What is Substance Abuse Counseling
I am just starting to learn about the dynamics of substance abuse counseling. At this point, early on in my learning, I understand it to be a practice of advocacy to assist those persons with various levels of addiction in relation to drugs, alcohol and chemical dependency to a road of recovery. Substance abuse counseling identifies he source of the addiction through assessments and screening tools and offers solutions to the client.
A substance abuse counselor’s duty is to offer autonomy by giving advice and resources that will assist in getting clean, not to convince or to persuade them on which route to take in the road to recovery. Substance abuse counseling offers many levels of resources for recovery, in relations to addictions and illnesses that derive from or caused by the addiction, analyzing psycho and mental health, and referring them to appropriate professionals that can assist them tit the recovery process and helping them to understand how to get better.
WHEN: Substance abuse counseling would be appropriate when a client indicates a need to recover from an addition or dependency. The counselor determines what course of action to take through a series of assessments and screening instruments. Counseling would be ideal as well for persons that are court-ordered to attend counseling. At this point, the courts have determined there Is an addiction or dependency issue that was derived from satellites that took place with the client prior to appointing this treatment.
Counseling Is needed when a client asks for resources In relation to addiction recovery and other crawls that derive from addiction or dependency, such as family Issues, health Issues and challenges that affect the client’s quality of life that were directly or Indirectly stemmed from the challenges of their addiction or dependency. A counselor would counsel because they have a desire to assist a client to recover from their addiction. My interest in assisting those with challenges of addiction drives me to work hard to find solutions that will aid the client in recovery.
Counseling is used as a tool of advocacy for clients that are in the recovery process. It has been a very effective avenue of treatment and is used because it helps to not only identify the source of the problem, but also how to recover from the problem, also to address the various areas that are connected to the root problem which is addiction. Counseling is beneficial, because of its wide scope that targets all areas of the clients problems. The referral service that counselors provide not only helps the problem, but also the other problems that derive from the core reason the client s there, which is the addiction or dependency.
I’m sure there are things in this essay that may not be 100% correct when it comes down to the dynamics of counseling and “What it is”, “When we counsel” and “Why we counsel”. I believe I only have the minimal understanding of what substance abuse counseling is, but I am very determined to learn more and become fluent in its language, its debt of resources and how to effectively counsel someone. My goal is to be that bridge for someone that is addicted or dependent to a person that is completely recovered.
I have high interest in this field because I have a desire to make a difference. I understand that I must continuously educate myself with knowledge in the field so that I can be the most effective resource for the client. I am learning that Counselors use a lot of tests, assessments and screening tools to determine the best course of action for the client. I think the most challenging portion of learning how to counsel is remembering what tool applies to what situation. I am sure as time progresses and I learn more about counseling and the dynamics of counseling, it will become more familiar.
