In 1992, a group of researchers studied nearly 500 cocaine addicts in four Northeastern cities. The addicts were enrolled in four different treatment programs offering various counseling, group and cognitive therapies. The program that stood out was one that offered individual drug counseling. Participants in that program reduced their cocaine use more and did so more rapidly than participants in other programs, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The counseling program developed for that study was used as the basis for a manual on how to break the notoriously stubborn cycle of cocaine addiction. In general, the goal of these counselors is threefold: help patients become aware of their addiction, motivate change and direct treatment.
Awareness of Addiction
Researchers have found the best approach to drug counseling is often based upon the "disease" model of addiction, and counselors are trained to help patients admit they "suffer" from the disease of chemical addiction. Hand-in-hand with this approach, counselors point out signs and symptoms of addiction and help patients recognize the urges to use drugs and how to channel these urges into something positive.
Motivate Change
One key to making progress against addiction is motivating a patient to change, and a drug counselor does that through many techniques, including some that can be pretty tough. For instance, counselors may monitor patients for drug and alcohol use by requiring urinalysis and breath tests. Then, when lapses in abstinence occur, the counselor must hold the patient accountable and discourage further use.
In the process, the counselors help the patients recognize the situations that trigger drug use. They also help patients recognize that drug abuse is an ineffective way to deal with problems and help them develop constructive ways to work out their problems.
Create Structure
Many counseling programs strongly encourage patients to participate in a 12-step program as a basis for treatment. These programs include Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous. Through this and other methods, counselors help patients change destructive attitudes and actions that may lead to further drug abuse. And they impress upon patients that recovery is a lifelong process. This counseling is a tough but important job. "Counselors who treat people with substance abuse disorder do life-changing work on a daily basis, amid staff shortages, high turnover, low salaries and scant program funding,'' according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
