Choosing to become a substance use disorder counselor is a remarkable, meaningful, humanitarian career choice. A degree from the Hazelden Betty Ford Graduate School will allow you to impact vulnerable individuals, families, and communities positively. To become licensed or certified as an alcohol and drug counselor, you will likely need to pass an exam. Examples include the International Certification & Reciprocity Consortium’s (IC&RC) Alcohol and Drug Counselor Examination and Advanced Alcohol and Drug Counselor Examination. You may need to pass an exam through the National Certification Commission for Addiction Professionals (NCCAP).
Do schools offer online programs with a counseling specialty?
Working as part of a treatment team can be a natural way to facilitate support and reduce stress. Counselors experiencing these symptoms may lose perspective and become either over- or underinvested in a client (Briere, 1989; Pearlman and Saakvitne, 1995). Counselors who are underinvested may become numb substance abuse counseling to feelings that would otherwise cause anxiety, anger, or depression. A counselor may unintentionally, even unconsciously, dismiss, negate, or minimize a client’s history of abuse. This reaction represents an attempt to avoid and distance oneself from the uncomfortable issues raised by the abuse.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is a treatment approach that focuses on changing thoughts and behavior patterns. Substance abuse counselors often use CBT techniques to help clients recognize the inaccurate thoughts and feelings that help maintain addiction. They also use CBT to teach new coping skills that help people find new ways to deal with cravings, relapses, and stress. Substance abuse counselors help people experiencing substance use and drug addiction problems. They provide treatment and support for people trying to overcome substance use disorders or addictions.
Professional Development Courses
BSFT is founded on the concept that each family member’s behavior affects the entire family. The therapist identifiesand corrects family interactions that provoke problematic behavior. The approach can be used in mental health facilities,rehab clinics, homes and a variety of other settings.
- For example, the counselor should not allow clients to be overly caretaking toward him, nor should he be so overinvolved with clients that objectivity is lost.
- Patients with severe PTSD symptoms,such as combat veterans, usually require more sessions than individuals with less severe symptoms.
- These therapists help people with behavioral disorders (primarily substance use) by talking through the complexities and causes of their addiction.
- Therapists use empathetic listening and collaborative goal-setting to help individuals explore their ambivalence about drug use and make positive decisions about their recovery.
- Many counselors find the level of violence and cruelty they are exposed to in working with adult survivors of abuse upsetting and incomprehensible.
One of the most impactful strategies to treat addiction is substance use counseling, also called addiction counseling. Substance abuse counselors with higher levels of education and training can work more independently and provide more services to their clients. Substance abuse counselors must be good listeners with strong empathy and the ability to set boundaries. Once you have completed your supervised experience, you can apply for a counseling license in your state. With hard work, you can become a successful counselor and make a positive impact on the lives of others.
Holistic Therapies
- In order to maintain licensure and certification, substance abuse counselors generally must participate in professional development and continuing education.
- It works for various substance use and mental health conditions by teaching individuals how to manage discomfort and distress while it occurs at the moment.
- It helps each familymember learn about the impact his or her actions have on others, and it teaches families how to effectively communicateand function.
What Qualities Should You Look for in a Substance Abuse Counselor?
- Rather than seeing addiction as a personal failing, experts now view addiction as a brain-based condition that involves a complex interaction between genetics, brain circuits, the environment, and individual experiences.
- Most counselors will perform individual and group therapy with their clients to help find the best mixture of topics and issues to be addressed.
- Substance abuse can impair motivation and decreases the effectiveness of therapeutic interventions.
- Being familiar with substance abuse counselor requirements by state can help eliminate licensing issues later.
- Substance abuse counselors often use CBT techniques to help clients recognize the inaccurate thoughts and feelings that help maintain addiction.
- With hard work, you can become a successful counselor and make a positive impact on the lives of others.