I would not first 'try a technique' with this woman. Instead I would investigate her state and that of her relationships/friends/environment and her parents. It may be that what you have is very much more complex than a habit. Imagine just for a simple example for instance, the woman has always felt very low about herself (the reason could be from early sexual trauma and parental reaction to chronic criticism to continual exposure to 'loveless' type A parents, etc., etc. There are many possiblies, of course). So her choice of love partner has been biased by what she thinks she is worth...her inability to stand up against his or her lifestyle is weakened or non-existent, etc. Her relations with an internalized parent who properly encourages success in difficult tasks (such as kicking addition) is not there, etc. This is just one of dozens of possible scenarios, of course. And the 'key' piece, rather unlikely to be simply the crack or the habit of using it, is where you need to intervene. She began the crack use do to her poor judgment, state of mind, feelings, etc., and what put together the scenario and justified it in her frame of reference is most important. If she claims she doesn’t know about any thing you ask her….ask her to try a bit harder…. It may be that she would be best served in a detox center and learn more than what you can provide in an hour of so a week with her.
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Once again I recall Erickson saying 'treat the client not the label.'
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I should add that, if you are a clinician, it seems that should know this already. Are you a mental health professional? If not you should refer this person to one and not do therapy. If you are, don’t be superficial in your approach according to some tool...treat the unique person.
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