Quitting the habit of abusing street drugs, prescriptions drugs, or other illicit substances is a significant achievement in a drug addict’s life. However, while you will be very proud of yourself after overcoming your demons, you still need to put in a lot of hard work to reach that point. After all, detoxification is only the beginning of a life-long journey to a drug-free life, as you will have to do everything you can to avoid falling off track and succumbing to relapse.
That said, drug addiction counseling is an effective way to treat various drug addiction issues. Drug addiction counselors are the mainstay for drug abuse treatment for most addicts who’ve been fighting addiction their whole lives. As a result, these professionals are well-versed in the art of addiction treatment and therapy. Furthermore, they help addicts overcome long-term addiction management issues, ranging from support, immediate medical intervention, and crisis management. In the end, substance abuse or addiction counselors provide those in need with a necessary support system, who want to recover from gambling addictions, behavioral issues, eating disorders, and most importantly, drug and alcohol addiction.
1) They Will Develop A Therapeutic Alliance With You
When you decide to seek treatment for drug addiction issues from an addiction counselor, you will make the most challenging decision of your life. after all, addiction treatment requires a significant level of trust between the counselor and their patients. So while we aren’t asking you to Google how to become an addiction counselor yourself, it will be worthwhile to see one if you’re facing long-term drug abuse issues.
These healthcare professionals will develop a strong bond with you, known as a therapeutic alliance. While such a level of trust will often take time to develop, you will eventually feel comfortable enough to share your concerns freely during therapy sessions and feel like visiting your addiction counselor again. Typically counselors build a strong therapeutic alliance with you by letting you know they can empathize with you, ensuring that they are interested in your well-being, showing attentiveness during therapy sessions, and actively communicating with you.
2) They Will Encourage You To Recover No Matter What Happens
There is no shadow of a doubt that overcoming addiction is a difficult feat to achieve, as most individuals will usually have ambivalent feelings about undergoing therapy or fail to identify their patterns of abuse. Counselors will have little control over your desire to receive treatment. However, whatever happens, an addiction counselor will ensure that you undergo treatment in any case as your interests and well-being are their primary concern.
In the end, although the ability to change might only be in your hands, an addiction counselor will adapt their treatment style to improve your motivation levels through every phase of the recovery process. These healthcare professionals will go far beyond simply offering advice, teaching, or listening to your issues. Instead, they will help you recognize problematic behaviors and guide you through the recovery process while empowering you.
3) Create A Relapse Prevention Strategy
The chronic nature of drug or alcohol addiction ensures that individuals diagnosed with addiction issues will end up relapsing once during their recovery. In fact, according to various studies, around forty to sixty percent of individuals diagnosed with addiction issues will relapse at some point during their treatment, on par with other illnesses such as hypertension, asthma, diabetes. However, relapse doesn’t mean that you’ve failed. Instead, relapse is just a sign that indicates your addiction treatment plan requires adjustments.
Once you decide to seek treatment through therapy, you must be well-equipped to prevent yourself from relapsing in the foreseeable future. However, relapse prevention will start early in the treatment process. It will most probably require more than just the willpower to say no when you feel cravings. That said, it is an addiction counselor’s role to develop a comprehensive relapse prevention plan. Typically this will be tailored to your particular requirements and needs and will include details about past experiences with drugs or alcohol, an emergency relapse plan, lifestyle changes that you can incorporate into your daily routine, and a list of family members and friends you can call.
4) They Will Communicate With Your Family Members To Provide Guidance.
For your family and friends, helping you overcome addiction will be one of the most challenging and vital things they can do for you. However, when you interact with your loved ones daily, they will probably ignore your problems due to the fear of coming off as judgemental, pushing you away in the process. That said, during your addiction therapy, your addiction counselor will inform your family members and friends how they should handle your addiction moving forward. They might accomplish this through family therapy sessions.
In the end, the support of loved ones will play a vital role in your road to recovery. After all, leading a drug-free life is a lifelong journey, and having supportive friends and family members you can lean on for support and help will increase your chances of recovery tenfold!
5) They Will Refer You To Various Support Groups
There are multiple other resources available to you if you’re looking to overcome drug or alcohol addiction. However, if you combine them with counseling treatment, your road to recovery will become much easier.
Chances are, your counselor will refer you to community programs such as Narcotics Anonymous or Alcoholics Anonymous as an added layer of support for your addiction treatment. These support groups will offer you an added level of accountability, and by attending meetings regularly, you will communicate with individuals who face similar issues as yours.
A counselor’s role in addiction therapy stretches far beyond just talking you through the addiction treatment process. Instead, they need to have a passion for building relationships with their patients while ensuring they remain highly empathetic towards them. From guiding family members through the addiction treatment process to providing a safe space for patients to talk freely to developing relapse prevention plans to everything in between, an addiction counselor is vital to recovering from your addiction issues sooner rather than later!
