ABAW:10

Perhaps I should begin with a confession.  I love reality tv.  I rationalize it by saying that after a long, serious day, reality tv is so ridiculous that it helps me to transition home and feel "normal" again.  Its my guilty pleasure.  I'm a Real Housewives, Kardashians, ANTM kinda gal.

I like to keep up with the therapy-esque reality shows like Hoarders, Intervention.  My clients like those shows, and reference them often.  I have clients who refer to Intervention as a reminder to stay sober, or watch it and wonder why no one did that for a family member.  While I realize that reality tv sensationalizes, and is damaging in its own right, I also know that some of these shows are also a source of comfort and education.  There is a whole conversation in there.

So time for confession number two.  I have an odd obsession with Dr. Drew.  Maybe you remember him from Love Line:  I remember driving home late at night, listening to callers asking random questions about sex, bodily functions, and getting lewd jokes from Adam and some answers from Dr. Drew in return.  I wasn't too keen on the program, I don't remember totally why.  Recently, I've been watching shows like Celebrity Rehab and Sex Rehab.  I'm absolutely fascinated.  I love how Dr. Drew works with his patients.  I know, I know, its a tv show and blah blah, but I would give anything to have him be my mentor.  He is so gentle, and just gets it.  I think the clincher for me is that he incorporates art therapy into the show.  They've done everything from making t-shirts with the negative labels we wear written all over them, to full scale throwing paint and plates at canvas while screaming angry statements.  Good stuff. 

So I ordered his book on impulse buy, when I bought my Walking in This World book.  The book itself is not too deep or informative, but I do appreciate how Dr. Drew acknowledges the need to save, which can be a difficult thing to achieve when people are so very ill.  Its not something that we have control over.  Truly, the same can be said for the addiction itself.  I also appreciate that he writes about what we call "transference" and "countertransference".  Transference are feelings that the client wants us to feel; countertransference are the feelings that come up for us, that we need to sort through in order to continue treatment.  I wish more professionals were that honest. 

So that's the deep reading that I've been engaged in over this past week.