Roles of a counselor in addiction rehab

Many people suffer from addiction thinking that there’s no way out. This is one of the reasons why a rehab exists. The rehab gives hope to addicts that they can still live a sober life irrespective of how chronic their addiction problem is.

One of the integral aspects of an addiction rehab that helps to communicate this message is the counselor. Here are some of the roles a counselor has to play in an addiction rehab.

They help you understand the root cause of your addiction

Many addicted individuals don’t know how they became addicted in the first place. This is why it is difficult for them to tackle it head on.

With the help of a counselor, you can understand how your addiction came to be. The counselor uses this knowledge to craft a treatment pattern for you that would be useful in the long term.

They communicate with you

It is normal for an addict to have questions about every thing surrounding their addiction. However, there is often nobody around to correctly field those questions for them.

This is why some of them prefer to keep to themselves because they don’t want to be stigmatized by people who don’t understand them.

With the counselor, you can pour out your mind to them. You can also ask any questions that have been bothering you. The role of a counselor is to ensure you are satisfied with the answers you get.

They motivate you

Many addicts are usually quick to give up when it comes to addiction recovery because they don’t have anyone to motivate them.

It can be easy to give up when the cravings and withdrawal symptoms are overwhelming. This is where the addiction counselor steps in. They motivate patients to follow through with treatment even till the final stage.

After addiction treatment, the work of the counselor is not done. They still encourage them to stick to the post-recovery phase which helps to prevent relapse.

Reasons why rehab is important for aftercare treatment

Many addicts who are in recovery always look forward to the day when they will be certified sober.

Time in rehab is quite challenging because you will have to unlearn, learn and relearn some habits in your sobriety journey.

What some of them fail to understand is, that after addiction treatment, there is a post-treatment phase that you should not skip. This phase is known as aftercare treatment.

Aftercare treatment is a post-treatment recovery phase that helps to sustain you when you are out of addiction treatment.

Usually, aftercare treatment takes place at a rehab. So, if you are cleared of addiction, and don’t want to visit the rehab, you don’t have to sign off fully yet. Your time at the rehab is not complete. Although, it’s for a greater purpose this time around.

Here are some of the reasons why you still need a rehab

Easy access to the therapists and counselors

If you are looking for a way to still communicate with the therapists and counselors, the rehab provides you with this opportunity.

One thing to note is, that after your addiction treatment, it is imperative to keep in touch with your therapists and counselors so that they can keep up with your recovery. Avoiding them will not benefit you in any way.

Close monitoring

Another benefit that comes with a rehab during aftercare treatment is, that the therapists and counselors can easily access you. It would be easy for them to keep up with your post-recovery.

If you are facing any challenges in the outside world that can bring back your addiction, all you need to do is communicate with them.  

Individual and Group therapy

Another benefit that comes with rehab is access to individual and group therapy sessions.

You will have access to therapy sessions where people will share their experiences, challenges, wins, and losses. This is usually the best opportunity to get motivated to keep up with therapy.

THE IMPORTANCE OF A REHAB

A rehab is one of the most important health facilities that people need to consider particularly as regards their mental health. Typically, a rehab handles addiction and mental health cases.

Due to the fact that addiction and mental health problem come in various forms, a rehab is the term that can adequately cater for any type of addiction or mental health.

With a rehab, you can help someone you love combat their addiction problem, or cure their mental health problem.

For addiction problems, one of the reasons why a rehab would typically come in handy is because of the structured process of treatment that comes with it.

To start with, if an individual is addicted to alcohol or drugs, the first course of treatment is detoxification. This is the process or removing harmful toxins that have built-up in the body. These toxins are as a result of drugs and alcohol intake, and they are deemed harmful to the body.

After detoxification, the individual would be required to opt in for either inpatient or outpatient rehab.

Where the individual would either remain within the confines of the rehab permanently till the addiction problem is over, or he or she would fix in the treatment schedule into their personal time frame.

For mental health problems, there is no need for detoxification because there was no harmful substance taken in the first place. An individual who has mental health problem might not necessarily need to be admitted for therapy in a rehab, except if the case is severe.

In addiction and mental health, one of the challenges that the counselors, therapists and healthcare providers face is, getting people who have these problems to come to terms with that fact.

People are usually reluctant to accept that they have an addiction or mental health problem, and this is why it is challenging for them to get better.

A rehab is one of the surest places where an individual can begin their journey to sobriety and a long-lasting health.

FRIENDS AND FAMILY IN YOUR ADDICTION TREATMENT

If you are struggling with addiction, one of the sets of people you need are family and friends. These people are indispensable and they have more value than other sets of people like acquaintances, co-workers, neighbors and the likes.

Friends and family are important because they provide a profound support system in and out of your addiction problem.

Although, some people have had fallouts with family and friends in the past because they did not prove worthy to be trusted. Hence, this is why some of them have issues trusting close people with their problems.

Addiction comes with a certain stigma; there is a way people look at you when you are addicted. And they fail to forget that it is not your fault. An individual who is addicted would most likely recover faster if he or she has the full support of family and friends.

Usually, if an individual has issues with family and friends, someone who steps in and acts as the conduit is the counselor. The counselor is a professional psychologist who has deep understanding about our emotions, mental capacities and the likes.

If the counselor discovers that the addicted individual has problems with family and friends, he would step in to save the day.

In addiction treatment, the counselor is responsible for organizing sessions like individual counseling, group counseling and family counseling.

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In order to foster love and care between the loved ones and the addicted individual, the counselor can invite them over for any of the counseling sessions.

When an addicted individual sees that he or she is receiving the needed support from family and friends, he or she would be motivated and determined to finish up the addiction treatment.

Family and friends need to understand that their addicted loved one needs all the love and help they can get. There would be strife and disagreements, but they need to know that, these unpleasant happenings occur because of the addiction and nothing more.

BENEFITS OF HAVING A SUPPORT SYSTEM IN THE ADDICTION RECOVERY PROCESS

When it comes to the addiction recovery process, it can be said that there are challenges which are associated with it. They are constant features which aim to ensure that the individual does not eventually break free from addiction. Now, it should be known that once there is a positive support system in place, there are benefits which it comes with.

First off, asides the fact that you would receive aid in ensuring that there is no relapse, which is evident in coping with stress and the notable triggers, you would also receive an enhanced sense of well-being and the necessary empowerment to forge ahead in the recovery path.

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Once there is a positive support system in your addiction recovery process, you can be sure that those people who are around you, would assist you in setting your sights on having a healthier lifestyle, which would ensure you remain focused, as you learn how triggers can be avoided. This support system also has to do with having the positive kind of peer influence, where those who are supporting you would inspire healthy behaviours and also making the right decisions.

In addition to this, having a good support system when you are recovering from addiction ensures that, you find a much better way to handle your emotions. One feature about recovery is, there are usually lots of emotions which are experienced, and some of them aid in triggering a relapse. Having a firm support network ensures you have a nourishing place which you can always rely on.

Hence, instead of trying out drugs or alcohol, your support network would assist you with coming up with feasible ways which would manage what you are feeling.

It is a known fact that, once a person has been discovered to be an addict, there is a high possibility that the individual would be abandoned by those who claim to love him. However, it should be known that there are still people who would be willing to assist you in this recovery process. So, once you know those who are willing to help you, and you have a good idea on the kind of support needed, then you are good to go.