Symptoms Of Withdrawals

Through standardized testing, the Commission is able to set a benchmark for professionals and monitor the abilities of those who treat addictions (NAADAC, 2013). It is extremely important to focus on the individual counselor to determine the current knowledge and competence at the national level. In addition, the process was created to establish, measure, and monitor the requirements for knowledge in the profession while providing assistance to identify quality counselors who have met the national competency standards. As one can see the certification, professional licensing, and credentialing of substance abuse professionals are important to ensure quality service is received by the client, counselor, and service provider

Therefore, the counselor needs to be someone that has a personality and willing to listen to Ray and his stories. The therapist needs to approach Ray as a human and not a client. This will let Ray open up to him/her and will allow for Ray to get deeper and deeper into his reasons of his drug addiction.

Substance abuse is a widespread problem in the United States. That is why certified addictions counselors are in high demand today. Addiction counselors can work in a variety of places, including prisons, residential treatment facilities and hospitals.

A question that I was curious about asking dealt with how individuals in recovery function as substance abuse counselors. From experience, I have noticed that most substance abuse counselors are themselves in recovery. When I was in treatment, I related much better to

Corey et al. (1998) states about the boundaries of a counselor competency; "Counselors may need to be both generalists and specialists to be competent to practice with some client populations. Many substance abuse counselors argue that if you are licensed as a generalist, you are not qualified to work in the area of treatment of addictions. To qualify as a substance abuse counselor, the CACREP (2009) standards identify specific knowledge,

Contact between an addictions counsellor and a client is usually initiated by the client referring him/her self, an outside agency refers them, family physician or the addictions counsellor initiates contact through outreach or other agencies. Assessment can be seen as the beginning of treatment and it becomes an opportunity to encourage the client to begin to move towards change. The initial assessment involves a mutual investigation and exploration between the client

When most people think of substance abuse and addiction counseling they often only think of the 12 step program or alcoholics anonymous. The truth is that an addiction counselor must have a vast knowledge in the

Chemical Dependency counselors have quite a few ethical dilemmas to deal with. Therapists that are in recovery may confront some even more complex dilemmas, opposed to those who are not. There is a high percentage of addiction counselors that are in recovery. In fact, 55% of 36,000 members of the National Association of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Counselors (NAADAC) are recovering alcoholics and 21% are recovering from some other chemical dependency. This brings up two sides to counselors in recovery. "There is something about the personal experience that assists counselors to being especially attentive to the needs of the recovering client." On the other hand, counselors bringing personal

A statistical piece of information that was interesting is that how the number of mental disorders increases as the number of substance abuse disorders increases as well. Services, U.D. (2005) states the likelihood of mental disorders rises alongside with substance abuse dependencies. With the rise of both abuses at the same time, it complicates treatment for the mental disorder patients that have drug use however, multiple drugs is normal for those who are substance abusers (Services, U.D., 2005). The reason this information is found to be interesting is because with the two disorders rising at the same level, it appears that the challenges will be harder and more co-occurring disorder patients are going to need help with their issues. As a counselor, one must be dually competent to treat these clients or have staff available to treat the clients who have co-occurring disorders to ensure an effective outcome.

Opiate addiction is one of the hardest problems anyone will ever face, due to the severity of its withdrawal symptoms. These symptoms keep many people from quitting, even if they are desperate for sobriety. The following symptoms are some problems that are likely to occur if you attempt to detoxify from opiates. Thankfully, detoxification medicines make it possible to decrease the severity of these symptoms and stop some of them from ever happening.

Both forms of treatment implement various forms of therapy including family and individual; in some cases the use of medications are helpful for easing withdrawals that may be too big of a shock to the system if the drugs are stopped suddenly, as is the case when treating heroin addiction with methadone. Treatments are geared toward the person and not just the drug being abused, so times and treatment approaches vary from person to person.

After months or even years of substance abuse, there's an excellent chance your body will have built up a tolerance to your substance of choice. By definition, that means you have a dependence or addiction to that very substance. When and if you are ready to stop the madness, you will most likely face the prospects of going through detoxification. The detox definition brings to mind many different things.

While many states only require a high school diploma other states such as New York, where I reside a master’s degree and certification is recommended to be an addiction counselor. Since I reside in NY, I must have 6000 hours of experience requirements, and then have to take a written exam in order to receive my credentials then I can work as an addiction counselor. For 2014, the pay rate for addiction counselors was in the range of $39,270 a year, equivalent to around $19.00 hour. In many states no experience is required, as well as job training. There was around 95,000 jobs available in this field for 2014, and is expected to rise 21% by 2024. Addiction counselor’s job is to advise patients who are suffering from alcohol and/or substance abuse on recovery and treatment programs. As a counselor it’s their job to provide support and treatment to assist the individual in recovery for his or her addiction. Counselors must conduct weekly and daily counseling sessions both individually and within group setting. Their job as includes maintaining contact with all the patients professional health care providers including probation officers, family members, and court systems. Interviews must be conducted, so that treatment plans can be established to suit the needs of their patients, and must be based on their mental and physical condition or conditions. His or her history, and research must

The first phase of treatment is taking away the problem substance/activity a little at a time. There are both physical and psychological effects that happen when that person stops taking the substance, they include different obvious signs of having nausea and vomiting, the chills or start sweating, they can have muscle aches and start cramping, no sleeping for long periods of time, changes in the persons heart rate, and sometimes a fever will appear. The emotional effects will include developing depression, anxiety, irritability, and crazy mood swings. These withdrawal symptoms usually can last three to five days or even longer. They are very rarely life-threatening, having medical supervision is usually provided in treatment programs, and medications may be given to help with the discomfort of not having the substance. Behavioral therapy and counseling are important elements of treatment. Cognitive behavior treatment is often used to help patients identify, avoid, and cope with situations in which they are most likely to abuse drugs. The technique of motivational interviewing is often employed to remind people of their values, as a way of avoiding use. Family therapy may also be offered to help the patient maintain a supportive surrounding and help improve a family to function properly. Rehab programs and support groups are often needed to help patients regain necessary jobs and

There was no question more intimidating for me when I began drug and alcohol counseling than “What can you tell me about being a drug addict if you have never been addicted to drugs?” I learned about Freud and Piaget, common diagnoses, and parts of the brain in my undergraduate studies but never the answer to this question, or at least not looking like a nervous mess as I responded. My career as a drug and alcohol counselor came with many challenges, but compared to other fields in which I had worked, it has aligned the most with my beliefs in the power of connection. The five degrees of separation is real and if we speak to enough people we know, we will find in some way that we are connected to someone who has, or does, struggle with substance