Addiction is one of the psychological disorders a person might suffer from. It may lead to the addict ignoring their well-being, neglect their family and friends and can even cause death in many cases. Addiction is the inability of a person to stop behavior even though it is harmful to them. One of the ways to get rid of the addiction is through addiction counseling in conjunction with medical treatments.

Addiction counseling helps addicts overcome their dependence on a particular thing. It is the counselor that aims to understand the process of addiction and the impact it has on the addict, their family and the society as a whole. The counselor makes the addicts understand and accept their addiction and help them address the underline source of their addiction. They offer the addict a chance to makes changes to their lives and earn self-respect and self-esteem once again that they have lost. Each of the supportive counseling sessions involves discussion and education on addiction, planning strategies, evaluate the progress of the treatment and offer support. Most counselors use a few different types of therapy to help addicts cope with their addiction.


Popular Types of Therapy used by Counselors

There are different types of therapy used by counselors, and the one that is used will differ from patient to patient. Some of the most popular ones are –

Motivational Interviewing – In motivational therapy, the individual are provided support to seek treatment for their addiction and change their behavior in the long term. In such a therapy, the individual explores their behavior and assess what behaviors they need to change to live a better and sober life.

Contingency Management – Contingency Management is reinforcement counseling where the individual is encouraged to stay away from their addiction. It is an incentive based therapy where the individual is rewarded when they are successful in their efforts, and the rewards are withheld when they regress.

Cognitive-behavioral Therapy – This kind of therapy allows the individuals to understand their triggers and find ways to avoid them. It allows them to learn the coping skills to minimize the chances of relapse. The skills that they learn in this therapy will remain with them even after their treatment is completed.

Family Therapy – Family therapy allows the addicts to help build a strong relationship with their family that might have been strained due to their addiction. It helps improve the functioning of the family and provide the addict as well as the family member a platform to speak their mind and make changes to their behavior to achieve it.

It might be a little challenging to understand your emotions and open up to a complete stranger even if they are a compassionate and professional counselor. You need prepare for each session and ensure that you know what topics need to be discussed before the session starts. If you are not sure what to say, it is best to allow the counselor to guide you through the session and listen to them carefully. You will face your emotions of guilt, shame, or failure during the session, but you need to take care of yourself emotionally so that you are not mentally exhausted.