Anyone in the addiction treatment industry knows that without accountability no progress towards healthy decision making can be made. In fact in many cases accountability or the lack there of has led the addict into a patters of self destructive decision making.

Many people especially the people involved misunderstand addiction. There is undoubtedly in most cases a very real physical addiction that can become extremely powerful. But the real problem is not with the physical addiction but with the mental entrenchment. Thought patterns will continually bring the addict back to the door of abuse, unless those thought patterns are addressed and consciously changed.

We will often times portray rehabilitation in the same way that society tends to see it. We are used to going to the doctor when we are suffering from some physical ailment, so we also tend to treat the physical addiction without spending enough time on the behavior element. In most cases addicts suffer from a myriad of faulty thoughts, about themselves, about others and about society.

For example if you speak to a person who has never broken any laws and ask them what they think of the police. They will probably tell you that they appreciate the Police and the duty that they perform for society. However if you ask an addict who has been arrested several times for possession, they will tell you that the police are evil and that they have been singled out for harassment.

I believe that these faulty beliefs are sometimes a result of addiction and criminal behavior and sometimes they are preexisting contributors to the addiction and criminal behavior. One of the things that is generally apparent when you meet with an addict and a loved one is whether or not a facilitating atmosphere exists in the relationship. You can see right away if the addict had ever been held accountable for his/her actions. If accountability was never tough or never learned then it will have to be instilled as a course of treatment. You can address the addiction month after month and even create abstinence for a period of time but this will never become permanent until accountability is embraced and the other faulty thought processes are overcome.

You can always tell when someone is going to remain clean because they are brutally honest with themselves. They will not try and make excuses for their action, they will no longer blame others and they will no longer seek to justify.

As a treatment provider you must at all times foster an atmosphere of accountability. Do not let them get away with assigning blame for their actions. We can sometime unwittingly allow the addict some wiggle room in the accountability department. It is imperative that we run a tight ship. All too often we dont demand the same level of accountability that we are trying to teach. When we do not keep accurate records regarding treatment, and even payments we are undermining our own instruction and reinforcing those old criminal thoughts of not taking responsibility and finding loop holes in the system or even trying to get out of paying. A good case manager will have an important impact in the recovery process, they will teach by example that you care about your own treatment standards, and no matter what tactics are employed you have the means and desire to hold them to your standards.

Make sure your operating system, your policy and procedure and your employees are up to the task, it is important, lives are at stake and the rewards are great. You stand between an entire generation and destruction.