Addiction Counseling

A licensed addiction counselor can help a person abusing substances at any stage of readiness to achieve and maintain sobriety.

Addiction counselors can help support you throughout the treatment process and create an individualized plan for recovery, relapse prevention, and after-care. There are various types of therapy available while in treatment that will provide an array of benefits and allow you to sustain your sobriety while in recovery.

What Does An Addiction Counselor Do?

With the help of an addiction counselor, you can explore what caused you to use drugs or alcohol, share and process feelings, increase awareness of negative though and behavior patterns, learn healthy coping skills, identify potential triggers, and create a long-term plan to sustain your sobriety.

An addiction counselor’s role is to:

• Conduct substance abuse evaluations and general assessments
• Provide unbiased emotional support for individuals throughout a treatment program
• Conduct one-on-one, couples, and family therapy sessions to get to the root of the addiction
• Provide psychoeducation
• Facilitate process groups and group exercises
• Administer periodic drug and alcohol tests
• Develop a specialized plan for treatment based on your individual needs and goals
• Help you create an aftercare plan based on care available in your area

Addiction counselors will also conduct group therapy sessions that often incorporate family members or other patients in addiction treatment. Group therapy can lead to discussions about family dynamics and how unhealthy relationships can create or feed into addictive behaviors. Once these dysfunctions are identified, the patient can begin making important post-treatment plans.

definition courtesy of addictioncenter.com