Leadem Counseling & Consulting Services, P.C. is committed to supporting the spirituality and recovery needs of individuals healing from addictive illnesses. The journey in recovery can be difficult at times, and although therapy support can be invaluable, it is not always possible. The Publication Division of Leadem Counseling & Consulting Services has begun the task of producing task-centered materials that people recovering from addictive behaviors can use when the wisdom of a sponsor or the advice of a counselor is not available. The work has focused on two unmet needs.

First, a series of Meditation Guides for Improving Interpersonal Relationships is under development to support the daily enhancement of relationships. Second, a series of Guides Through the 12 Steps is being developed that provides a task-oriented model for completing each of the 12 Steps in a way that provides the user with practical tools for enhancing their recovery.

Meditations Guides for Improving Interpersonal Relationships

The Meditation Guide Series is a copulation of individual meditation spirituality and relationship spirituality guides which target specific relationships in recovery. The first guide, One in the Spirit, is framed with a focus on romantic relationships. Other guides under design target parent/child relationships, relationships between support group members, and sibling relationships to enhance spirituality and recovery.

The simple daily meditation format used in the guides will help those suffering with addictive illnesses to improve the emotional and spiritual quality of their relationships through the use of shared meditation time and simple tasks for improving communication and intimacy. Meditation, spirituality, and personal growth are areas of importance to all who are engaged in recovery from addictive illnesses.

Guides to Completing the 12 Steps

When the honeymoon of early recovery fades most of us become keenly aware that there is a great deal more to do after taking a 1st Step. The identification of our powerlessness and unmanageability was the beginning of a process through the remaining 12 Steps that creates the depth of personal change that would allow us to participate fully in an interpersonal relationship.

The most important aspect of developing and maintaining a successful spiritual foundation to emotional sobriety is found in your ongoing commitment to the practice of the 12 spiritual principles of recovery in all of your affairs. Progress through the 12 Steps is extremely rewarding when you see the benefit of such work in each of the relationships in your life. If you are stalled by confusion or a lack of direction or stuck because of the emotional pain associated with the work of a particular step, we can help. We can provide guidance to aide you in the successful completion of each of the 12 Steps. You don’t have to remain stuck.

The guides have been developed from the core of 12 Step recovery found in the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. They have been adapted for use by members of all 12 Step Groups regardless of the nature of the addictive behaviors involved. The guides are complied as follows:

• Route # 123: The Road to Surrender Ends in Freedom (Under Development)

The guide introduces step by step exercises for completing Steps 1-3 by using a task oriented model. The task oriented model provides the user with a variety of strategies for completing each of the first three steps in a meaningful way that will set a firm foundation for completing the remainder of the nine steps.

• Clearing Away the Wreckage of the Past: A Step by Step Guide Through Steps 4-7
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The guide introduces step by step exercises for completing Step 4 and lays the ground work for sharing a 5 th Step. The guide is intended to provide you with emotional and spiritual support as you progress through the completion of your 4 th Step. The format used is appropriate for individuals in all 12 Step fellowships. The guide is helpful for those who report genuine confusion about the ways in which they have harmed others because it uses reflective tasks to trigger feeling memories of what has happened. The introductory sections of the guide will provide the user who is undertaking his/her first 4 th step with a solid base for understanding the purpose of completing such an inventory and how to overcome the common obstacles which can make it a difficult step to complete. Individuals who are undertaking a focused inventory on relationship  problems or on a specific problem area will find the recommended tasks helpful in identifying the personality changes they will need to undertake to improve the quality of their intimate relationships. The guide also provides simple exercises for completing Steps 6 & 7 by using a task oriented model. The task oriented model provides the user with a variety of strategies for completing the 6 th and 7 th Steps in a meaningful way. The strategies presented will help the user to develop a clear understanding of his defects of character and methods for changing the behavior associated with them. Once the behavior changes have been developed into a plan for change the defects will be ready to present in the 7 th Step its removal. The user will also have the opportunity to develop the foundations for the changes that will be proposed to those he would make amends to in the 9 th Step. Problems in the areas of relationship spirituality are most easily addressed in the practice of the 6 th and 7 th steps. Growth in the area of meditation spirituality and personal growth will be your rewards.

The 6th and 7th Steps were once known as the forgotten steps; and there is little confusion about how they earned that label. It is true that the 1st Step is the only one that has to be done with 100% perfection, however, those who are in the habit of conducting regular inventories know that many of the problems which get repeatedly inventoried have their roots in resistant defects of character.

• Straightening Out the Past: A Task Oriented Guide Through Steps 8 & 9 (Under Development)

• A Spiritual Parachute: A Task Oriented Guide Through Steps 10-12. (Under Development)