Choosing Care After a Previous Treatment Attempt
Use what you learned from previous care to prepare this conversation. You can describe what helped and what did not without treating the earlier experience as a verdict on you.
For: People seeking help or planning their own support · 2 PDF pages
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NIAAA recommends asking how assessment creates an individual plan, how other health needs are addressed, and what additional help a program offers when needs change. These are useful questions to bring to a new assessment.
Sources: [1]
Original example: describe the obstacle precisely
| Broad statement | Information a new team can discuss |
|---|---|
| Treatment did not work. | The weekly counseling helped, but travel made regular attendance difficult. |
| I did not like the plan. | I did not understand the purpose of one part and did not know whom to ask. |
| I need something different. | My work hours have changed. I want to discuss a schedule I can actually attend. |
What I want this team to understand
- What helped and is worth keeping
- A service, relationship, medicine experience, routine or way of communicating. Describe what it did for you.
- What got in the way
- Practical barriers, unwanted effects, unmet needs or a concern you did not feel able to raise.
- What is different now
- Your goals, health, living situation, responsibilities or available support.
Questions for the next conversation
- How will the assessment use this history?
- How would we address the obstacle I described?
- Who should I contact if the same problem starts again?
- When and how would we review or adjust the plan?
One next contact
- Person/service, question and arrangement
- Ask for an assessment or discussion; note any referral or records the service requests.