Executives in Rehab
I wrote about executives and rehab just about a year ago, here: High-Level Executives Also Need Rehab and here: Understanding the High-Functioning Alcoholic. And if you read those posts, you know that Malibu Beach Recovery Center has a discreet executive program.
I don’t know how rehab usually works, but I would think that programs would strongly suggest, if not require, that clients leave the outside world behind when they check in, so they can focus on recovery. I’d think this idea would especially apply to executives, who might be sorely tempted to check on how the company is doing without their expertise, or whom workers would think they need to contact about important decisions. It seems that’s not always the case, though, or that – could it really be? – I’m wrong.
According to a February article in the Huffington Post, some treatment facilities find that “patients' connection to professional life can help the recovery process -- and make it more likely that the treatment will stick.” There’s something about seeing the effect that workplace stress can have on a person that can make him or her want to learn techniques for handing it better, one interviewee said.
The writer attributed that to the turmoil in the labor market over the last few years, which, he said, has caused an increase in substance abuse. Bill Moyers, well-known staffer at Hazelden, said his center reached a record enrollment last year.
On one hand, it makes perfect sense to me that people would be allowed to keep in touch with work. How many times have you heard someone with a substance abuse problem say that they couldn’t possibly take X amount of time away from their job to attend rehab? And some might argue that if it works for some people, don’t knock it. On the other hand, it seems pretty weird to think about someone Skyping with a colleague back in the office or talking animatedly on his or her cellphone to a client. But then, as I’ve said many times, I’m not a professional.
