First, I want to congratulate Coach Ken Ricker and the Dunkirk Lady Marauders for a spectacular 24-1 season. It’s a shame their season was cut short with three games to go for the “States.” These girls were a pleasure to watch play.

Most fans have no idea as to the kind of shape men or women have to be in to run and press for 32 minutes. My Dunkirk team of ’72-’73 averaged 89.0 points per game. Many of these points came off a “Run Jump’ press full court.

You are a credit to your parents, your school, your community, your coach but mostly to yourselves. The ’72-’73 Dunkirk Marauders salute you. Well done!

Watching the girls play, reminded me of what we used to do in treatment and what we now have in treatment doesn’t even come close. “Sobriety” in those days equaled treatment and individual counseling weekly, family counseling, family education, client education, group therapy at least three times weekly, medical care, AA, NA, ALANON, vocational counseling, activities therapy, spiritual counseling and lastly, mental health counseling.

Today, treatment equals mental health counseling and that’s about it. Due to “client-centered” treatment, if a client doesn’t want to attend group, he or she doesn’t have to. One on ones with a client’s primary counselor are sometimes once every three weeks.

In former days, we, as counselors, were taught to treat a client’s chemical dependency issues “first” by treating their irrational beliefs about abusing alcohol and other drugs on a regular basis. AA and NA were “highly” recommended. After setting up their programs based upon “abstinence,” meetings, attendance in the beginning three to four times weekly, physicals, working the steps, getting a sponsor to help one through the rocks, volunteer work at food kitchens, the elderly, one on ones at least one time weekly, vocational, educational training.

The clinician will listen closely and will attend to “how” something is said and not merely “what” is said. We will check the client’s mood. “Is the mood appropriate to what is being said?” I was taught that in a counseling session, from time to time, momentarily tune out the words and take a good look. Turn off the picture and focus on the sound. Ask “what” questions, not “why” questions and “how” questions in an attempt to learn what is going on.

The importance of observation in treatment is crucial. Sometimes after a difficult session for the client, I would say, “How hard was this for you?”

Most would say, “100% and I think about it every day.”

I would then say, “Have you EVER tried to manage this sober?”

The answer was usually no. That gave me the cue that they needed increased CD treatment. This is what my group of supervisors created: “excellent” clinicians based on CD.

Observation tells a counselor, “What’s going on with this person? We are not mind readers.” But we would find it in our favor if we could make a rational observation.

For example, a client whose coloring is poor, who has a distended abdomen, and a number of bruises. The client will usually minimize his color, bruises and ignore his abdomen and state he “just tripped over the phone cord.”

The counselor, however, will detect a serious medical condition, due to alcohol and other drugs and will urge the client to see a physician.

In former days, at least 50% of medical illnesses such as heart disease, liver problems/cirrhosis of the liver, gastrointestinal problems, severe falls, kidney failure and sleep disorders were related to alcohol and other drugs. We often would make the appointment for the client, whether we were in outpatient or inpatient treatment.

The main idea of this article has been not to knock current treatment, but to tell the treatment community, “you are capable of doing better.” Once in awhile as we used to say in AA, “Take the cotton out of your ears and stick it in your mouth, and listen. Experienced clinicians have a lot to offer, listen to them, they are only trying to help you!”

Most of you need to read “Cross Addiction Therapy,” and The Pharmacology of Chemicals” (both alcohol and other drugs).

The shame is most of you won’t, due to today’s current philosophy of chemical dependency.

Mike Tramuta has been a CASAC counselor for more than 30 years. Call 983-1592 for more information.