Alcohol Dependency | Motivational Interviewing

Finding the Courage to Change: Sarah's Story

A journey through alcohol dependency using Motivational Interviewing

When Sarah first came to see me, she was adamant that alcohol wasn't the problem. "I can stop whenever I want," she told me in our first session, arms folded, gaze fixed on the middle distance. She had been referred through the Family Drug and Alcohol Court programme after concerns were raised about her parenting. She was frightened, defensive, and — understandably — not yet ready to look too closely at her drinking.

This is not unusual. In fact, it is one of the most common experiences in this work. People rarely arrive at a counsellor's door fully committed to change. More often, they arrive somewhere in the middle — aware on some level that things aren't right, but not yet sure they want to do anything about it.

After the Fall: Working with Relapse and What Comes Next

Why relapse is not the end of the story — and how MI helps people find the thread again

There is a moment that many people in recovery dread — and many have experienced. The moment after a relapse when the phone doesn't get picked up, the appointment doesn't get attended, and the voice in your head says: "See? You can't do it. You never could."

Ryan had been abstinent from alcohol for seven months when he relapsed at a family event over Christmas. He didn't come to his next session. Or the one after. When he eventually returned — almost six weeks later — he sat down, looked at the floor, and said: "I knew you'd be disappointed."

He was wrong. But his assumption told me something important about where he was — and about the shame that was keeping him from the very support that might help.

Being Mum Through the Fog: Parenting Under Substance Use

How MI helps parents reconnect with their values and their children

One of the most painful and complex areas of this work is supporting parents whose substance use has placed them under scrutiny — sometimes from social services, sometimes through the courts. The stakes are high. And that, paradoxically, can make change harder, not easier.

Donna came to sessions with the weight of a care plan on her shoulders. Her two youngest children had been subject to child protection procedures following concerns about neglect during a period of heavy cocaine and alcohol use. She wanted to keep her family together. She also felt, at times, that the sheer pressure of being watched and assessed made her want to use more, not less.

Heroin, Hope, and the Long Road Back: James's Story

Exploring opiate dependency through a Motivational Interviewing lens

James had been using heroin for eleven years when we first met. He had been through treatment twice before. He spoke about those experiences with a mixture of resignation and dark humour — not because he had given up, but because he had learned not to promise himself too much.

Opiate dependency is profoundly misunderstood by the general public. It is not, at its core, a moral failing or a lifestyle choice. It is a complex condition shaped by neurobiology, trauma, social circumstance, and — very often — an original attempt to manage unbearable pain. For James, heroin had entered his life during a period of severe loss and had stayed because, for a long time, it had worked. It had numbed what he could not otherwise survive.

Two Voices in One Room: Working with Ambivalence

How Motivational Interviewing helps when part of you wants to change — and part of you doesn't

"Part of me knows I need to stop. But another part of me… just isn't there yet."

Marcus said this almost apologetically, as though he expected to be told off for it. He had been using cannabis and alcohol daily for nearly eight years. He was bright, self-aware, and genuinely stuck. He could articulate clearly why his substance use was causing problems — his relationship, his job, his health — and in the same breath explain why stopping felt impossible.

After the Fall: Working with Relapse and What Comes Next

Why relapse is not the end of the story — and how MI helps people find the thread again

He was wrong. But his assumption told me something important about where he was — and about the shame that was keeping him from the very support that might help.