Q: What kinds of problems can addiction counselors help patients resolve?
A: Any kind of addiction, whether it be purely psychological, physical, or a combination of the two. A list of common examples are: alcohol abuse, drug addiction, food/overeating problems, gambling, and even sex addictions.
Q: Do addiction counselors offer one on one sessions or group therapy?
A: Some addiction counselors do offer one on one sessions, others only handle group treatment, but many use both in order to achieve maximum affect with their limited time.
Q: Are group sessions less intensive and/or less valuable than receiving one on one addiction counseling?
A: Because counseling is a very qualitative experience it is not possible to definitively answer this question without delving deep into issues and statistics, but there are arguments for both styles of addiction counseling. Proponents of group sessions tend to suggest that sharing experiences and listening to others with similar problems helps patients identify their own issues more clearly. On the other hand, one gets more personal attention by their addiction counselor if they see them one on one.
Q: How does one know if they even have an addiction?
A: The general definition of an addict is someone who has become abnormally tolerant and even dependent on a psychological or physical stimuli that is not common in the general population. That definition is certainly subject to a degree of interpretation, but a general guideline would be that those seeking help because they feel that they have an addiction which is causing them difficulties should certainly seek help from an addiction counselor.
Q: What kind of education does an addiction counselor need to have?
A: There are different licensing requirements in different areas, but in many regions an associate degree in addiction counseling is enough to qualify for proper credentials. There is a strong correlation between the education of an addiction counselor and their success rate. It is also worth noting that there is also a much more direct relationship between the education of a given addiction counselor and their expected salary and therefore the price they will probably ask for their services.
Q: Is seeing an addiction counselor expensive?
A: That depends on the addiction counselor and one’s definition of expensive. There are some addiction counselors that offer their services for free in clinics as part of community outreach programs, especially in financially distressed areas, but on the whole one should expect to pay for an addiction counselor. The cost could be fairly inexpensive on a per session basis, or part of a package of treatments that runs a predefined period of time. That being said, everything from free to well over $100,000 a month are all possible fees associated with seeing an addiction counselor. The true question is what is the cost of failing to see an addiction counselor when one truly needs it.
Q: Are addiction counselors bound by a doctor-patient oath of confidentiality?
A: In most cases yes, but not all addiction counselors are qualified psychologists. Furthermore, there are conditions when confidentiality must be broken in accordance with law.
|
