Counseling Cocaine Addiction
Counseling for cocaine addiction is not a simple treatment process due to the many different facets of life that an addiction to cocaine can (and has a tendency to) disrupt. Effective treatment for cocaine addiction will help an individual to stop using cocaine, live a drug free lifestyle and function in life with family, friends, and co-workers. In most cases, counseling for cocaine addiction will be set forth on a long term and continual basis in which the addict attends numerous counseling sessions over the course of time which may ultimately span many years.
Group Counseling for Cocaine Addiction
The initial phase of counseling for cocaine addiction begins during the detoxification stages in which cocaine is effectively removed from the addicts system. A group counselor will work with the addict during the initial stabilization phase of treatment in which the individual is detoxed from addictive drugs and an assessment is completed to determine the individual’s psychosocial stability. The group counselor will work with the addict to establish abstinence from cocaine and to become motivated to participate in ongoing treatment sessions. During this phase of treatment for cocaine addiction, the group counselor will also work with the addict to educate them about cocaine addiction, recovery and the treatment process.
Counseling for cocaine addiction will include 2-5 stabilization visits per week with a group counselor who will monitor cocaine use, cravings and attempted or close calls to use with the addict. Additionally, the group counselor will also provide education and support to the addict that can help them to understand the physical and psychological cravings or other symptoms that they may be experiencing as a result of the cocaine addiction. Withdrawal symptoms are monitored and the potential for cocaine related medical disorders will also be monitored by the counselor.
Group counseling for cocaine addiction takes on two roles during the treatment process. The group counselor acts as both a counselor for the group and also as an interventionist for the group. Interventions that may be conducted on the group by the group counselor during counseling for cocaine addiction may include informing and education the group about cocaine addiction and the recovery process as well as clearing up any questions or concerns that the group may have related to the counseling sessions, helping the group members to understand the psychoeducational concepts that are discussed in the group counseling sessions and they also intervene and attempt to get the group members to relate personally to the material that is discussed during group.
Individual Counseling for Cocaine Addiction
Individual counseling for cocaine addiction will usually focus on psychotherapy. Sessions focus on determining the short and long term goals of the individual as well as relating those goals to the recovery process. The goals are then broken down into groups of cognitive goals, emotional goals and behavioral goals. The individual counselor will also help the addict to focus on the past and the present in order to develop the best possible treatment and recovery approach.
Individual counseling focuses on changing addictive behaviors. In most cases, individual counseling for cocaine addiction will be provided twice per week for the first 12 weeks and then once a week for the next 12 weeks. Following the initial 24 week period, individual counseling for cocaine addiction may drop to a rate of about once per month or even less frequently depending on the level of support required by the addict. For an addict who requires additional support, the individual counselor may require more than 2 sessions per week during the first 12 weeks as needed. This is left up to the discrepancy of the counselor as well as the addict himself.
Individual counseling for cocaine addiction usually lasts about 45 minutes per session. The counselor will help the addict to establish plans or goals during the session and during subsequent sessions the progress of such goals are discussed. Individual counseling sessions take on a balance in which the counselor directs the addict in the proper direction but also lets the addict to be self-directed and to facilitate their own recovery process.