Coaching someone addicted to ketamine

[MsNobody]

I recently I started coaching someone who uses ketamine daily, he is already getting treated professionally, we have had three sessions so far and part of me just wants to suspend the sessions as I see is out of my area of expertise, plus it has been a very challenging experience for me so far. I mostly work with women in group and one-on-one settings but recently many men are reaching out, after years of working with women I've noticed men are way too different, a whole new species lol different motivations, values etc. Women tend to be more vulnerable and open and it's easier to understand the root cause, the core of issue and their whys, now men.. they put so much effort in maintaining their image, they pretend to be someone else so most of the session is just me trying to see through the "fake image" to get to the core, any tips on working with men? I dont intend to change my focus, I do love working with women, but I would like to be of service to the men too. 

Thank you for reading! 

[OBEler]

@MsNobody maybe tell them directly what's the problem. That you feel that they are wearing a mask and you can see that. And that they can be authentic with you.

Addicts are very difficult people.

 

[MsNobody]

@OBEler I don't know if that would be the best approach, most addictions come from a lack of connection and self love. Exposing it would just make him feel more shame which would make things worse. Or maybe Im just thinking with a woman's mind. Its a delicate situation, really sad. I think we all can relate with self destructive patterns, it's so normalized in society nowadays. 

5 hours ago, OBEler said:

@MsNobody maybe tell them directly what's the problem. That you feel that they are wearing a mask and you can see that. And that they can be authentic with you.

Addicts are very difficult people.

 

And also we are all addicts lol it's just that some of us have good addictions. 

[Michael569]

12 hours ago, MsNobody said:

part of me just wants to suspend the sessions as I see is out of my area of expertise

I think think you are correct to be cautious there. Maybe there is no need to terminate the client relationship straight away but as a practitioner, it is important to be aware of your own scope of practice and , even more importantly, what is beyond your scope of practice and beyond your training.

The last thing you want to do is to offer advice that your insurance does not cover and that you were never trained for. You could make yourself liable if the client comes to harm and should the evidence point to your advice that contributed to it, or where you should have involved an addiction treatment professional and didn't, you could lose a license and be liable for a prosecution - this is a worst case scenario of course and one that most practitioners never experience. But it is always a good idea to err on the side of caution if unsure. 

Addictions in particular can be tricky and it is best to check with your governing body organisation how to approach such client. To give you a personal example, I am trained as a nutritional therapist and can work in a variety of chronic health conditions but there are certain types of clients I cannot legally work with without additional training. So it is always important to be aware of what those limitations are and refer where referral is needed. If unsure, you could tell the client that certain things are outside of your scope to discuss and then consider referring them to a certified medical/psychiatric professional. There is no harm in the same client being treated/supported by multiple health professionals. I've previously worked alongside medical doctors and psychiatric professionals and it gave me an extra level of confidence knowing that I wasn't operating outside of my scope of practice. 

Alternatively there might be an option to have them sign a waiver that strips you of liability but its not something I've ever done and this is where you'd need a professional legal advice to do correctly. 

Edited 18 hours ago by Michael569

[OBEler]

@MsNobody yes we are all addicts but these addicts are special. They are not human anymore.They have a fucked up rotten mindset. They are professional liars. Don't fall into them they know how to trick you.

Addicts have no self worth. And they project that on others. They have fake confidence, fake empassion. In truth they are full of self hate and are emotional numb because of all the drug use. Yes they are like creatures operating at animal level but play being human as best as they can. They are good at that similar to a psychopath and it's necessary to survive so you can't blame them to put a mask on.

This addiction robs their humanness and soul. It's self medication otherwise they would hardly be functional at all or probably not alive anymore.

Yes If you confront them with putting a mask on they probably can be just more falling into self hate. I don't know what you can do. Their root cause must be fixed otherwise addicts go after beating one addiction to the next substitution whatever that means.

Edited 16 hours ago by OBEler

[halfknots]

I received coaching certification in the addiction and transformation space with an emphasis on psychedelic prep and integration.

Send me a DM if you want to talk shop.

Edited 7 hours ago by halfknots

[SamC]

If I were you I would set up a screening process for this so that you can weed out clientes that need help with issues that are outside your domain of expertise. This both to protect you and your clients well-being. 

I belive these two questions are worth pondering.

Where is the line? How can I effectivly communicate what I can and what I cannot help my clients with?

As far as this client goes, you can't and should not try to treat the clients addiction and if your client wants your help, it need to be in the context of what you can offer - which is coaching, not therapy. 

Edited 10 hours ago by SamC

[Flowerfaeiry]

Refer him to someone who is experienced in addiction and just coach him on what you have experience with