Word: hester
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...people where they are - both physically and emotionally - can be less intimidating than requiring them to seek formal treatment that involves a diagnosis and a possibly stigmatizing label. "When you label people, when you tell them what to do and are confrontational, it basically raises a brick wall," says Hester. In fact, some studies have shown that the more counselors confront clients, the more the clients drink or take other drugs...
Drinkers Check-up, the subject of the 2005 study, helps people consider the pros and cons of continuing to drink in their current pattern. Reid Hester, director of research at Behavior Therapy Associates in Albuquerque, N.M., and one of the authors of the study, says he suspects that these additional elements may have accounted for the better results his site got. His study also included people with more severe problems, some of whom may have been more motivated to change...
...best way to stay on course is frequent self-monitoring; use as many behavior-modification tools, support groups and programs as you can. In October, Hester and colleagues published a randomized controlled trial in the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment comparing heavy drinkers who used MM's website to help them quit with those who used the MM site plus another online tool that teaches behavior-control tactics and helps chart drinking. While both groups significantly reduced their drinking and alcohol-related problems, the group that used the additional tool had more days abstinent and drank less when they drank...
Another trick is to recognize that willpower is like a muscle - it gets stronger with appropriate use but ultimately weakens if overloaded. That's why Hester recommends setting short-term goals that are "moderately difficult, realistic, concrete and measurable." As with weight-lifting, starting at a level that is challenging but not overwhelming can provide a sense of achievement and success - which can give you the drive to take on bigger challenges...
Research shows that in the long term, the pleasure of victory is a better incentive than the agony of defeat. "Punishment is a poor motivator," says Hester. "It sets people up for failure. If all you do is punish yourself for failure, you won't stay motivated to change for very long...