How an Alcohol Abuse Counselor Should Help You Succeed in Recovery
An alcohol abuse counselor can assist you with the tools you need to recover.
Because ongoing counseling is one of the cornerstones of treatment for alcohol abuse, finding an alcohol abuse counselor who knows his stuff is critical to a patient’s success in recovery. At a minimum, counselors should have have the education, training, and experience that is necessary in order to legally provide counseling services in the realm of substance abuse. But in order to be effective in the treatment of alcohol abuse, counselors should posses a certain specific qualifications and characteristics that make for a good counselor and an effective recipe for recovery.
Anyone who is seeking alcohol abuse counseling should familiarize himself with some of the training and education requirements of counselors in his area, while understanding what the important counselor qualifications are and why they are so essential. Dealing with alcohol abuse is not an easy task, neither for the abuser nor for the counselor. So, a patient should be able to have confidence that his counselor can help him on the road through his recovery. In the next few paragraphs, you will get a better understanding of what an alcohol abuse counselor must go through in order to get to the stage of treating patients, and you’ll learn what qualities you should look for in a potential counselor.
12 Core Functions of an Alcohol Abuse Counselor
All alcohol abuse counselors must go through a certification and supervised training process that requires them to thoroughly understand the 12 core functions of a substance abuse counselor. The 12 core functions of alcohol abuse counseling have to do with the screening, assessment, treatment, and continued support of a patient. These are the standards that every counselor is taught before being allowed to deal with actual patients.
Alcohol Abuse Counseling Techniques
An alcohol abuse counselor knows that no patient is the same, and not everyone is going to respond well to the same methods of treatment. Certified counselors learn about some of the counseling techniques during their schooling, but mastery comes with experience, and an experienced counselor will be able to determine which course of action will be effective for each patient.
An alcohol abuse counselor’s job is to encourage the patient to take responsibility for his actions and to empower him to make his own choices, rather than allowing a substance addiction to control him. From there, a counselor provides support and guidance, and prepares the patient for the new challenges he will face during sober living. It’s important to understand that each counselor will have his own personalized methods of treating alcohol abuse, but alcohol abuse counseling techniques are never about manipulation or making a patient feel ashamed of his addiction.
Choosing a Good Alcohol Abuse Counselor is Crucial to Recovery
Though all alcohol abuse counseling programs are different, all good counselors understand these aforementioned basic techniques and qualities that are necessary in order to effectively treat a patient. And by knowing what qualities make up a good counselor, those who are seeking counseling for alcohol abuse can help themselves; finding a helpful and motivating alcohol abuse counselor is a huge element of effective treatment, and knowing what to look for when you’re looking for a counselor is a small step to take for big results in your recovery process.