What can you expect from drug and alcohol counselling?
Empathy
Professional therapists always and understand you in your situation so that they can give you a complete and thorough programme that will work for you. With this in mind all professional therapists are excellent when it comes to empathy.
Understanding
All good therapists will understand your situation. Many good therapists have had personal experience with drug and alcohol abuse problems and have overcome them and further to that they have many years working with people with drug and alcohol use problems. With this in mind you will find a good therapist will be understanding and very supportive.
Support
With good therapy, support is available when you need it. You will have access to your therapist during your sessions and outside of them if need be. It is our job to make sure that you feel supported as you tackle and overcome the challenges you face. You will never feel alone. Your therapist will provide you with the kind of support you would expect from a friend, only this support will be based on evidence that works.
Skills and Strategies
It’s all well and good to provide you with support and understanding and empathy. However while you might feel better for it and feel more supported, understanding and empathy won’t change you. What will change you and your situation are insights, understanding, skills and strategies. Your therapist will teach you the skills and strategies that give you the control you need to eliminate illegal drug use and to control your drinking.
Results
All good professional therapists use evidence based programmes. This way you can be confident that they will get the results that you’re looking for. If you apply what you learn in real life situations and you persist you will get control. Obviously, your therapist can’t do the work for you but if you have the courage and the motivation and the determination to apply what you learn you can expect to get the results you want in keeping with the effort you make.