A To Z On Alcohol Counseling

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A To Z On Alcohol Counseling
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Synopsis

1. Effective Alcohol Counseling Practices
2. Major Benefits of Alcohol Counseling
3. Addiction Counseling for Alcoholics
4. The Relation between Alcohol Addiction
   Counselling and Mental Health Reform
5. Why Alcohol Counseling Should Be A Mainstream
   Practice
6. 4 Alcohol Counseling Benefits Everyone Should
   Know
7. 4 Surprising Facts Regarding Alcohol Counselling
8. Alcohol Counselling Tips and Best Practices for
   the Amateur Counsellor

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Effective Alcohol Counseling Practices

• Have a well constructed counseling plan
• Different people have different counseling needs,
  all of which need to be considered when
  approaching the task. However, there are some
  counseling course stages which need to stay
  consistent throughout. This is why it is
  important to have a well-constructed counseling
  plan beforehand, so that when the counseling
  process actually starts, the counselor will
  already have a plan of action, and will be able
  to track the progress of the alcoholic.
• Be very confident with the initial approach
• The very first experience that the alcoholic has
  with the counselor is perhaps the most important.
  This is why the initial approach needs to exude
  confidence in both the counselors abilities, as
  well as the addicts capability for recovery. The
  combination of both will instill confidence in
  the addict, regarding the prospect of their
  recovery. This is a very important asset, since
  it will encourage them to let go of the addiction
  sooner, rather than later.
• Get to the reason behind the addiction
• Often when a person starts to resort to a
  substance to bring them a measure of comfort,
  there is an underlying reason behind this. It
  could be a plethora of domestic issues, or
  lagging performance at work. In any case, it is
  important for the counselor to get to the root
  cause of the issue, before they get to the
  recovery phase of the counseling plan.
• Work alongside, not over the alcoholic
• Perhaps the most important factor of all is that
  the counselors not suggest, during the counseling
  session, that they are in any way superior to the
  alcoholics. This is extremely detrimental to the
  confidence of the addict, since they do not need
  a patronizing and overbearing voice rather a
  gentle and accompanying one, which they can
  search for beside them, not above them.

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Major Benefits of Alcohol Counseling

• Assists in Healing Attachment Issues
• In majority of the cases, individual had gone
  through insecurity and trust issues when their
  where kids due to issues like unstable homes,
  absent parents, abuse and neglect. As adults,
  alcohol or other addictions offers these
  individuals as a feeling of dependable
  attachment. Counseling helps individuals in
  breaking these strong attachments they have with
  alcohol.
• Prevents Unhealthy Stressors Responses
• Alcohol counseling includes cognitive behavioral
  therapy which assists individuals in identifying
  their self-destructive and misguided reactions
  towards certain situations, thoughts and
  individuals which motivates them to use alcohol.
  Counseling encourages these individuals to
  discover healthier and new ways to respond to
  those stressors in order to modify the addictive
  behaviors.
• Enhances Relationships
• Family therapy and meetings is an essential
  element of successful recovery of the individual
  and decreases the risk of relapse.

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Major Benefits of Alcohol Counseling

• Even when family is not the reason for the
  addiction, it still has a major impact on all
  family members. Counseling helps the individual
  and their family members to openly address the
  problem, ask questions, offer support and enhance
  the overall communication. Openly interacting
  helps the entire family to deal with this issue
  and start the healing process.
• Encourages Mutual Sharing Support
• Through group therapy, the individual can
  participate in building a mutual sharing and
  support system with others going through the same
  problem. Sharing common fears, frustrations, and
  experiences in a controlled and safe environment
  enhances the recovery process. It helps the
  individual in realizing that they are not alone
  and others are also struggling to get better.
• Avoids Dual Diagnosis
• Majority of alcohol addiction to be linked with
  some mental health issues like bipolar disorder,
  depression or anxiety. If this mental issue is
  not treated then a sustainable and successful
  recovery plan cant be achieved. Counseling helps
  in identifying this dual diagnosis and offers the
  right treatment plan needed to tackle the
  addiction as well as the mental disorder.

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Addiction Counseling for Alcoholics

• The counselor could talk to the persons family
  to motivate him/her to change. Counseling
  requires evaluating the types and severity of
  problems faced by the drinker as well as problems
  caused to significant others. Since there are
  several therapeutic approaches, the counselor
  needs to determine the approach that works best
  for the victim in avoiding alcohol and preventing
  relapse. The earlier the help is sought, the
  better.
• Counselor needs to motivate the drinker to stop
  alcohol consumption, make him acknowledge the
  cues in the environment, learn to adopt healthy
  coping mechanisms to maintain well-being and seek
  help from support groups.
• Cognitive behavioral, family and group therapies
  are effective in helping dependents abstain from
  alcohol. Family members should be taught how to
  offer support to the drinker and understand how
  it works, what is causing it and what can be done
  to stop it. The person may not be able to resolve
  his alcohol issue alone. Counseling, family
  support and environmental support all play a
  combined role in thwarting alcohol consumption.
  The counselor needs to make sure the family and
  environment are not reinforcing alcohol
  consumption.

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The Relation between Alcohol Addiction
Counselling and Mental Health Reform

• While the two may be for different purposes, the
  fact of the matter is that they are both
  interconnected, especially if the sufferer of the
  addiction is also a sufferer of mental illness.
  This is intensified if the person suffers from an
  addiction because they have a mental illness. In
  this case, the counselor has to tackle the root
  cause of the issue first, before they can get to
  the damaging act that results from the issue.
• The counselor has to first determine why the
  person is taking up alcohol consumption. Here,
  the counselor, preferably a professional, also
  has to determine which type of mental illness is
  driving the person to seek refuge with alcohol.
• It could be that the alcoholic has chronic
  depression, which they counter with alcohol. The
  individual may be suffering from crippling
  anxiety, which could very easily turn them
  towards alcohol consumption, since alcohol is
  known to remove all inhibitions. And, most
  disturbingly, the alcoholism could be due to
  Antisocial Personality Disorder, in which a
  person could resort to alcoholism to escape the
  feelings of aggression and frustration they
  experience.

