[Ailist] Re: AI with teens & drugs

[Michele Baker]

Anna, Cindy, Sue and others, my heartfelt condolences for the loss of your 
loved ones whom you are surely missing. Anna, thank you for asking this 
question. Reading your response and the replies has been moving and 
thought-provoking. These subjects impact whole communities (in other words, 
all of us.) I'm also struck by your observation that the "laughter [was 
taken] out of any conversation we were sharing about the times we 
appreciated him."

My work is very much in keeping with AI philosophy and often incorporates AI 
approaches. However my response will relate more to "being there" as 
individuals than "doing" in our professional roles. Some background: the 
setting for my doctoral research wound up being a Christian residential 
substance abuse treatment program for women. I am a business performance 
consultant (trained in anthropology) and did not have clinical background or 
experience with addiction and recovery, so at first I was reluctant to 
consider the setting. Then I discovered how little there was in the 
literature about faith-based treatment--and virtually nothing about programs 
for women. Long story short, I entered the program as a resident at the 
invitation of the directors, and we were very careful about protocol. The 
residents and staff became co-researchers. My research question explored 
participants' sense of community, and community building, as experienced 
before, during and after treatment. Of course I learned a tremendous amount 
from the co-researchers. For example, they had deep insights about the 
fringes of community (cult, and the chaotic "anti-community" of streets and 
prisons) from their firsthand experience. Humor played such an important 
role in the community's life and in forming relationships, so much so that I 
now think of it as an important part of healing, even a saving grace. My 
dissertation, Community Building and the Power of Relationships in 
Organizations, does touch on the humor dimension. This would be a fruitful 
area for further inquiry. A significant number of the women and men I met 
became community builders in recovery. Their stories were so powerful, I 
felt compelled to write a book capturing them. It is titled Sandpaper 
Sisters: Addicts turned community builders.

So as individuals comforting those in mourning, it seems to me we can be 
present empathically with others, and offer to listen to any stories they 
care to share about their loved ones, including times when they laughed 
together. As practitioners who care about building community, including risk 
prevention approaches, we can continue to look for opportunities to invite 
youth to envision their future in hopeful, positive, concrete terms. This 
can and should begin with young children. (I do this pro bono via my local 
Rotary club and America's Promise as a career mentor to a first grade class 
in an urban elementary school). For youth and adults struggling with 
addiction or recovery, we can pay attention to the margins of community 
life, to see who may need to be re-connected. Isolation perpetuates 
addiction. Recovery (for all of us) happens in community. For that matter, 
we can become acquainted with recovery programs in our locale, as part of 
becoming knowledgeable, remaining aware, keeping connected and available as 
a referral option.

If any of the resources I've mentioned are of interest to you, feel free to 
contact me directly. A summary of the research is available at 
www.cultureconnects.com/order.html. A free discussion guide for Sandpaper 
Sisters is available at www.sandpapersisters.com. If you would like to order 
the book, be sure to use a standing discount available to AI practitioners. 
The coupon code currently is AI2007. If interested in the Rotary-America's 
Promise career mentoring, there should be a set of "how to" docs available 
for download at  www.rotary7390.org.

All the best to you and yours,

Michele

Michele McKnight Baker, Ph.D.
Baker Marketing Communications/cultureconnects
http://www.cultureconnects.com
mbaker at cultureconnects.com
717-225-5100


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Dear AI Community,
  Yesterday I attended a memorial service for my seventeen year old cousin 
who passed away due to an accidental drug overdose.  He was bright, 
handsome,cared about the planet, but unfortunately,had an addiction that 
claims so many teen-agers each year.  The grief therapist in charge did a 
poor job and focused mostly on the tragedy, etc.  Needless to say she took 
the laughter out of any conversation we were sharing about the times we 
appreciated him.  It was truly a downer.  So, I have been reflecting on AI a 
lot and I was curious if anyone had worked with teens involved with drugs 
and was AI a powerful enough influence to steer them away from drugs and 
into something more productive?   Thank you again for letting me share this.



  Warmly,
  Anna Spector- Seattle
  MA, Organizational Psychology