Treatment providers spend significant amounts of time having vulnerable conversations with people but rarely share their own stories. On this final episode of the first season of “Rethinking Rock Bottom”, hosts Dr. Carrie Wilkens and Reverend Jan M. Brown take the opportunity to share their own experiences and some of the personal reasons that they are so passionate about helping families heal. They each navigated very different paths that led to their work of helping people heal, and their deeply personal reasons keep them both motivated to do this important work. Together they each share their journey to CMC:Foundation for Change, the struggles and realizations they encountered along the way, and how hope has led them to serving and supporting others as they navigate their own paths toward healing.

“We are hopeful every day and are rewarded by seeing the people we work with make small daily changes and over time, deeply meaningful life changes.”

• [:00] Carrie and Jan take the opportunity of the final episode of season one to share the paths that led each of them to their work at Foundation for Change. 
• [1:52] Growing up in rural Kansas, Carrie was a novelty-seeking, risk-taking kid whose binge drinking led to compulsive behaviors with food. 
• [5:14] Bulimia became Carrie’s coping mechanism in college, and even therapy didn’t entirely help her address and heal from her behavior. 
• [7:05] Jan’s story of treatment and change involves more systems, substances, and countries, and started at a very young age. 
• [9:46] By the time she was in high school, Jan was reliant on alcohol but didn’t fully understand the role substances were playing in her coping strategies. 
• [11:30] As a cadet at West Point, Jan had no other choice but to face her reliance on alcohol. 
• [14:02] “I didn't want to die” — after falling down the stairs, Jan was ready to begin her journey to change for good. 
• [15:46] What causes people to seek change is different for each person, which means patience is essential as people explore what kind of support works best for them. 
• [17:05] Jan’s approach to sobriety was slow and defiant, but the learning process helped her recognize what she didn’t want for her life. 
• [21:00] The treatment center staff encouraged Jan’s change in behavior and helped her know that she was, eventually, going to be okay. 
• [22:58] Sustaining behavior change requires ongoing support after treatment is ‘complete’.  
• [23:33] The CRAFT model highlights the importance of utilizing families as an asset in a clinical setting. 
• [25:30] Jan’s criticism of AA led her to start Spirit Works and eventually join with the Invitation to Change and Beyond Addiction. 
• [31:52] Recognizing the untapped potential of families and communities transformed Carrie’s work as a clinician. 
• [35:25] Compassion for both the people who are using and their families is what drives this podcast and the work that Jan and Carrie do. 
• [37:20] Jan reflects on her spiritual journey and the privilege of working with families who love each other so fiercely.
• [39:24] The hope that Carrie and Jan each feel as treatment providers who help families heal. 

Additional Resources:

• CMC: Foundation For Change
• Beyond Addiction Workbook: https://beyondaddictionworkbook.com/
• Beyond Addiction: How Science and Kindness Help People Change

Tweetables:

• “All that I would've said to you about my younger years was that I had a great time. In hindsight, I think, wow, there was a lot wrong about what was going on.” — Carrie
• “Everything looked okay on the outside, but on the inside I was pretty jumbled up.” — Carrie
• “I didn't know how to manage my feelings… so I would drink or I would use drugs or I would behave badly, and that would mean that I wouldn't have to feel and process things that I had no idea how to do.” — Jan
• “29 years into a marriage, my husband still has to remind me to ask for help. I think it's a lifelong journey for some of us, right?” — Carrie
• “I wasn't moving towards anything really, because I had nothing. But I knew what I didn't want.” — Jan
• “If you're only working with the person with a problem, you are missing so much information.” — Carrie
• “Your loved one may never seek treatment. In fact, most people don't. And they can still get better and your family can get better.” — Carrie
• “You can't shave off the pain and expect to only find happiness. You actually have to have the whole arc.” — Carrie
• “I will go to Hell and back with you. All I ask that you do is to show up.” — Jan
• “It may not look like you think it's going to look when you start the journey and you may have to be very patient for it to happen, but things will get better.” — Carrie