A new approach to problem drinking that focuses not on the past or the present but on the future. Your spouse complains about your drinking. Your boss suggests Alcoholics Anonymous. You know you have a problem. You need a solution; you need a miracle. The authors ask readers to imagine such a miracle: Suppose that while you are asleep tonight a miracle happens and your problem is solved, just like that! Because you were sleeping, you didnt know that this miracle occurred. What is the first thing tomorrow morning that will let you know that there has been a miracle and that your problem is solved? From that "first thing," the authors help readers to imagine a future where drinking is not a problem and to specify small, concrete, obtainable goals that will make that future a reality. Neither the humiliation of "hitting bottom" nor a lifetime commitment to AA is necessary to make this approach work. Instead the individual learns to recognize exceptions (times when drinking is not a problem), catch himself "doing things right," handle setbacks, and revise the "miracle picture" when things arent working. Highly practical, The Miracle Method is a radically new and effective approach to problem drinking.

The Miracle Method: A Radically New Approach to Problem Drinking

Health, Fitness & Dieting

Berg, Insoo Kim

Miller Ph.D., Scott D.

Addiction & Recovery

W.W.Norton&Company

A new approach to problem drinking that focuses not on the past or the present but on the future. Your spouse complains about your drinking. Your boss suggests Alcoholics Anonymous. You know you have a problem. You need a solution; you need a miracle. The authors ask readers to imagine such a miracle: Suppose that while you are asleep tonight a miracle happens and your problem is solved, just like that! Because you were sleeping, you didnt know that this miracle occurred. What is the first thing tomorrow morning that will let you know that there has been a miracle and that your problem is solved? From that "first thing," the authors help readers to imagine a future where drinking is not a problem and to specify small, concrete, obtainable goals that will make that future a reality. Neither the humiliation of "hitting bottom" nor a lifetime commitment to AA is necessary to make this approach work. Instead the individual learns to recognize exceptions (times when drinking is not a problem), catch himself "doing things right," handle setbacks, and revise the "miracle picture" when things arent working. Highly practical, The Miracle Method is a radically new and effective approach to problem drinking.

A detailed program for psychotherapists―the solution-focused, brief-therapy, problem-solving method of working with problem-drinker clients. At a time when the accepted standard treatment for alcoholism is long-term and expensive, solution-focused therapy, as developed at the Brief Family Therapy Center in Milwaukee, offers a brief and cost-effective alternative. Insoo Kim Berg and Scott D. Miller believe that a focus on solutions, rather than pathology, is the most constructive strategy for working with problem drinkers; their foremost concern is with what works. To this end they don't reject traditional treatment programs; rather, they view them as one part of a flexible and multidimensional approach to alcohol abuse treatment. The authors successfully utilize solution-focused therapy in their work with problem drinkers, but it is their philosophy of working with clients―and within clients' belief systems―to encourage change that is at the heart of their model. The model, grounded in the philosophy of solution-focused brief therapy, introduces a paradigmatic change in the approach to substance abuse treatment. Rather than treating a problem drinker, Berg and Miller work with clients to treat problem drinking. The authors' refreshing blend of respect for their clients and optimism about their ability to stop abusive drinking offers hope to clients who can't fit into traditional long-term programs or who have given up on themselves. This book shows how clients can be helped to construct a future where drinking or substance abuse is no longer a problem. Solution-focused therapy, based on respect for and collaboration with the client, concentrates on success and solutions. Therapists develop goals with the client, rather than imposing "appropriate" treatment objectives. If one solution doesn't work, the technique―not the client―is blamed and client and therapist go on to "do something different." The authors' model is much more than a list of interventions; it is a multi-faceted approach to treatment, which can adapt to anything that works, whether brief therapy, AA, or more formal inpatient programs.

Working with the Problem Drinker: A Solution-Focused Approach

Mental Health

While "psychotherapy" has been busily dividing into hundreds of different models, research shows that it doesn't really matter which approach you use. Yet there are some factors, across models, that do matter. The authors want readers to shake their allegiance to masters and models and focus on the basics of relationship, hope, and a plan for the future. Theirs is a simple but effective approach.

Escape from Babel: Toward a Unifying Language for Psychotherapy Practice (Norton Professional Books (Paperback))

Duncan, Barry L.

Hubble, Mark A.

This book, a companion to the authors' Escape from Babel, describes therapy with a number of patients who had defeated numerous clinicians and become "veterans" of the system. Using a flexible approach that emphasizes relationship, hope, and a plan for the future, the authors turn these cases around, setting the clients on a path of independence and health.

Psychotherapy with "Impossible" Cases: The Efficient Treatment of Therapy Veterans

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Books by Miller Ph.D., Scott D.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Miller Ph.D., Scott D.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Miracle Method: A Radically New Approach to Problem Drinking

The Miracle Method: A Radically New Approach to Problem Drinking

Working with the Problem Drinker: A Solution-Focused Approach

Escape from Babel: Toward a Unifying Language for Psychotherapy Practice (Norton Professional Books (Paperback))

Psychotherapy with "Impossible" Cases: The Efficient Treatment of Therapy Veterans