Another Angry Client

An angry client threatened to sue me after I referred him to a 30-day treatment program before I would recommend him to return to work. He requested copies of the evaluation I had performed and also wanted copies of my credentials – all of which I provided to him.

He must've calmed down after a while because I didn't hear from him or his attorney about the lawsuit. And eventually he went into the treatment program I referred him to and successfully completed. The final part of the process was a follow-up evaluation.

At the follow-up he was a changed person. He thanked me more than once for referring him to the treatment program. He gained some new insights into his addictions and had a follow-up program that would help him stay clean and sober. He apologized for his initial anger at my recommendation, saying he realized what he needed to do - but really didn't want to do it. He spoke glowingly of the treatment he received and said that he had a new lease on life. For the first time in years he felt comfortable in his own skin and was experiencing genuine happiness.

It's sometimes difficult to recommend treatment for 30, 60 or 90 days. People often claim they have no income, that they won't be able to pay bill and being away will disrupt their family life. And when when they come at me this way I always have pretty much the same response. I tell them if you don't get into treatment and deal with your addiction you aren't going to have an income or a family because you'll either be in the hospital, in jail, or dead. While this might seem a harsh assessment to some, it's a reality that I have seen all too often.

Before I got sober I didn't want to go to a halfway house because I didn't want to miss work. And I didn't. And I ended up losing everything. I lost my home. I lost my car. I lost my job. And at that point I had no choice. I was either going to end up in jail or go to a halfway house. I chose the latter. If I'd have been as smart as the client I'm talking about here I would have gone to a halfway house and saved myself a lot of work, the work it took for me to rebuild my life.