Does "Self-Led" mean I have to do all this by myself?
How do I know if I want Positive Change Coaching or Inner-Directed Therapy?
Is Inner-Directed Therapy really different from other kinds of therapy?
Can I use Inner-Directed Therapy for issues other than drugs or alcohol?
Isn’t there some big controversy between abstinence and moderation?
I’m not interested in abstinence right now. Can I still see you for coaching or therapy?
Are there times when abstinence is the best way to go?
Not at all. The “Self” that Self-Led refers to is your inner core, your essence, the “true you”. When you exert self-leadership your decisions come from a place of wisdom and calm, and you’re more able to make smart choices about drug and alcohol use. Whether you choose Positive Change Coaching or Inner-Directed Therapy, you will have someone at your side who cares about your progress, is proactive, and who uses effective systems for change.
A lot of this website is dedicated to helping you answer just this question. Basically, people choose Inner-Directed Therapy when they find that their drug/alcohol use is fueled mostly by emotional distress. If you find yourself using when you’ve firmly resolved not to, or when the main impetus of your use is to escape from yourself, you should consider the therapy option. If your substance use feels less intense than that, and seems to come from force of habit or the crowd you hang out with, you might do better with Positive Change Coaching, which is focused on behavior more than underlying feelings. Check out the Self Assessments for more information and help making a choice.
It absolutely is. Inner-Directed Therapy comes directly from Internal Family Systems Therapy (IFS), which was created in the 1980s by a man named Richard Schwartz. Instead of all the verbiage of regular therapy, IFS works on a very deep and direct level with all the parts of you involved in a particular issue (such as substance abuse) and can actually heal the pain that fuels the problem. In Inner-Directed Therapy we gear the techniques of IFS specifically for drug and alcohol issues in a non-judgmental and healing approach. For more information on SLS, go to Inner-Directed Therapy. For more informatino on IFS, go to Internal Family Systems Therapy.
Absolutely. Inner-Directed Therapy is a method that can be applied to almost any issue. It has been used to help heal compulsive sexuality, eating disorders, childhood abuse, post-traumatic stress, anger issues, depression, and anxiety.
If you’re lost and can’t decide, Self-Led Solutions is probably perfect for you. We work all the time with people who don’t yet know how to tackle their problems. We don’t push an agenda on you. We work with you to find calm and clarity, and, at your pace – not ours – help you reach a place from which you can start making some meaningful plans around your substance use.
Yes, there is a huge controversy in the drug/alcohol treatment field between the harm reduction approach (cutting back on use, using more safely) and the abstinence approach (lifelong total abstinence). At SLS we think it’s pretty self-evident that harm reduction (moderation) works best for some people, and abstinence works best for others. We never pitch a philosophy at you. But we do work with you to make the most realistic plan for change possible, and we are willing to ask the hard questions. Our job is to collaborate with you in finding a safer, more stable place. For more information, read About Harm Reduction.
Yes, you can. What we ask of you is a commitment to some level of positive change, and a desire to take better care of yourself than before. That’s all. The rest – your hopes, your goals, your healing – we’ll work out with you as you go along. At Self-Led Solutions we will work with you to reach a safer level of use, and we can also work with you on healing the parts of you that lead you to compulsive alcohol or drug use. Go to Positive Change Coaching and Inner-Directed Therapy to learn more.
Abstinence is always going to be one of your options, whatever your substance of choice, and it will always be your safest option. People most often go this route for a particular reason – and the most common one is that they find that there is very little middle ground for them between out-of-control use and no use. Other common reasons are the legal ramifications of drugs and alcohol, and concerns over medical issues. If you want help in deciding about this issue, try doing the Self Assessments.
