Pat Ritter. Books

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'Confessions of an alcoholic' - Page 135:

Each fortnight, he left his office, and walked to an isolated area whereby himself. He needed to download from his mind, all the stories and problems, people had burdened upon him during their counselling sessions. If he didn’t constantly follow this rictal every fortnight, unloading the burden of counselling people, he would be of no use to his clients. It would, in the long term, affect his personal health.
Bundy screamed at the top of his voice, with a wide-open mouth, roaring his frustrations, expressing volumes of air from his lungs and data from his mind. It was such a good feeling to clear his mind of all useless data, making room to replace more important data. He was once again on top of the world after this experience.
His workload continued when the Prisons Department approaching him to counsel their inmates. Close to Bundy’s office was a halfway house for prisoners. These people had almost served their term of imprisonment for crimes they’d committed awaiting their final release.
They’re different to other clients because, these clients are told to attend counselling before they are released on parole. They were treated the same as any other client. One important aspect about these clients was they were sober and able to speak to someone without knowing they were being spied upon.
Another issue Bundy considered was these clients were institutionalised; some served many years in prison. They were used to being told what to do and when to do it, seven days per week and twenty-four hours per day.

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Bundy treated these clients the same as he did any other client, sharing his story, building a rapport and trust to share other stories in the hope to empower them to ‘look at themselves’ in developing personal belief.
Each client attended a weekly one-hour session. They each had a different story to tell. It didn’t take long before one of these clients clicked Bundy used to be a ‘copper’, which Bundy never denied. They accepted him for himself continuing to attend counselling. At least Bundy understood their concerns, because after building such a trust and rapport with each client he was pleased to be truthful with them. Some clients failed to complete their total program others remained to the end. One client continued attending counselling even after he had been released from prison. He wanted to complete Bundy’s course.
By this time, Bundy counselled clients in his community for almost three years. Over this time, his ability to counsel people with alcohol and drug counselling had made him popular. He never believed in all of his wildest dreams he would one day be able to ‘spread the word’ of his own life experience with alcoholism with many people and personally believed after counselling so many people many of them had lived a similar lifestyle to himself, experiencing many of his stories which had happened with him.
He was grateful to acknowledge clients accepted him as their counsellor. He ‘walked a mile in their shoes’ knowing what they had personally experienced with alcoholism. Unfortunately, he was only one person doing the best he could do, for as many people, as he could for the time being. Work was slowly increasing daily. Bundy had to think of ways of improving his counselling sessions to better suit each client.

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Whilst he was happy to have forged such a following of clients, who after completing their counselling sessions, continued to keep in contact appreciated, what he had done to help them change their lives. Bundy’s constant reply when asked about ‘what he did to change people’s lives?’ was ‘I suppose because I’ve travelled along the same pathway as many of my clients, I can relate to what they’ve gone through. It’s up to the individual to change.’
Apart from clients ‘walking in off the street’ some of the clients were referred to attend alcohol and drug counselling by the courts, mainly the Magistrates Court. The Magistrate had given an order to the offender to undergo alcohol and drug counselling sessions before he past punishment on them.
One important fact, which Bundy discovered by accident one day, was when he analysed data he gathered about male clients, was their age when they first presented to him for counselling? The average range of ages for male clients was from twenty-seven years to twenty-nine years. Bundy was twenty-eight years old when he himself stopped drinking alcohol. He was fascinated to learn this information gave him proof; he’d stopped drinking alcohol at a similar age bracket. He was astonished by this discovery. He had always wondered why suddenly at the age of twenty-eight years he stopped drinking alcohol. It also had much to do about his promise to Ada and her actions at the time.

