There are no mistakes, only opportunities….I think I may have forgotten to practice beginner’s mind with a prospective client who came for a consultation a month or so ago. He was a very intelligent middle-aged man having marital difficulties, a man who’d never been to therapy before.

After years of doing individual therapy and running several groups at various treatment facilities, I have learned a few things. (1) Most alcoholics and addicts are saturated with shame, guilt, and fear (2) Alcoholism/addiction destroys an individual, their life, and the lives of the people around them (3) Most alcoholics and addicts have endured some type of trauma in their life. The trauma underlies it all! The trauma often creates feelings of shame, guilt, remorse, despair, and fear, which inevitably lend to more use, which results in greater destruction.