Which side will you fight on when a civil war battle breaks out in your detox facility or intake office?

 Have you ever heard something like this when a patient with Substance Use Disorder leaves detox or fails to complete the admissions process:

“They just aren’t ready.”

“They just want to get high.”

If someone willingly came to your facility to start a detox program, you may have said to them:

“I’m so glad you’re ready.”

“I’m glad you're tired of getting high.”

Can you tell me what occurred between the time they entered your facility and when they departed?

A battle in their personal mental Civil War!

That is what has happened right in front of you and inside of them!

Instead of blaming the patient for deviating from their detox plan, focus on supporting the aspect of their mental struggle that brought their entire being - mind, body, and spirit - to your office.

The patient had to exert a great deal of mental effort to come to you, as their thought processes are not functioning as they should. Your mind, on the other hand, is functioning properly.

Choose to take the higher path and do all that you can to support the patient in their ongoing internal battle.

Stand by their side, on the side of the civil war that was prevailing when they arrived at your door.