The Paradigm Developmental Model of Treatment

L. Georgi DiStefano is a licensed clinical social worker with extensive experience in the clinical management of substance abuse/chemical dependency treatment programs and employee assistance services. She is a popular speaker on the Paradigm Developmental Model of Treatment and workplace conflict resolution and has written extensively on both topics.
She recently retired as the Executive/Clinical Director of the San Diego State University Center for Alcohol and Drug Studies and Services, Driving Under the Influence (DUI) Program. For 14 years she managed a multi-million-dollar budget with over 3,000 active weekly clients and a staff of 85 people. She previously managed the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for Kaiser Permanente Hospital System in San Diego, California.
In the 1980s and 1990s, she was the Director of the Alcohol and Substance Abuse Program at Mesa Vista Hospital and the Founder and Executive Director of the Counseling and Recovery Institute in San Diego, California.
Ms. DiStefano has been an adjunct assistant professor at San Diego State University in the school of Social Work, College of Health and Human Services for over 15 years. She is the lead author of the book and method, Paradigm Developmental Model of Treatment: A Clinical
Guide for Counselors Working with Substance Abusers and the Chemically Dependent, which has been translated into several languages. She also wrote The Paradigm Developmental Model of Treatment: Group Topics, which has been utilized widely in substance abuse treatment and DUI programs. She is co-author of the award-winning book, It's All Your Fault at Work with William Eddy, LCSW, Esq.
In 1990, Ms. DiStefano was awarded the Clinical Social Worker of the Year from the Clinical Society of Social Work and National Association of Social Workers (NASW), California Chapter. In 2011, she received the National Association of Social Workers Lifetime Achievement Award, also from NASW, California Chapter. She has spoken nationally and internationally on both the Paradigm Treatment Model and Managing High Conflict Personalities, giving frequent seminars in locations such as Japan, Canada, Greece, New York, Chicago, New Mexico, Paraguay, and Buenos Aires. She also provides management consultation and executive
coaching, in addition to her private practice and seminar work. In 2014, she was recognized for her significant contributions to the social work profession by being inducted into the California Social Work Hall of Distinction.

The Paradigm Developmental Model of Treatment (PDMT) was developed by the first author over the course of more than 30 years of private practice working with chemically dependent and substance abusing clients. In 2004, the model was first outlined. In 2005 a presentation was made to the professional community at a Grand Rounds sponsored by Sharp Mesa Vista Hospital, San Diego. In the following years it was adapted to counseling the DUI population. Subsequent articles followed and this book was completed in December 2009. This model was designed for individual face-to-face counseling sessions with clients and augments the group therapy process that occurs in most treatment programs. This model provides counselors and therapists with a framework that helps to conceptualize where a client is regarding their understanding of their AOD issues and what interventions might be most useful given this information. It is important to obtain a comprehensive AOD and psychiatric history prior to initiating the model with clients. Clients may need a psychiatric evaluation, medical stabilization, or medication management before they are ready to engage in a therapeutic process that requires insight, reflection and behavioral change.