How Do I Create a Good Relationship With My Counselor?
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, “Within a treatment program, successful clinicians [should] establish a positive, therapeutic relationship with their patients,” which can help individuals stay in treatment for longer periods of time and achieve better recovery outcomes. A counselor can foster the kind of positive relationship that many individuals require in rehab, but there are also ways in which you as the patient can help facilitate this kind of therapeutic connection.
Featured Rehab Center
Understand Their Purpose
It is important to remember always that your counselor is there to help you. This assertion can be necessary to make in the possible instance that they say something you disagree with or do not like. Ask yourself if what they said may actually be true, whether it felt good to hear or not, and if it may have actually helped you to hear it.
Understanding and remembering that your counselor’s job is to help you is essential to creating a good relationship. Then, even if you may not always see eye-to-eye, the connection between the two of you can remain strong and essentially positive. However, if you start to feel over time that the individual is being decidedly unhelpful to you, there is always the possibility of switching to another counselor.
Be Open and Honest
You need to be open and honest with your counselor in order to establish a positive relationship.
You can’t have a strong relationship with anyone in your life if you are not open and honest about the things you feel and need. This goes doubly for a therapeutic relationship, which is based on your ability to discuss your thoughts and feelings with your counselor and their ability to help you navigate and control them. You need to be communicative and sincere when you speak to your counselor if you are ever going to trust them enough to have a positive relationship.
Be Willing to Change
Many people are uncomfortable with therapy, refuse to make the changes in their life suggested by the counselor, withhold during sessions, and then wonder why they aren’t getting any better. You need to be willing to make changes to your life in order to create the kind of relationship that will foster recovery and sobriety.
Some individuals are very resistant to the therapy at first, which makes it even harder for the counselor to create a good relationship. Others may be willing to create a friendship but do not want to take on any difficult aspects of recovery. It is important to realize that attempting to recover from drug addiction will not be easy and that you will need to make changes to your life that facilitate a drug- and alcohol-free lifestyle. When your counselor suggests changes you can make, like exercises you can try or advice you can follow, be open to it, and this will help create a better relationship between the two of you.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, “Counseling and other behavioral therapies are the most commonly used forms of treatment,” and having a good relationship with your counselor will usually make the treatment more effective. If you have questions about counseling or want to find a rehab center in your area, call 888-646-0635Who Answers?.
You’ve been in drug rehab before, you’ve tried to do what it takes to heal and overcome addiction and yet you have relapsed once, twice or even many times—but why? Why is it that the drug rehab that you have tried in the past hasn’t worked and what is it going to take to get….
Many people enter the drug rehab treatment unprepared for the roller coaster ride that is addiction recovery. In actuality, addiction’s hold on the mind has long-term effects that make relapse an ongoing risk for months and even years into the recovery process. Relapse triggers exist within the day-to-day events and activities that make up a….
There are a number of different types of therapy offered at drug rehab centers. One of the most common types of therapy provided at drug rehab centers is individual psychotherapy. Individual Psychotherapy involves the patient meeting with a mental health professional such as a psychologist or psychiatrist on a regularly scheduled basis to talk about….
According to recent government surveys, 2 out of 3 high school students who drink alcohol take part in binge drinking, a form of drinking in which large amounts of alcohol are drank for a prolonged period of time resulting in inebriation. Studies further show that more than 90% of all alcohol that is consumed by….
Addicts are not the only ones affected by drug or alcohol addiction. The families of those who suffer from addiction often suffer just as much or even more than the addict themselves. For the families of those addicted to drugs or alcohol feelings of hopelessness, tiredness, frustration and fear can be overwhelming, especially to the….
Heroin addiction is a complex illness that often requires a combination of medical care, support and medication in treatment. Patients in heroin rehab often receive medications to help curb cravings, stop withdrawal symptoms or treat other medical issues while they are in recovery. Some of the most common medications in heroin rehab include: Methadone Buprenorphine….
There are a lot of things that Hollywood gets wrong. This is particularly true when it comes to drug addiction and rehab. Unfortunately, with actors, actresses, and other famous people do nothing to help. By flitting in and out of rehab as if they are changing clothes, all they do is perpetuate the myths. The….
Advances in technology and the world wide web have changed the way that many receive addiction treatment and rehabilitation. Online addiction rehabilitation programs are proving to be an innovative and powerful means of treatment for those suffering from addiction. These programs are literally changing the face of addiction treatment by providing those in recovery with….
Addiction is a lifelong illness. Many people go through recovery and seem fine but when they leave the program, they quickly relapse. This leaves them right back where they started. Up until recently, there were very few options for help after rehab. Rehab only teaches people the skills they need to live without the addiction,….
Alcohol abuse is a common activity that people engage in at least once in their life. Approximately 90% of the American adult population has tried alcohol at least one time. One of the biggest problems with alcohol is that people usually begin to abuse the substance in social situations, but that can easily escalate to people….
Calls to numbers on a specific treatment center listing will be routed to that treatment center. Calls to any general helpline will be answered or returned by one of the treatment providers listed, each of which is a paid advertiser that includes Right Path Rehab.
By calling the helpline you agree to the terms of use. We do not receive any commission or fee that is dependent upon which treatment provider a caller chooses. There is no obligation to enter treatment.