Clinical Corner - Self Worth

by Melanie Storrusten, LCSW, Clinical Coordinator

Many people struggling with addiction, and especially women struggling with addiction, have a very low evaluation of their self-worth. For many clients (unfortunately the vast majority of them), this stems from a lifetime of trauma and abuse. 100% of Breakthru House clients acknowledge a background of trauma and abuse where they repeatedly received the message, "You're not good enough," "You deserve horrible treatment," and "Nobody cares." Once they entered active addiction, our clients sent this message to themselves by not taking care of themselves and abusing their bodies and spirits, and by placing themselves in dangerous situations to be re-traumatized and have those shaming messages again reinforced.

It is a part of most of our clients' official treatment plan goals to increase their self-worth. In addressing low self-worth, clients are asked to identify their negative self-talk throughout the day and challenge the truth of those negative messages. Some clients find using daily affirmations to be helpful. Some clients use collages and other artwork to surround themselves with positive messages. Clients are encouraged to participate in a variety of activities so that they can discover that they can have fun while sober. Many of our assignments are emotionally difficult - asking clients to look at where their negative beliefs about themselves originated. Some of our assignments are a little more light-hearted.

The following video clip is from the old TV show, Allie McBeal. Tracey Ullman's character in this clip does not play a very professional therapist, so I am including the disclaimer that this isn't what actually happens in therapy! :) I do use this video clip though, to explain the assignment to many clients to Choose a Theme Song.

 

The following is an example of a client's theme song. Stay tuned for more!!

What about you? Do you have a theme song? Maybe you should! We'd love for you to share your thoughts and theme songs in the comments below.

Volunteer Spotlight - Supper Club!

by Melanie Storrusten, LCSW, Clinical Coordinator

Supper Club is an opportunity for a group of individuals to bring dinner and fellowship to the clients of Breakthru House. Once a month, the ladies are excited to open their home to Sunday School classes, companies and organizations, or other volunteer groups. Tours are provided, a meal is shared, and the clients and volunteers have a chance to get to know one another. Supper Club is an excellent one-time (or ongoing!) volunteer opportunity that can serve as an "introduction" to Breakthru, to learn more about our program, and to see on a more personal level how we are impacting the lives of women struggling with addiction. We love Supper Club because we get to see lightbulbs going off for our clients that, "Hey, people I don't even know care about me!" For many of our clients who come from backgrounds of trauma, abuse, and neglect, this is a shocking and life-changing realization. We would love for you to come be a part of it! For more information on participating in Supper Club or other volunteer opportunities at Breakthru House, please feel free to contact Kate Boyer.

The Crosstalk Sunday School Class from Roswell United Methodist Church have been committed Supper Club volunteers! You can visit them on the web at: http://www.rumc.com.

Judy from Crosstalk Sunday School class of Roswell United Methodist Church is enjoying Supper Club!

Volunteers Helen and Marcia enjoying fellowship at Supper Club.

We are so thankful for our volunteers, like Carol!

Hi, volunteer, Pam! Which is the best part of Supper Club? The fellowship or dessert? It's a toss-up! Yumm!

 Thank you, ladies!!!

Healthy Goals for Spring

by Melanie Storrusten, LCSW, Clinical Coordinator

Happy Spring!!

In this season of renewal and growth, we are working towards improving our health at Breakthru House! Clients and staff all identified health-related goals and check-in each week at our Community Meeting to report whether or not they met their goals for the week. Here are some of our goals!

Our progress so far - Sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly!!

Leave us a comment about our healthy goals, or let us know what healthy goals you are working on!!

A Client's Perspective

The following is published with permission from the author.

What I have received from Breakthru House and how it has helped me.

It's hard to express in words just how much Breakthru has done for me. It's given me my life back. I was a broken person in so many ways when I got here. I was so deep into my addiction that I had lost all connection with reality. I was in so much emotional and spiritual pain that I was actually numb.
It took me a while to be able to feel again, to even cry. Breakthru has brought me back to life. I could possibly be in prison or dead right now without having come here. I have many horror stories about my addiction, but I don't have to live those anymore. Breakthru has taught me self-discipline, has given me back my self-worth. I have found courage and integrity and honesty. I have started to love myself again.
Words don't come close enough to express the gratitude that i have to Breakthru. All I know is that my God brought me here so that I could survive and get the help that I so desperately needed. thank God I had a place to go. I am a miracle, a survivor, and a productive member of society today. I am worthy. I am a good daughter, a good sister, a good aunt, a good step-daughter, a good friend, a good woman and I owe that to Breakthru House.

Sincerely and Appreciatively,
Beth G.