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Why Alcohol Counseling Should Be A Mainstream
Practice

1. Alcohol is a lot more addictive than most
   substances, which is why people get very easily
   addicted to it, and start abusing it. This
   particular capability is reason enough why we
   need to spread more addiction-related awareness.
2. Alcoholic drinks are readily available, which
   increases the chances of excessive consumption.
   One can find beer and some stronger alcoholic
   drinks in pharmacies in the US. This should be
   talked about more, and addicts should be made to
   ignore the regular availability.
3. Counseling is the only way to save an alcoholic,
   since there is no medicine that helps with it.
   Putting a person on medication to help with
   alcohol addiction would be like taking them away
   from one addictive substance and putting them on
   to another, which is why counseling should be
   made more common everywhere.
4. A lot of addiction cases start from early
   education centers, which is why these
   institutions should have counseling for
   alcoholism as well.
5. Alcoholism ruins a persons life, and severely
   impacts the lives of people around them, as well
   as those close to them. This often goes without
   intervention, as the person is always assumed to
   be under stress and whatnot. The truth is that
   individuals such as these need counseling and not
   immature opinions, if society is to improve.

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4 Alcohol Counseling Benefits Everyone Should Know

• Counseling helps align life goals
• When you are addicted to a substance, it can be
  difficult to think too much about the future and
  life goals. Counseling, however, snaps a person
  out of this state, and forces them to consider
  their own future, which helps them align their
  goals in life.
• Talking about addiction makes it easier to tackle
• Admittance is the very first step towards
  improvement this is a fact that every addict
  needs to know, and subscribe to. When we lay out
  the problems which plague us, we encourage the
  solutions to those problems, and come up with
  reasons why we should get rid of them as well.
  Alcohol addiction is not talked about that much
  in the addicts immediate surroundings.
• Counseling could save a life
• One of the major detrimental factors regarding
  alcohol abuse is the number of lives it claims.
  By counseling someone, you could very well save a
  life. Similarly, if you, as an alcoholic, opt for
  counseling, you may be taking a positive step
  towards saving your own life, which is a win-win
  scenario.
• Effective counseling makes both counselor and
  counselee better people
• The fact that you helped prevent a disaster in
  the making combined with the sense of
  achievement that comes with counseling, makes for
  the development of a more whole, and deeper
  personality. Similarly, if you are an alcoholic
  who takes counseling, you will come out of the
  addiction a better, more spiritual and all-round
  more positive person.

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4 Surprising Facts Regarding Alcohol Counselling

• Alcohol takes the place of a person in an
  addicts life
• The chemical changes which alcohol induces in the
  brain, which are somewhat similar to the changes
  one experiences during euphoric moments with
  friends. The person doing the counselling should
  take into account that their approach should the
  same as if they were asking the addict to let go
  of a damaging friendship.
• Alcohol counselling has more chances of failing
  than drug-addiction counselling
• Since alcohol is more readily available, as
  compared to the mainstream drugs, and even
  medicinal opiates, the addict has greater chances
  of relapsing quickly. All they have to do is
  visit the supermarket to have the cravings set in
  once again.

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4 Surprising Facts Regarding Alcohol Counselling

• Counselling for alcohol abuse requires a
  multi-platform approach
• This is the age of social media, and the person
  doing the counselling needs to take advantage of
  all the platforms where they can approach the
  addict. If the latter is not on any such
  platforms, they should be encouraged to be so,
  since increased social exposure allows the addict
  to have more outlets for their emotions and
  thoughts, which prevents them from relapsing into
  alcohol abuse.
• Listening skills are multiple times more
  important than guidance
• While counselling consists mostly of thorough
  guidance, a counsellor needs to be a good
  listener as well. This is a quality that is often
  overlooked, especially when it is not a
  professional counsellor helping the addict. If
  one is counselling a non-clinically diagnosed
  addict, the person needs to have excellent
  listening skills, which make the addict feel like
  they have someone who can listen to them in their
  hour of need.

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Alcohol Counselling Tips and Best Practices for
the Amateur Counsellor

• Put the persons addiction into perspective
• The very first step towards a cure is a
  perspective. When someone is addicted to alcohol,
  or any substance, they do not see their
  addiction, or the world even, from anyones
  perspective but their own. Worse still, is the
  fact that their perspective if often skewed, due
  to the addling effects of the addiction. The best
  thing to do here is to make the person see the
  addiction and the negative effect it is having,
  from your own perspective, in order to enlighten
  them to the damage that the alcoholism is doing
  to their life.
• Be confident while approaching them
• The person who is addicted to alcohol is in this
  state due to a lack of conviction, which leads
  them to seek alternate means which provide them
  with some. When approaching them for counseling
  purposes, be sure to have a certain degree of
  conviction and confidence in your approach. Just
  enough to reflect positively on them. If you are
  confident about helping them, then they too will
  be confident about seeking help from you.
• Find out the history behind the alcohol abuse
• There is always a reason behind a person picking
  up a habit, be it material, or related to
  addiction, such as the consumption of alcohol.
  When counseling an alcohol addict, try to get to
  the root cause of their addiction, and target
  that cause during the next counseling meeting. It
  may be that the person may have some
  misconception in their mind regarding a certain
  event of remorse related to a happening in their
  life. It is your job, as a counselor, to help
  them get over the source of their sadness.

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The End

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