Why Treatment Fails, Part 4 of 4 by David Gerber

Client-Centered Care is a relatively new concept in treatment that makes the claim that the client knows best about what their needs are for care in substance use disordered treatment. Clinicians are instructed to tailor individual treatment plans with this in mind.

In most walks of life, educated, trained professionals are considered to be the experts for the service or product you need. For example, if I need a locksmith to come to my house to change the locks, he may suggest a specific lock that in his professional opinion will work best for my needs. While I have the final say in what lock actually gets installed, I am not the expert, and if the job is going to be done right, I don’t take charge of the process. I let the expert perform his job because I’ve engaged him for his help and expertise.

With the client-centered care model, agencies are essentially telling clinicians who are educated, trained and certified to help people struggling with substance abuse, that their clients know more about what they need in treatment than they know. This approach is not only risky, but in some cases it is irresponsible. Support groups are often ineffective because clients participating in the groups have different goals—some clients want to get sober, while other clients are only interested in harm reduction. The combination of client-centered care and harm reduction places those who wish to be sober among those who wish to continue using, or are not “ready” to discontinue use.

We would never recommend someone struggling with an addiction to crack cocaine to find sobriety in a crack house. Yet, we have come to accept individuals that seek sobriety to seek help among those in active addiction. While being good listeners and providing individualized care is well-intentioned and caring, in a client centered care model, it is overwhelmingly difficult for a person who wants to be sober to do so, when there are people in active addiction around them.

Sober at Home is a new and different model. It is not professional treatment, but offers trained professionals to provide information, education, support, and encouragement to help people get sober and live sober lives. Our online platform brings together people from across the country who have the same struggles and similar goals. You don’t need to go to brick and mortar programs to get the help you need. You don’t have to deal with the stigma of going into a treatment program. Nearly 100% of our time involves clinician to client contact. We tailor groups around your schedule so that you can continue to work while you get vital help. We are building an online community for those who go through our program to connect and build a support network.