Client Progress

by Melanie Storrusten, LCSW, Clinical Coordinator

Our newest evaluation tool that we have created is the Self-Report Unmanageability Scale. This scale measures the level of unmanageability across six areas of functioning:

Physical – ability to care for food, shelter, clothing, and safety needs

Medical – ability to care for medical, dental and psychiatric needs

Employment – ability to obtain and maintain gainful employment

Financial – ability to manage debt and other financial obligations

Relationships – ability to maintain healthy relationships and interactions with others

Legal – ability to uphold the law and fulfill any legal obligations

Clients rate each of these areas at admission and throughout their treatment on the following scale:

1 = I have no problems in this area

2 = I have some issues in this area, but nothing that causes excessive stress

3 = I have many issues and increased stress in this area, but I am able to manage    somehow

4 = I have an unmanageable amount of issues in this area, with an unmanageable amount of stress, but I have a plan to get back on track

5 = I am overwhelmed by issues in this area; I feel completely unmanageable, and I have no idea what to do.

Our current clients rated themselves as having 73% of the areas of their lives rating at 4’s or 5’s when they were admitted to Breakthru House. Today, they rate only 26% of these areas as 4’s or 5’s.

The following graph will show the decrease of unmanageability experienced by our clients in each of these areas.

From this data, we know that: clients experience the most unmanageability in the Employment and Financial areas of their lives when they first come to Breakthru. Their ongoing needs remain highest in the areas of: Finances, Employment and Relationships. We have an extensive job coaching program, although due to the current economy, none of our clients have obtained employment. This may contribute to their continued experience of unmanageability re: their finances. Our program also dictates that clients wait to begin job search until their completion of DAC, so it makes sense that clients would still have unresolved financial issues. It is promising that despite this fact, the drop in unmanageability scores from admission to present-day in the area of Employment is one of the largest! So, at least they are gaining the skills that they feel will bring some manageability back into this area of their lives. Clients are also required to wait until they are on Level 2 until they resume contact with their families, which could play a role in their continued experience of unmanageability in the Relationships area. Still, the fact that Relationships are one of clients’ biggest areas of need when they come into Breakthru, and one of the smallest drops in unmanageability, means that we need to strengthen this area of our program. We are planning to implement an extensive family component to our treatment program by the end of 2011. Above even the drop in scores in the area of Employment, are those in the area of Medical needs. Our clients are linked to and regularly access psychiatric, medical, dental, and vision care.

At Breakthru, we strive to measure and meet our client’s needs, and then to re-measure and improve our programming to ensure that we truly are transforming the lives of women by facilitating physical, emotional, and spiritual healing.

About Our Clients

by Melanie Storrusten, LCSW, Clinical Coordinator

From our assessments, we know that: 100% of our current clients are homeless. 100% have a history of trauma. 64% have a criminal background. 36% have children in alternative custody. 82% have a family history of addiction. 64% have a diagnosis of depression. Other clients carry diagnoses of: Attention Deficit Disorder, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Anxiety, and Bipolar Disorder. Our clients drugs of choice are: opiates, crack cocaine, methamphetamine, alcohol, and marijuana.

From our evaluation tools we know that: 55% of our clients acknowledge Childhood Trauma and are still affected by it today. 64% of our clients acknowledge a traumatic event in their past and still experience symptoms that impact their daily lives today. 27% of our clients have eating issues, and utilize food as an unhealthy coping skill to a level that impacts their daily lives. 82% of our clients’ addiction and recovery is impacted by hormonal or sexual issues.

As a result, in addition to Substance Abuse Treatment, many of our clients are being treated for: Grief/Trauma, Low Self-Worth, Codependency (unhealthy relationships), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Guilt/Shame.

Our clients have been at Breakthru House from 1 month to 12 months. Our average length of stay among current clients is 6 ½ months.

Blog Launch Party!!

by Melanie Storrusten, LCSW, Clinical Coordinator

Here at Breakthru House, we are pretty excited about our blog! To celebrate, we threw a drop-in blog launch party Tuesday night. There were refreshments, campus tours, and of course, our blog unveiling! If you missed it, you missed a great time! Enjoy the pictures!

Our post-card advertisement - Designed by Melanie Storrusten, our Clinical Coordinator, and Bryan Bradley, a local web designer

On to the party!!!

Long-time friend of Breakthru, Zoe Hicks, and new friend of Breakthru, Betsy Edwards

Breakthru House's Resident Manager, Gail Whitton, Executive Director, Kate Boyer, and Administrative Coordinator, Kaysha Corniffe

Our Clinical Coordinator, Melanie Storrusten, and Counselor, Jessica Jenkins

 Others in attendance included church liasons and volunteers, neighborhood residents, and supportive family and friends! If you missed out, don't worry! You can always find out more information and get connected with Breakthru House by subscribing to our blog, visiting our website, or checking out our Action Ministries facebook page!