Addiction Counseling Articles

Addiction counseling can be a powerful tool in addiction recovery and treatment. A successful treatment program is going to address every aspect of an addiction: the physical as well as the mental.

The physical treatment involves the withdrawal and removing of the physical residue of the drug or substance.

Dealing with the mental and psychological aspects, the underlying reasons for the drug addiction, the damaged relationships, psychological dependency, and the rebuilding of the integrity and mental wellness of an addict can be a very long and difficult process.

Counseling by trained professionals that are qualified to deal with the unique issue related with drug and alcohol abuse is a great way to assist in the addiction treatment process and keep a addict from returning to old habits.

What to look for in addiction counseling

When seeking addiction counseling, it is important to consider the ideal gender, age and personality of the counselor. It is also very important to decide whether faith and religion should be an integral part of the addiction counseling program. These are matters of personal preference that can weigh heavily on the success or failure of an addiction counseling program. It is important that the program take a wholistic approach, treating the physical, mental and emotional aspects – and, if applicable, the spiritual.

It is equally important to check the credentials, certifications and past work experience of the counselor. What sort of drugs had been used by the patients these counselors treated in the past? While all drugs can be devastating, different drugs have different effects. For instance, cocaine is considered a harder, more violent drug than marijuana – although both are highly addictive and destructive. It is important to find an expert who has experience providing addiction counseling in relevant, similar situations.

Some addiction counseling programs have very rigid guidelines and some are more laidback. The pace and intensity of addiction counseling is another important factor, typically influenced by how far out of control the drug user’s situation has progressed. Most addiction counseling will involve many open-ended questions to engage the patient in the recovery process and perhaps convince them to talk about any past life history that may have led them into the addiction.

If any family members have been involved in enabling the drug or alcohol addiction to continue, they should be party to some of the addiction counseling sessions. Willingness to work with and educate family members or close friends is an important aspect of addiction counseling, as the patient will need support from someone after the counseling sessions end. Ultimately, a drug or alcohol addiction counselor should be able to show patients care and support through advice, education, coaching and encouragement.

Why is Addiction Counseling Important to Recovery?

If you are struggling with an addiction, you know how difficult it is to seek help.  Often, the most difficult step you’ll have to take is to admit to having an addiction.  Once you have admitted that you have a problem, even if it is only to yourself, you may have a difficult time deciding what the next step is. 

Recovering from an addiction is one of the most challenging things you will ever have to do and there is no reason you should have to go it alone.  As with other challenges you may encounter in life, you will need as much love and support as you can get.  A good addiction counselor will serve as your partner during this recovery process.  A good addiction counselor will help to guide you through the darkness and into the light of recovery.  Although it may be difficult to open up to a “stranger,” over time, you will develop a wonderful professional relationship that will last throughout your addiction recovery and beyond.

There are four defining premises of addiction counseling that are very important to the recovery process.  These four premises historically separate the addiction counselor from other types of helping roles in that these premises are:

1. A severe and persistent alcohol and drug problem must be present which constitutes a primary disorder rather than a superficial symptom of another underlying problem,
2. the multiple life problems experienced by alcohol and drug impacted individuals can be resolved only within the framework of recovery initiation and maintenance,
3. many individuals with high problem complexity and low “recovery capital” (i.e. internal assets, family and social support) are unable to achieve stable recovery without professional assistance, and
4. professional assistance is best provided by individuals with specific knowledge and expertise in facilitating the physical, psychological, social and often spiritual journey from addiction to recovery.

People with drug and alcohol problems need more than just medical intervention during the recovery process.  Addiction counseling rests on the proposition that alcohol and drug problems reach a point of self-contained independence from their initiating roots and that direct knowledge of addiction, its specialized treatment, and the processes of long-term drug rehab recovery provide the most viable instrument for healing and wholeness.  Addiction counselors not only seek to help with the actual addiction, but dig deeper, to discover the source(s) within the individual that caused them to seek solace from a substance in the first place.  Addiction counselors help individuals dealing with an addiction find new outlets for dealing with the emotional hole within them while helping them learn and utilize new coping mechanisms.  What the addiction counselor brings up, in addition to their skills, is the whole person—their life.  Addiction counselors firmly believe that you cannot get to the root of the problem, the cause of the addiction, without examining the core of the person.

Addiction counselors are also in the unique position to provide hope to their patients and many addiction and alcoholism counselors can offer themselves as “living proof” of such hope.  The addiction counselor can illustrate to their patient how they overcame their own addiction issues and went on to live a happy, productive life.  Addiction counselors can thus provide evidence of the potential for long-term recovery through their own personal/family story. 

By establishing a unique, professional, friendly relationship with their client, as well as their client’s family members, the addiction counselor is a step above other helping professionals.  Addiction counselors do not just listen to their patients and guide them—they offer educational support, emotional support, and tools to help overcome their addiction.  Addiction counseling does not just heal the addiction, it heals the addicted person.  Addiction counseling helps the addicted individual overcome their drug and/ or alcohol addiction and provides them with the framework and continued support that they will need in order to change their entire lifestyle.

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