Friday, February 24, 2012

Carrying the Message - Not the Mess

A long-term client who survived on the streets for years and who’s been at TLC more than three times is about to relapse again.

Although he’s made sporadic progress for the past 18 months he recently decided he only wants to do what he wants when he wants. He’s turned down jobs on a few occasions. And he hasn’t complied with other requirements. His supervisor wants to discharge him now. But he knows that if the client leaves his first stop will be at the liquor store.

So what do we do? On one hand, we don’t let clients hold us hostage with the prospect of a relapse. On the other hand, maybe a few more days in the program may help change his thinking. The decision was made to give him a week to decide what he’ll do next. But most of the staff believes he’ll probably go back out.

Those who deal with this client have invested a lot of time and effort to help him change. So it’s understandable that they’re disappointed that he’s ready to go on another drinking binge – especially when it appeared he as making progress over the past several months.

But our job is to carry the message. It’s up to the clients to decide what to do with the information. We wish him well.

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