Roles of an addiction counselor
PCN-100
January 20, 2014
Anne Marie Bach- Sterling
Roles of the Addiction Counselor Analysis Paper
An addiction counselor has many roles; counselor is only one of them. Others include interventionist, mediator, advocate, change agent, adviser, and facilitator (Lecture Module 4, 2013). While treating a client those roles are constantly changing and are necessary to help a client to overcome addiction. In addition the counselor must be able to maintain a balance of ethical, moral, and legal behavior while treating their clients. This may seem easy; however there are often blurred professional boundaries present that the counselor is forced to navigate flawlessly or risk upsetting the balance between helping and hurting their client.
While an addiction counselor’s main goal is to improve the mental health and wellness of clients through a treatment plan the goals need to be based on the individual the counselor is working with; therefore each case must be individualized to meet the needs of the client. Individual therapy consists of working directly with an individual, an assortment of approaches are used in individual therapy. The approaches include harm reduction, coping skills training, life-skills training, motivational interviewing, cognitive-behavioral therapy, social skills training, and behavior therapy these approaches are included in the direct effect strategies as well as the broad spectrum strategies. The central component to these strategies is the client- counselor relationship also known as the therapeutic alliance. The counselor must be able to listen objectively to the client, they must be aware of their responses not only verbally but non-verbally as well. They must be able to validate the client through non-verbal communication as well as positive regard. The language the counselor uses must engender motivation toward change for the client. By moving away from negativity these strategies give the clients hope and breed independence which
January 20, 2014
Anne Marie Bach- Sterling
Roles of the Addiction Counselor Analysis Paper
An addiction counselor has many roles; counselor is only one of them. Others include interventionist, mediator, advocate, change agent, adviser, and facilitator (Lecture Module 4, 2013). While treating a client those roles are constantly changing and are necessary to help a client to overcome addiction. In addition the counselor must be able to maintain a balance of ethical, moral, and legal behavior while treating their clients. This may seem easy; however there are often blurred professional boundaries present that the counselor is forced to navigate flawlessly or risk upsetting the balance between helping and hurting their client.
While an addiction counselor’s main goal is to improve the mental health and wellness of clients through a treatment plan the goals need to be based on the individual the counselor is working with; therefore each case must be individualized to meet the needs of the client. Individual therapy consists of working directly with an individual, an assortment of approaches are used in individual therapy. The approaches include harm reduction, coping skills training, life-skills training, motivational interviewing, cognitive-behavioral therapy, social skills training, and behavior therapy these approaches are included in the direct effect strategies as well as the broad spectrum strategies. The central component to these strategies is the client- counselor relationship also known as the therapeutic alliance. The counselor must be able to listen objectively to the client, they must be aware of their responses not only verbally but non-verbally as well. They must be able to validate the client through non-verbal communication as well as positive regard. The language the counselor uses must engender motivation toward change for the client. By moving away from negativity these strategies give the clients hope and breed independence which
References: Doyle-Pita, D. (2004). Chapter One: A Counselors Role in Recovery. Addictions Counseling (pp. 13-19). Crossroads Publishing Company Retrieved From: http://ehis.ebscohost.com.library.gcu.edu:2048/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=61f 90b30-08c7-4d0d-8ea8-28496a30fe86%40sessionmgr4003&vid=8&hid=4103 Stevens, P. & Smith, R. L. (2013). Substance Abuse Counseling: Theory and Practice, Fifth Edition. United States: Pearson Education Inc. Retrieved From: http://gcumedia.com/digital-resources/pearson/2012/substance-abuse-counseling- theory-and-practice_ebook_5e.php Lecture Module 4 (2013). Grand Canyon University. Retrieved from: https://lc-ugrad1.gcu.edu/learningPlatform/user/users.html