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In his findings of females, the average range of ages of a woman, who presented to him for counselling, was from aged between thirty years and thirty-four years. Another factor he discovered whilst collating this data was there were many more male clients presented than female clients.
Although each client who presented used the drug of their choice, in this instance alcohol, some of the clients drinking habits differed when choosing their alcohol drink. Whilst some drank beer other drinks ranged from spirits and wine. Most of the clients at the time of presentation to Bundy were very dependent on alcohol also having a high tolerance level.
Alarmingly though, as each client continued attending their counselling sessions, their desire for drinking alcohol decreased considerably, identifying each client’s behaviour change toward self-improvement.
Bundy was dumbfounded to find when a client presented for their initial counselling session, and after their fourth session, he compared their personal growth during the period. It was amazing to witness each client; full of ambition for success talked about how ‘wonderful’ they felt about their changes they each had made with their lives.
What was the secret? His role to be there for his clients, listen to their issues, NOT RESCUE THEM, but empower them to ‘have a look at themselves’, at the same time walk beside them to wherever they wanted to go. He had no control over their future or their life, but he was there for them when they needed his services.

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Whilst he walked beside them along their journey of life improvement, he noticed many similarities he experienced, when he was growing through his own self-improvement. His mind rushed back to when different events in his life suddenly changed his out-looks on life.
Over the following couple of years Bundy gathered information about ‘how to make the journey for his clients more understanding for them’. Although he’d travelled the highway of destruction many times himself, before he eventually stopped drinking alcohol, now was his opportunity of mapping a brand-new highway leading in the opposite direction?
Initially, there had to be a catalyst for the client to stop doing what they were doing and to seek counselling. Sometimes they were forced to attend counselling by their partners, wives, family members, doctor, court order, or imprisonment. Always at their initial session Bundy ‘told his own story’, which over the many times he’d told it, nothing had changed from the original story. One can only imagine what each client was thinking as Bundy unfolded his story in detail when he explained how he drank alcohol until it flowed out of his earlobes. He’d tell how he became so drunk he’d shit himself and vomit most of what he’d drank the night before at each morning daily rictal until Ada said, ‘enough was enough.’ He proudly told them how he had made a promise to Ada of never to drink alcohol again.

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Many of his clients didn’t need to go to the lengths of what Bundy had gone to, by making such a promise never to drink again. Some had a choice of controlling the amount of alcohol they drunk whilst others, like Bundy never consumed alcohol again in their lives.
One of the most important tools Bundy used in counselling his clients was to speak about his ‘cycle of life’ experience. He explained how from the age of birth until six years of age a period in any person’s life was when they began life by being nurtured loved or abused. This portion was the building blocks for the individual to accept what life for them was likely to bring, their life script.
From the age of six years until thirteen years, was another especially important period when the child’s parents were their ‘role model’’ for the child growing through their childhood. When he explained this section to his clients, he always pointed out it was, during this period of his life, he was introduced to alcohol for the very first time. From thirteen years of age until nineteen years was a period in their adolescence’s life when they were subjected to ‘peer group pressure’. In Bundy’s case, he related his personal experiences of drinking with his mates and related how he stopped drinking alcohol at twenty-eight years of age because his wife Ada had ‘had enough’.
He proudly shared with his clients he had not drunk alcohol since the thirteen of January 1977. Many of his clients, after listening to his story and his description of his ‘cycle of life’ said, ‘I understand what you’ve said. That’s me I’ve been there and done that. That’s happened with me.’

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During the initial session Bundy always asked his client, ‘what do you want to do with your life? Where do you want to go?’ He gave them until their next session to make up their mind. If they needed his help to improve their life, he encouraged them to return, but if they thought one session was sufficient then it was okay. It was each client’s decision to know ‘what he or she wanted to do and where he or she wanted to go in their life.’
Most of the clients returned for their next session. Bundy felt great seeing his clients return for their sessions. He knew they were ‘doing something for themselves to improve their way of life’. In this session he asked his client ‘what do you want to do with your life and where do you want to go?’ Most of them replied to ‘wanting to change their drinking habits and enjoy their life.’
In this session he explained how he had developed a habit of becoming a ‘RESCUER’ and shared his story of how it started from an early age, causing him immense issues throughout his life. During his time at college when his lecturer pointed out ‘he was a ‘RESCUER’’.
He told them with much determination and personal commitment he changed his habit of being a ‘RESCUER’, re-enforcing upon his clients they too could CHANGE – IT WAS THEIR CHOICE. He explained how for forty-four years he’d carried this ‘RESCUER’ tag around his neck, until he developed sufficient personal courage and self-belief in himself, to take it off and throw it away.