"I don't have a choice about being here," the new client said, sounding depressed. He was unhappy about being in the program because he had just gotten out of prison after several years. He thought his parole officer should have let him go home to his family.

However, the parole officer wanted him to live in a structured environment for a while. He thought a period of decompression would allow the client to gradually adjust to freedom.

"Why do you say you don't have a choice?" I asked him.

"If I don't stay here my PO will return me to prison," he responded.

"Then you do have a choice," I responded. "You can either stay here or let your parole officer return you to prison."

"But that's no choice," the client said.

"It is a choice," I responded. "It's just a choice that you don't like."

The client reluctantly agreed with me. The point is that we always have choices. And in many cases we've seen clients elect to return to prison or jail rather than live in the structured environment of our recovery program. We are strict, and serious about what we expect. Clients are required to work. Clients give us drug tests on demand. They are required to keep living areas clean and perform chores. However, the things required of them are no different from what the average citizen does every day.

Sometimes change comes when we realize we have choices. We can make good ones or bad ones. But we don't need to wallow in the self-pity that comes when we don't believe we have a choice.