Counseling
Counseling is a professional therapeutic relationship to address the individual needs of the client.
Above all counseling meets the client where they are at in their process.
Some general goals of counseling in the context of an alcohol problem is to provide education specific to the client’s situation about addiction, clarify the patterns in the relationship with the problem drinker or addict, identify what behaviors have worked (or not worked) when, brainstorm additional strategies, develop a plan, support the client in carrying it out, as well as identifying and working through areas that block the client carrying out the plan.
Some of what alcohol counseling may include:
Individual counseling for the family member or friend of the problem drinker or addict
- Your needs: Above all counseling addresses the needs of the client.
- Emotions: Managing emotions that may get in the way of communicating with the problem drinker or addict.
- Explore: Fears, options and how best to respond.
- Education: Add to what the client knows about alcohol, addictions, treatment, the healing process, and contributing factors to staying sober.
- Plan: Coming up with a plan that addresses your specific situation.
- Past history: Addressing past history that contributes to the problem
Individual counseling for the teen drinker
- Your needs: Above all counseling addresses the needs of the client.
- Emotions: Identify and raise awareness of emotions around drinking.
- Explore: What needs are being met by the drinking, other options to meet those needs.
- Education: Add to what the client knows about alcohol, addictions, treatment, the healing process, and contributing factors to staying sober.
- Plan: Coming up with a plan that addresses your specific situation.
- Past history: Addressing past history that contributes to the problem.
Individual counseling for the problem drinker
- Your needs: Above all counseling addresses the needs of the client.
- Emotions: Identify and raise awareness of emotions around drinking.
- Explore: What needs are being met by the drinking, other options to meet those needs.
- Education: Add to what the client knows about alcohol, addictions, treatment, the healing process, and contributing factors to staying sober.
- Plan: Coming up with a plan that addresses your specific situation.
- Past history: Addressing past history that contributes to the problem.
Couples counseling for the problem drinker and spouse, boyfriend, or girlfriend
- Couple needs: Addressing the needs of the couple relationship
- Patterns: Clarifying negative feedback loops and what to do about them.
- Emotions: How your emotions affect you and your family.
- Education: Add to what you already know about the effect alcohol has on the family, and what you can do about it.
- Plan: Whether it’s a plan about cutting down, sobriety, going into treatment, or after treatment planning, it’s negotiated by the couple and customized to your needs.
- Past history: Addressing past history that contributes to the problem
Family counseling for families with a problem drinker member
- Family needs: Addressing the needs of the family.
- Patterns: Clarifying negative feedback loops and what to do about them.
- Emotions: How your emotions affect you and your family.
- Education: Add to what you already know about the effect alcohol has on the family, and what you can do about it.
- Plan: Whether it’s a plan about cutting down, sobriety, going into treatment, or after treatment planning, it’s negotiated by the couple and customized to your needs.
- Past history: Addressing past history that contributes to the problem
Counseling is beneficial in solving individual problems as well as relational problems.
