Drug and alcohol abuse can quickly turn into a cycle of addiction. If you believe you’ve developed an addiction to drugs, you are not alone. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), 48.5 million people suffered from a substance use disorder in 2023.[1]
There are many ways to recover from addiction. You can attend an inpatient addiction treatment center or an outpatient program. No matter what path you choose, you will have a substance abuse counselor who helps you unpack the root causes of addiction, change problematic behavioral patterns, and learn vital coping mechanisms.
Finding an addiction therapist who you trust can be difficult, simply because there are so many options out there. Thankfully, there are ways to make the process easier.
When picking an addiction counselor, you should choose one with the proper education and experience. You should also pick one that is easy to talk to, inclusive, non-judgmental, encourages community support, and is open to multiple recovery paths.
In this article, you will learn:
- What is an addiction therapist?
- How do addiction counselors help you recover?
- What should you look for when choosing a substance abuse therapist?
What is an Addiction Counselor?
Addiction therapists or substance abuse counselors are mental health professionals who specialize in treating substance use disorders. They have completed educational programs to familiarize themselves with the causes of addiction, how the disease works, and ways to facilitate long-term recovery.
Addiction counselors take several roles in helping you recover from addiction, some of which include:
- Assessment- Addiction counseling often begins with an assessment to determine the severity of your substance use disorder, whether you have co-occurring mental health conditions, and what types of treatment you’d benefit from.
- Treatment Planning- After your assessment, your substance abuse counselor will begin treatment planning. This involves deciding what level of care you need, what treatment modalities to use, and more.
- Referrals- Once your treatment plan is created, your addiction therapist can provide referrals to inpatient or outpatient rehab programs as needed.
- Counseling- During counseling, your addiction therapist will help you unpack the root causes of your addiction, provide trauma-informed care, use behavioral therapy to change negative behavioral patterns, and help you learn healthy coping mechanisms to replace drug and alcohol use.
- Education- Your addiction therapist can educate you and your family members on the disease of addiction to help everyone understand how substance abuse and recovery work.
- Intervention- Addiction counselors can host interventions if you are in the midst of a crisis or a relapse. Interventions are often used to convince you to attend a professional addiction treatment program when your substance abuse is flaring up.
How to Choose an Addiction Therapist in Florida
You must choose an addiction therapist that can meet your specific needs. When choosing a substance abuse counselor, you should look for the following qualities:
Education and Experience
To practice substance abuse counseling, you often need a master’s degree and a state license. After the degree is completed, addiction counselors have to complete a certain number of hours of supervised clinical experience.
When picking an addiction counselor, make sure to choose one that has the proper education and experience to treat you.
Easy to Talk To
While one addiction therapist might be right for someone else, they might not mesh well with you. Part of finding the right counselor involves choosing one that works well with your personality. To explain, you need to feel comfortable opening up to your addiction therapist about sensitive topics like childhood trauma and other distressing situations that contributed to the development of your addiction.
Inclusive and Non-Judgmental
Many people suffering from addiction belong to the BIPOC community or the LGBTQ+ community. If you are a person of color or queer, you know how important inclusivity is. You should choose a substance abuse counselor who is non-judgmental and can discuss the ways your race, gender identity, or sexual orientation has impacted your addiction.
Encourages Community
Recovering from addiction often involves creating a community of support that you can rely on during times of need. You should look for a therapist who encourages you to attend support groups, repair relationships with your family, and create connections with others that could lead to support in the long run.
A good way to tell if an addiction counselor encourages community building is by asking them if they conduct family therapy. The best addiction therapists know that family therapy is vital to creating a community of support for their clients.
Open to Multiple Paths to Sobriety
Lastly, recovery is not one-size-fits-all. Everyone has their own path to sobriety and yours might look different from everyone else’s.
For example, you might need medication-assisted treatment to avoid relapse if you are recovering from alcohol or opioid addiction. While some people think MAT is replacing one addiction with another, it’s simply a way of mitigating the risks of relapse and overdose. Your therapist should understand that sobriety looks different for everyone.
Get Connected to an Addiction Counselor in Florida
If you are looking for substance abuse treatment, you should consider hiring an addiction counselor. These therapists can help you recover from the mental and physical aspects of long-term substance abuse. At Archstone Behavioral Health, our addiction counselors are highly experienced, qualified, and inclusive.
Contact us today for more information on why you should work with the addiction counselors at Archstone Behavioral Health.
References:
- The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA): Highlights for the 2023 National Survey on Drug Use and Health
