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Current trends and future directions in addictions and offender counseling: finding balance and trusting the process.

Article Excerpt
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

--Reinhold Niebuhr, "Serenity Prayer"

Clinicians working in the addictions and offender fields will recognize the Serenity Prayer's call for change as the hallmark of many 12-step and prison rehabilitation programs. Learning to accept life on life's terms (as a part of the change process) is the foundation for any successful recovery program. Whether individuals are trying to recover from an addiction to chemicals or processes or attempting to rehabilitate from a Life of crime, embracing change must become their personal mantra. This is especially true when one's lifestyle has supported addictive or offending behaviors--the only thing one has to change is everything.

Why do I begin with this discussion of change? First, I believe that if we, as "change agents," assist clients with making life-altering transformations, we too should be open to the change process. Throughout my years as a clinician and educator, however, I have found that the majority of the most enlightened and well-meaning change agents not only resist change but also adamantly deny that they are doing so. I include myself in that majority. Why do we resist change? The most often cited reason used to justify our avoidance of change originates in the systems in which we operate. This is encapsulated in such sayings as, "That's just how we do it around here," "What difference can one person really make?" and "Have you seen the amount of paperwork I have on my desk--and you want me to try something different?"

The other reason that I call for an embrace of change is that the addictions and offending fields are changing: If we do not keep current with the revolutionary thoughts and practices that occur worldwide, we stand the real chance of stagnating and causing potential harm to our clients and students. So it is with the ideal of change that I launch into this editorial, in which I describe my intended goals for the future of the Journal of Addictions & Offender Counseling (JAOC). Bear with me as I describe my vision for a journal that already has a long-standing history of literary success.

Any change, even a change for the better, is always accompanied by drawbacks and discomforts.--Arnold Bennett, The Arnold Bennett Calendar

As I formulate and expound on my future agenda for JAOC, I keep two of my own mantras in mind and ask that readers consider these mantras for themselves: "It's all about balance," and "Trust the process." My format in discussing the proposed goals is to list and discuss each goal, provide a rationale, and then apply these mantras to note the systemic issues that will likely affect the change process. I hope to proactively address the drawbacks and discomforts that some may experience throughout this change process, and please know that I am open to feedback from the International Association of Addictions and Offender Counselors (IAAOC) membership.

Note that from time to time I will step on my proverbial soapbox, a publishing rarity that I am afforded in writing this editorial (to be read, tongue in cheek, as, "I better do this now, before they realize whom they've put...

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