What Makes a Substance Abuse Counsellor Stay

Addiction to alcohol or drugs poses a serious problem worldwide.  This addiction can be seen both in young or old, male or female and is continuously increasing.  Relatively, the need for substance abuse counsellor is also increasing.

The counselor, as an individual should have a heart to help people.  This is what will keep him continue working as a counselor.  The pay may be good but there will be times when a counselor may just feel he needs to shift to another career.  The difficulty of work depends on the type of person he is counseling.  Sometimes, it takes more than experience and certificates or degrees to want to stay in the job.

The counselor can work in alcohol and drug treatment centers, half-way homes and hospitals, homeless shelters, prisons, social welfare agencies and state/community departments. 

The services of a substance abuse counsellor may be obtained in two ways.  There is an option between an individual and group counseling.  In any case, both methods of counseling can be beneficial to the counselor and the patient/s.  The major benefit of an individual therapy session is the privacy issue.  Since this is one-on-one, the patient can be more honest.  Trust and confidence is easier to give to the counselor.  This helps a counselor understand the needs of the patient.  The program which a counselor will make to help the patient is personalized and he can expect a more positive response from the patient especially in attending the therapy sessions.

The group counseling also has advantages for the patients and the counselor.  Here, the patients share his story to the group.  In a sense, this makes it easier for the counselor because he can share the listening experience with others.  Patients with the same experience can be helped all at the same time by developing an appropriate program for them.  It also helps the counselor when he sees that patients are recovering faster because of the support it gets from the group.

The compensation for this type of counseling is rewarding to encourage more people to engage in this profession.  But what is really rewarding for the counselor is to see his patient completely recovered from the effects of substance abuse.  Staying away from alcohol or drugs is a struggle for the patient.  It hurts the counselor every time he sees that his patient goes back to his old ways. 

A counselor must master how to control and compartmentalize his emotions.  He may be sad for feeling that his patient is not recovering soon.  He may feel anger for hearing what pushed his patients in getting into the addiction.  And he may grieve for the loss of a patient.  All these emotions may cause him to burn out.   Despite the fact that he was trained and experienced to handle these, a substance abuse counsellor should also have a strong character.  His desire to help others who are in crisis should be accompanied with a great deal of patience, compassion and love for others.