General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Little Mini-rant on prescription painkillers... [View all]drmeow
(5,970 posts)knows about the overdose risk - it will be hard without making it sound like you expect him to fail the program (a good program they will make sure he knows it). I don't know about how various programs run but my personal belief (based on what I know about psychology) is that staying with the program will be easier if he has two things - 1) opportunities to experience "highs" (joy, excitement, fun, etc) without the heroin (having a wife and kids can certainly provide some of that, laughter - regular really good intense belly laughs - I personally think is important. For some people exercise, for me it would be dance. Stuff like that.) and 2) skills to reframe both negatives into less serious things and minor positives into bigger positives. A significant part of emotions are interpretations and they can spiral up or spiral down. Preventing the downward spiral through reinterpretation of negatives is, IMO, critical to successful addiction treatment.