Individual Substance Abuse Counseling

There are many treatment options for people who wish to win the battle against addiction. One treatment option involves one on one individual sessions with an addiction counselor. This type of therapy addresses the symptoms of chemical addiction, areas of impaired functioning, and the structure and content of the client’s ongoing recovery program.

Addiction is considered a disease and people get addicted to alcohol/drugs for different reasons. While the effects of addiction are almost always the same, the cause of the problem varies from case to case. There is no one particular treatment that is guaranteed to work on all clients. This is why addiction counselors apply different methods and programs. Many clients in recovery prefer individual sessions especially if they feel uncomfortable sharing their experiences with a group. Often counselors use individual therapy to prepare clients for help outside of therapy. During individual sessions, the counselor can help a recovering alcoholic/addict focus and deal with the root cause of their addiction on a more personal level and teach them techniques on how to cope with the issues that caused them to turn to alcohol/drugs in the first place.

The benefits of individual addiction counseling are:

• Privacy
• More time with the counselor or therapist;
• Sessions are focused on you and your problems, allowing you to dig deeper and progress at an accelerated pace;
• Flexibility and convenience in scheduling session for outpatient treatment

Throughout the course of counseling, the addiction counselor will:

• Help the client to admit that he or she suffers from the disease of chemical addiction;
• Point out the signs and symptoms of addiction that are relevant to the client's experience;
• Teach the client to recognize and re-channel urges to drink or use drugs;
• Hold the chemically addicted person accountable and discuss any episodes of use and strongly discourage further use;
• Assist the client in identifying situations where drugs were used to cope with life's problems and in understanding that using alcohol/drugs to cope with or solve problems does not work;
• Encourage and motivate the client to achieve and sustain abstinence;
• Help the client to develop new, more effective problem-solving/coping strategies;
• Introduce the client to the 12-step philosophy and strongly encourage participation in AA or NA;
• Encourage the chemically addicted person to develop and continue with a recovery plan as a lifelong process;
• Help the client to recognize and change problematic attitudes and behaviors that may stimulate a relapse;
• Encourage the client to improve self-esteem by practicing newly acquired coping skills and problem-solving strategies at home and in the community.

At Family Solutions Counseling Center, Libby Collins specializes in addiction counseling and working with family members. Mrs. Collins is a Licensed Addiction Counselor.