Here's a story from a recent victim of Amethyst Foundation, Inc.
"I did amethyst's after care. some counseling and some AA, but one evening I had dinner with my father (who I rarely see). I had one drink. literally, one drink. I admitted it to my counselor and Amethyst ended up hearing about it in her report. My counselor still said that I was a low risk--didn't even make me complete all the counseling. But Amethyst says they want to hold my license for six more months because of that one drink. And even worse, I would have to report to myself about abstinence. HELLO!! You meatballs! I could just lie to you, so what's the point? Sounds more like a punishment. They want to get an alcoholic (which I'm not) off the roads, but instead they are going to put a crazed man going postal pretty soon."This is very much like my experience with the spiteful idiots that run Amethyst Foundation, Inc.
As a form of self therapy to help me deal with their idiocy, I've written an imaginary letter to the Amethyst LADC in question. Any rational person will see the problems with what this LADC did, and may not get much from reading it, but my rant will help vent some anger and frustration. And, who knows, maybe the LADC will read it and have a "moment of clarity," to borrow a phrase from AA.
An Open Letter to the LADC at Amethyst Foundation, Inc., Who Did This:
What did assigning another six months of aftercare for having one drink accomplish? Really, what good could result from this? (--and your identity was provided to me by your victim, so I know who you are.) Does this make you feel good about yourself? As a licensed counselor bound by an ethical code to help your clients? As a person?
Your job is as an agent of the state of New Hampshire to competently implement DWI programs. As an agent of the state, you work for the taxpayers of New Hampshire (even though your paycheck says "Amethyst Foundation, Inc."). Your job is to protect the public from DWI offenders repeating their offense, by educating them about the dangers of drinking and driving. To repeat, your job is to educate and intervene, period. Even had this person gotten behind the wheel, his/her abilities to drive would not have been impaired.
Your job is NOT to punish. That is the job of the courts, not you.
Your job is NOT to diagnose people as alcoholics. Your job is to stop people from driving while under the influence of alcohol. People are free to drink as much as they want, as long as they don't drive, or behave in public in a disorderly fashion. It is not against the law to get drunk.
Furthermore, you are NOT QUALIFIED to diagnose people as alcoholics. Under He-A 705.02, Minimum Qualifications for Certification;
To qualify as an IDIP or WIDIP instructor, the applicant shall either:
(a) Meet the following requirements:
(1) Possess a valid New Hampshire LADC license; and (2) Document 6 months experience in substance abuse and group counseling or otherwise formal group facilitation; OR
(b) Meet the following alternative requirements:Under He-A 705.02(a)(1)-(2), you do not even need a high school diploma or a GED (LADC licensure in New Hampshire does not require this). Even if you meet the "higher" standard of He-A 705.02(b)(1)-(3) and hold a high school diploma or a GED, you do not possess an adequate education in science or medicine to be diagnosing people.
(1) Document a minimum of one year's experience in the field of education, social sciences training, or substance abuse and group counseling or otherwise formal group activities facilitation;
(2) Demonstrate knowledge of the impaired driver intervention program and curricula and of other programs in New Hampshire that provide intervention and educational programming in the field of alcohol or drug abuse for a comparable clientele, or of equivalent DWI intervention programs in other states; and
(3) Hold at least a high school diploma or GED.
Your job is NOT to stop people from drinking altogether. Your job is to stop people from drinking to impairment and driving. Having one drink in a six month period will not result in a DWI. How much a person has to drink is none of your business as long as they do not get behind the wheel.
Your job is NOT to cast moral judgment on others. Lose the scorn and judgment. It has no role in the realm of counseling or education. Drinking, by itself, is not inherently bad. People have done it since the beginning of civilization, when they learned about the fermenting process. They will continue it do so likely indefinitely. And society does no have a problem with it--only you do.
I know you are a former drunk who has been indoctrinated into the cult-like organization, AA. AA has told you that you have a disease and that you can never have even a single drink again. "One drink, one drunk" is one of your mottos. I know that AA has taught you that thinking is bad and the God is good. I also know that the 12th step commands you to convert others to the AA ideology.
I know that you are limited in your intellect, ability to think critically, and ability to think in shades of gray (everything is black and white to you). You are also in deep denial (yet, ironically accuse all who disagree with you to be so). I've written this message to you in simple language and, I hope, with convincing reasoning. I have also written it in the best interest of all. I do not hate you personally. I hate what you are doing to people. Though I do not believe in "karma" per se, I do believe that when you treat enough people badly, some of them will "bite back." This is human nature.
Well, being a professional LADC serving the needs of the citizens of New Hampshire means putting your ideology aside and doing your job.
Your job is to prevent people from driving while impaired. It is not to stop people from drinking. We tried prohibition, and it was a monumental failure (Google it). Your job is not to punish people. You may be a former drunk, caught up in your own fantasy world in which you refuse to critically reason, but don't turn everyone else into one. Most of the people arrested for DWI are not alcoholics. They do not need to attend AA and conned into praying to God and believing that only "he" can cure them of their lifelong disease. It's not a disease. And even if it were, it's not your concern if they don't drive. For the purposes of your employer (us) they just have to stop driving while impaired.
I really don't expect any LADCs to understand this. You are uneducated, anti-intellectual, and have cast away all belief in rationality for faith. You simply "believe" that you are right, and that others are wrong. You do not "believe" scientific or medical data, despite how much of it they are shown. Furthermore, why are you so angry and so set on exerting your authority on others through petty acts like those above? I suspect the anger comes from the same self-hatred that caused you to become an alcoholic and then a LADC. This is payback for you against a world that has "mistreated you."
So keep your ideology to yourself, get off your power trip, and start acting like a professional by doing your job by helping people, not punishing them. No wonder people hate and disrespect you so much.
You might start by thinking about why, as a counselor who has been trained to "help" people, you are so universally hated. And, no, it's not because we're all in denial. Most of us have nothing to be in "denial" about because we're not alcoholics. It's you who are in denial about what it is you are supposed to be doing.
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