Jay Wieriman: "The Truth About Counseling"

J. Alexander Wieriman, PhD, will discuss “The Truth About Counseling,” at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 14, at the East Bank Regional Library, 4747 W. Napoleon, Metairie. Among the issues he will discuss are:

• Who makes the best counselors?
• Do counselors get better with experience?
• What is new in counseling?
• What is missing in counseling?
• The “Natural Counselor” vs the “Certified Counselor”.

The event is free of charge and is open to the public. There is no registration. 

One of the issues Dr. Wieriman will discuss is the funding of addiction treatment centers.

“Would you buy stock in a company without a quarterly report?” he asks. “If your answer is ‘no’ then why fund an addiction treatment center that does not periodically publish relapse rates?  States could collect this information. The state of Florida receives millions of dollars from the federal government.  Nowhere in their plan did I find any attempt to gather relapse rates.”

Another contentious issue for him is that chronic illnesses need home follow-up.

“First, in a person’s home you can often get consensual validation from another person who will verify as to whether the client has remained “clean” (drug free),” he says  “With several home visits you can collect data on relapse rates at various points in time following inpatient treatment.  Furthermore, you might discover that two counselors from the very same treatment facility consistently differ on patients’ success rates.  Feedback is the best way to improve a treatment program.”        

Second, he says, home follow-up saves lives. “You might catch a person who is close to relapsing or has already done so. Home follow-up allows continued support and encouragement.”

Third, he says, by seeing a person’s home, neighborhood, friends and neighbors you can get a better idea of what this person is up against.

“The standard for addiction success is being “clean” for a year,” he says. “It is easy to become discouraged over the low success rate for an addiction. However, a relapse does not imply that no gains were made in treatment but does reset the clock. Many a smoker has eventually quit after several tries.  The secret to success is perseverance.  Better follow-up should also improve success rates.” 

Dr. Wieriman received an undergraduate from the University of Minnesota and a doctoral degree from the University of Texas in psychology. He received an award from the National Institute of Drug Abuse for a program called “Time Structuring.”  He has worked as a statistician including some teaching at the University of Texas.

For program inquiries, contact Chris Smith, Adult Programming, at 504-889-8143 or wcsmith@jefferson.lib.la.us.