The Self

When clients arrive at Samaritan Inns, they are often in a period of intense uncertainty.  They are internally motivated towards personal change, but do not know what areas need to change.  Obviously, cessation of drug abuse is the primary concern; however, once achieving sobriety, most clients realize that the drugs were masking personal pain.  

More and more, I am feeling that my role within the group is to clarify the issues they bring up in groups.  For instance, a client was working to overcome issues dealing with family members and loved ones who continue to use drugs.  However, in her presentation of these issues she connected them with her lack of self-esteem and social anxiety.  

Although the two problems she interrelated, they were two distinct problems.  From the way in which she related her stress, the two distinct issues were tangled up with emotion.  My job in the interaction was to separate the two issues and suggest she tackle them independently.  In this sense, the communication went beyond empathy, into goal formation and personal change.