Dr. Kern's 13 Basic Treatment
Principles and Mechanics

1. If you engage in any behavior long enough (i.e.: brushing your teeth), it will become a learned habit. It will become familiar, comfortable, and expected. Your body will have a memory of it called "muscle memory," independent of your conscious forethought. It becomes "second nature" to you. That's why you will never totally forget how to do it
2. Habits are normal and are essential for survival and growth. Habits cover a spectrum of severity-- from very healthy to somewhat destructive to life-threatening.
3. There are positive and negative addictions. The only difference is that positive addictions have the reinforcement second, and the negative has the reinforcement first. (Exercise doesn't feel good right away, but eventually, you will feel stronger, more energetic, etcetera. Drinking may make you feel great now, but you'll have a hangover in the morning.
4. Altering one's state of consciousness is also normal (for instance, children like to spin or swing on a swing, adults go to amusement parks and movies).
5. Your unwanted habits or addictions are now mostly an unconscious strategy. They initially were developed to help you enjoy positive feelings or to help you cope with uncomfortable emotions or feelings. Addictions are those same, earlier, adaptive behaviors that have now gone awry.
6. Although all addictions are fundamentally similar, each individual and each individual's situation is different. That is why I believe there can never be only one solution that works for everyone.
7. Self-blame, guilt, and shame undermine change and are truly misguided feelings. You never consciously intended to become addicted. You did not get hooked because you are bad, stupid or diseased.
8. Stopping or reducing your primary, unwanted habit is never enough. To assure long-term success you must develop a balanced life by addressing other, less obvious habits that are inter-related to your primary, unwanted habit. (I.e., if you go on a diet, but don't start an exercise program or grocery shop more often and responsibly, you will not succeed and lose weight. This example shows you just two of dozens of related habits that need to change for successful dieting.)
9. In some cases, it may be realistic to reduce, rather than completely eliminate, an unhealthy, repetitive behavior. As such, moderation is a realistic and sensible goal for some people. In other cases, abstinence from certain behaviors is essential to attain and maintain a stable change.
10. "Emotional Muscle" - Your involvement with alcohol, drugs, or other bad habits started because you liked the way they made you feel. To break these bad habits, you must develop the ability to face, cope, sit with, or tolerate unfamiliar (both positive and negative) feelings--without reaching for your favorite elixir. I call this process "developing emotional muscle." You cannot avoid this one skill, and the sooner you start, the sooner you will be free of your addiction.
11. Learning the origins of your unwanted habits will not stop your present destructive behavior, because over time, habits and addictions acquire a life of their own, independent of the "Whys" that originally got you started.
12. Willpower, alone, will not work indefinitely. To maintain long-term change, it is essential that you create a life for yourself that is more enjoyable (feels better) than the life you experienced with your favorite elixir.
13. It is not mine or anyone else's job to tell you how to live your life. Treatment should not be about your values, political beliefs, or sexual preferences. I'm here to help you attain the goals that you have specified for your life. It is not my job to interject my personal values on you.

For more details:
Bridging Session for You
Bridging Session for your Loved One
Abstinence vs. Moderation: Making the Right Choice
Dr. Kern's 13 Basic Treatment Principles and Mechanics
The Proven Success of Brief Interventions
Free 15-minute Q&A with Dr. Kern




Contemporary Addiction Recovery Guidance and Treatment