Utilization Sobriety poses a substance abuse treatment which acknowledges and ac-commodates the personal needs being addressed by substance use, bypasses perceived resistance and employs idiosyncratic psycho-biological learning to achieve a body-mind gestalt complementary to the client’s sobriety. Client self-empowerment and relapse prevention are built into the intervention

Utilization Sobriety employs a simple, easy to learn, form of body language or body-mind communication called ideomotor questioning. This form of communication allows one to utilize and integrate resources not normally available at a conscious level of awareness. This also allows for the facilitation of an internal locus of control. This method addresses the anxiety commonly present during the initial phase of treatment, allows for a gentle withdrawal from the substance being misused and works in conjunction with/as part of any subsequent mental health treatment.

Information about client preparation, the treatment sequence, relapse recovery, twelve step compatability, withdrawal options, non-invasive release of the emotional past and adjunct treatments are discussed.

The hypothesis upon which Utilization Sobriety is based reads as follows:

IF a person can move from an external locus of dependence to an internal position of control and self-reliance,

a person likewise moves from a sense of helplessness toward autonomy and an aware-ness of personal power,

treatment is integrative and considers the whole person,

psychobiological needs are acknowledged and respected,

the client's own system/process is utilized,

and a new cognitive framework is added which bypasses shame and perceived resistance,

THEN substance use will not be emotionally driven or part of a cognitive/perceptual network sustaining prior beliefs and learning about self and the world. Substance use thus becomes a redundant, maladaptive choice, no longer a need or mechanism for satisfying a need.