Why Counselling Matters
At most treatment centers, a client suffering from substance or alcohol addiction will go through the detox procedure to deal with the physical aspects. It’s a difficult experience, but the results are often very positive.
Yet the journey through recovery does not end there, addiction to any substance does not happen in a vacuum. At the root of most addictions lies a deeper cognitive behavior that requires discovery, examination, and dissection under the microscope of awareness. Part of this process also addresses behavioral conditioning, our minds often fool us into believing that we can not recover or move on from using, of course after a period of detox we are no longer physically in need, we are however still emotionally connected to alcohol or the drug that brought us to rehab.
We are each of us individuals with our own unique life stories and experiences that may be in the past but they still maintain the power to affect us in our daily lives unless or until we address and resolve issues. This is why it is so important that a trained addiction specialist be engaged in the recovery process. Therapists help you to figure out where the addictive triggers began. Perhaps it was a physical issue like an injury, or more likely an emotional one that has haunted them for quite some time. Trauma, rejection of some sort, and depression are all reasons why someone may have resorted to self-medication as a way to cope. Some will say life is just boring without alcohol, while others hate drinking but can’t stop doing it for one reason or another. No matter what the reason, it’s important for a client to get to the bottom of why they feel the need to drink.
Why a walk down memory lane can be the key to a cure.
Participating in counseling allows a client to talk openly about why they began to self-medicate and they will learn to identify their particular triggers. Since counseling is often conducted in both an individual and group format, residents are allowed to share their experiences with others in a similar situation and frequently learn more about themselves in the process. Many who participate in counseling during their stay at rehab make lasting, meaningful friendships with other residents during their stay.
Counseling will also provide residents with the tools and vocabulary needed to mend their relationships back home, possibly with a spouse, child, or boss. This helps to ensure that after treatment, someone has their life to return to, which is what rehab aims to do.
Individual therapy sessions are offered not to take away from group counseling, but to pin down specific triggers and address a very personal relationship with addiction. It cannot be stressed how individualized addictive behavior is, and therefore one-to-one therapy must be part of treatment to achieve sobriety.
Preparation For What Comes Next
Group and family sessions also help to prepare residents for life outside of the rehab. They’ll be faced with challenges, temptation, and maybe even a setback or two, but with proper counseling, they will leave treatment with a better understanding of themselves, their addiction, and how they fit into their new sober life. A graduate leaves rehab with a mental toolbox, filled with everything they need to tackle the obstacles that they will face in the world, and they fill that toolbox during counseling. With the help of professionals, they pick and choose which tools they need based on their experiences, what’s to come, and what they think works for them. Essentially, counseling is what will help someone avoid living life afraid of making a mistake that will plunge them back into negative patterns and routines, and focus on staying healthy, happy, and sober.
