of us, even under duress, consumption is far more often regressive! Over time, most of us drink less, not more. Even after we’ve upped the quantity in college, after a divorce, when we retire, or a spouse dies. Eventually, after these events, most of us find ourselves returning to our previous drinking habits and patterns. The question is, how long do you want “eventually” to be? How much time to you want to waste getting back to “normal”?

Many of us would prefer to get a handle on things now, not later, and can usually do so with a bit of appropriate help. Note the word “appropriate.”

Next up, you need to go to 30, 60, or 90 days of rehab. Again, there isn’t a shred of evidence that this is effective or a good investment in your future. It will certainly leave you permanently labeled, demeaned, depressed, and one-down in your personal relationships. If you are a professional it will also leave your ability to pursue your profession severely compromised and often impossible. How do you think that’s going to help you not drink abusively?

The list of myths goes on and on, but it’s really more productive, now that you get the idea, to consider our article: Ending Alcohol Abuse: What Works. Then you really will be able to decide what’s best for you.

And when you are done pondering and ruminating, don’t hesitate to call and discuss.

There’s no charge for that consultation and we will be happy to refer you to an appropriate program if we don’t fit your needs – again, something that no other program in the country does.