Impulsive Lifestyle Counselling found most effective

The psychoeducation program, Impulsive Lifestyle Counselling (ILC), has been proved to be the more effective treatment of antisocial personality disorder in relation to addiction treatment compared to treatment as usual. ILC is based on the American psychologist, Matthew D. Geyer’s guide, 'Criminal Lifestyle Curriculum’.

A professional tool for everyone working in the field of addiction and psychiatry

ILC is a useful tool for everyone working with people who are struggling with substance addiction and psychological problems; at treatment centres, within the prison service, at sheltered accommodation facilities etc. Ample experience within addiction treatment is not a prerequisite to use the program. Impulsive Lifestyle Counselling is a time-limited conversational treatment program to reduce consumption and prevent dropout prior to completion of the treatment program for people with co-occurring alcohol or drug addiction and antisocial personality disorder.

Get started with Impulsive Lifestyle Counselling

Look in the ILC workbook and watch our training videos in which we show how to use ILC with role plays to get you started. The workbook for ILC is also available for download here on the site. The workbook contains background chapters, a description of the target group, detailed accounts of the focus and content of each session, and various coursework that the counsellor and the participant engage with together throughout the program. Download and read the workbook and watch the videos. From there, you can gradually begin to employ the method professionally. In the videos, you can see two role-play examples of how the ILC conversation sessions work and proceed.

For a person to be diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder they need to be at least 18 years old and meet at least three of the following criterias:

1. Failure to obey laws and norms by engaging in behavior which results in criminal arrest, or would warrant criminal arrest

2. Lying, deception, and manipulation, for profit tor self-amusement,

3. Impulsive behavior

4. Irritability and aggression, manifested as frequently assaults others, or engages in fighting

5. Blatantly disregards safety of self and others

6. A pattern of irresponsibility

7. Lack of remorse for actions  

The behavioral problems will have shown already in childhood and adolescence and continues into adulthood. Read more thorough description in the Impulsive Lifestyle Counselling workbook

Or watch the animation video which you find in the right column. In it our former intern Anastasia Sibirtseva illustrates how antisocial personality disorder shows in a person

You can also listen to psychologists and researchers Birgitte Thylstrup and Morten Hesse explaining what antisocial personality disorder is and how health professionals or social work professionals can spot this mental health problem in patients or clients.

As a professional working in the field of psychiatry, the prison service, at drug and alcohol rehab centres or other facilities in which people with drug or alcohol abuse and mental health problems are treated, it is common to encounter people with antisocial personality disorder - an illness that is difficult to treat.

But Impulsive Lifestyle Counselling proves that it is possible to help people with antisocial personality disorder. They can change behaviour and learn to control impulsivity so that they avoid the constant conflicting with people around them.

Impulsive Lifestyle Counselling is an easy accessible and well structured program for talking with the client about problems, conflicts and behaviour to help them see new ways of reacting and behaving.

You do not need to be an experienced therapist or psychologist to to use the Impulsive Lifestyle Counselling program. Everyone working with people with substance use disorder and mentally health deseases can use the program. The approach is very simple:

• Read and follow the instructions in the workbook

• Make sure that the client is able to follow you

• Don't worry be friendly

In the right column you find an animated video on how to use Impulsive Lifestyle Counselling

You can also watch the video in which psychologist and scientist Birgitte Thylstrup explains why and how Impulsive Lifestyle Counselling works.

The treatment workbook for Impulsive Lifestyle Counselling is based on a number of research projects in which Birgitte Thylstrup and Morten Hesse have explored the relationship between personality disorders and substance abuse. As a part of this work, they have tested and compared various treatment methods for people who are both suffering from mental health problems and receiving treatment for drug abuse.

Birgitte and Morten have also examined to what extend people felt helped by going through the Impulsive Lifestyle Counselling program with regard to their antisocial personality disorder. 

On the right you find research articles from these research projects.

Birgitte Thylstrup and Morten Hesse have developed the Impulsive Lifestyle Counselling program. They are both psychologists, PhDs and associate professors at Centre for Alcohol and Drug Research and have researched and worked with people who have drug or alcohol problems and mental health issues through more than 15 years.