Welcome

You have taken a big step by deciding to come into treatment. You should be very proud of your decision to enter treatment and your commitment to recovery. This is your Client’s Handbook. It contains most of the handouts you will need for your treatment. In this book you will find handouts for three types of sessions: Individual/Conjoint, Early Recovery Skills, and Relapse Prevention. Family Education sessions also use handouts. Those handouts will be given to you by your counselor during the Family Education sessions.

Client Handouts

The handouts in this book will help you get the most out of your Matrix treatment. Some handouts ask questions and have spaces for your answers. Other handouts ask you to read and think about a subject or an idea, or they contain advice or reminders about recovery. It is a good idea to keep and review the handouts after you have used them. They will help you stay strong as you continue in your recovery. During each treatment session, your counselor will ask you to follow along on the handout while he or she goes over it with the group. The counselor will give you time to think about what it says and write your answers to questions it may ask. The group will then discuss the handout. You should share your thoughts and ask questions during this time. If you still have questions, there will be more time to ask questions during the last part of each session.

Making the Most of Group Sessions

The more work you put into group therapy, the more benefit you will receive from it. Part of the work you should be doing is reading and thinking about the handouts. But there are other things you can do to make sure you benefit fully from group therapy:

– Attend every group session.
– Arrive for group sessions on time or a little early.
– Listen carefully and respectfully to the counselor and the other clients.
– Be supportive of other clients. If you disagree with someone, be polite when you speak to him or her. Do not attack people personally.
– Do not talk about other clients’ personal information outside group. Clients must be able to trust one another if they are to feel comfortable sharing their thoughts.
– Think about what you read and about what the counselor and other clients say.
– Ask questions when you do not understand something.
– Participate in group discussions.
– Do not dominate the conversation. Allow time for other clients to participate.
– Be honest.
– After the session is over, think about what you learned and try to apply it to your recovery. Work on the homework assignments that the counselor gives you. (The homework assignments are usually an activity. These are different from the handouts that you work on during the session.)

All costs associated with these courses are related to weekly hours of clinical oversight, client data security, client support and web hosting.