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Addiction Counselling

What is Alcohol Counselling?

Counselling and addiction therapy is often this mysterious process where people go in, lie down on a couch and talk about their childhood until there is some miraculous breakthrough and the right words are said, and they are cured. Which, honestly, may have been the goal of therapy 100 years ago, but the discipline has grown a lot with time, study and most importantly, research into the field. We now know what it takes to help people more effectively and what people need to do to get the most out of rehab therapy and addiction counselling. Here are some tips to help you get the most help you can from treatment.

Be Choosy

Choosing a substance abuse counsellor is like choosing a partner or spouse; you don’t just pick anyone you see on the street. You find the right one for you, and then take the time to get to know each other and begin moving forward. Obviously, you are not marrying your therapist, but you will talk to them about many personal aspects of your life. You will want to have someone you feel comfortable with and you trust. Try to talk with them on the phone first before making that appointment and getting a feel for them. What does your gut say? If you feel like this is a good fit, then go ahead to the next step, but if something seems like this is not a good fit, start looking for someone else.

Ask Questions

It is ok to ask questions about your therapist’s skill, understanding and background with whatever you are dealing with. Get details upfront. Ask about billing and how this will be paid, so there are no surprises when you are in session. If this is someone who has never even heard of your specific issue before, then you should move along. If you cannot afford it, or it would be a stretch for your budget, find someone else. If you try to make it work, you will make a couple of sessions before finances and stress catch up with you, and then you will see that therapist fewer and fewer times until you stop going.

Honesty is the Best Policy

This cannot be said enough: you need to be honest with your alcohol counsellor so they help you. Most likely, they have heard worse that day anyway. Therapists and counsellors are also bound by ethical and legal codes that prevent them from even acknowledging you are a client of theirs, let alone what specific things you say, so they will not be divulging this to others. There would be severe consequences for them if they did. For counselling and therapy for alcohol, a person may be dealing with a tremendous sense of shame and guilt, which often leads to deception or half-truths. Therapists understand this and want to help you achieve addiction recovery. They will not make you feel any worse than you already do about yourself; in fact, they want you to feel better.

They need your help and honesty to help you because they do not know you yet; only you know what is going on in your head and heart. Only you know your history. Only you can help find the root cause of the problems for which you are seeking help. If they do not have the correct or complete information, they may misdiagnose you and provide the wrong suggestions based on that diagnosis.

Imagine it this way, if you went to a counsellor but were too scared to admit to your counsellor that you were anxious and fearful because you were having suicidal thoughts. They would know about the anxiety and work with you on that, not the suicidal thoughts, which were the more important problem. They would still be there, and you would see therapy as a failure. You need to be honest with your therapist about everything going on and troubling you to get the most out of therapy.

Therapy sessions within the confines of a rehabilitation centre will be in a comfortable and secure environment. Issues are communicated in utter confidence. All counsellors are subject to strict professional codes of confidentiality.

Alcohol addiction counselling typically lasts for a week or two following the completion of detoxification. Once patients leave the centre, they receive after-care treatment, normally for 12 months, following completion of rehabilitation. We encourage patients to engage local Alcoholics Anonymous groups upon their return home.

Setting Goals for Addiction Counselling

Make sure you set goals for yourself in therapy. The reason behind this one is simple; how will you know when you have improved without a goal for improvement? Make reasonable ones with your therapist. They will have a general sense of how specific issues are to treat, so let them help guide you with goals and a timeframe.

Most Important Things First

Along with setting goals, select the issues that need to be handled first. Again, listen to your therapist’s advice on this, but you know what is most distressing for you. Every day you have to live with the thoughts and feelings that bring you to a therapist, so which are the most troubling, and which can you tolerate the least? That should be your beginning point for what to take on first. There may be times to treat things concurrently or to go for lesser troubling matters first. This usually happens in cases where people are dealing with addiction. Handling addiction may be about getting them off drugs or alcohol as part of the major goals so they are clear-headed enough to talk about why they started using in the first place.

What counselling for addiction is used to Treat

Drug Addiction

Sex and Love Addiction

Alcohol Addiction

Internet Addiction

Counselling for Gaming Addiction

Gambling addiction

Eating Disorders

Shopping Addiction

How Does Counselling Help in Addiction Recovery?

Drug and alcohol counselling is the umbrella term for a variety of different therapies, so your recovery programme is likely to include a number of these. Your rehab provider will assess your situation and personal circumstances to decide on the best drug counselling techniques. However, all have the same aim; to get to the root of your addictive behaviour and to help you change the negative thoughts and processes that have held you in the grip of addiction for so long.

Along with detoxification, counselling is a vital component of an alcohol rehab programme.

Alcohol addiction counselling takes place once the initial detox programmes conclude.

Both individual and group drug addiction counselling are used to treat a variety of addictions. Individual counselling can help you deal with withdrawal symptoms or get to the cause of your own problems. You will work closely with a counsellor to talk about issues that are personal to you. Counselling will help you realise that talking about things can be therapeutic and help you get better.

This is a regular part of treatment and should be done to give yourself the best chance to succeed. This can be things like talking to someone that is giving you anxiety, keeping a journal, or sometimes it’s simply doing something to pamper yourself. Examining what happened, how it worked, and what didn’t work is a strong part of therapy so that you can figure out the best treatment approaches that work for you and your needs.

Therapy and addiction counselling can be an investment in time and money for recovering addicts, and the outcome is well worth it when you are less stressed and able to deal with life without harmful habits. Considering the investment needed, it is wise to look at it to get the most out of it and have the best chances for success. These tips will put you on the path towards a wonderful therapeutic alliance and healthier life ahead of you.

Detox Plus UK can offer referrals to trained therapists and alcohol abuse counsellors who specialise in addiction treatment and addiction counselling in London. However, we will find an alcohol counsellor near you in your own area for those looking to stay closer to home.

Alcohol Detox
 

Battling alcohol withdrawal can be the hardest thing you ever do. First, you must detox your body of all impurities & undergo safe alcohol detox treatment.

There are ways to go about safe alcohol detox treatment.

In a medical detox unit, you should receive good quality medical advice and psychological support aimed at keeping you dry after completion of the detox. It is often acknowledged to be the first step of recovery. Withdrawals usually begin 6 to 8 hours after intoxication and can last for 48 hours relative to how often and how much a person drinks. Vitamins, lots of fluids, rest and a healthy diet are vital for safe withdrawal, and it is always safer to seek help from a professional. Alcohol detox is the beginning of a fresh start and is often the first step required for health problems related to alcohol use disorders.

What is alcohol detox treatment?

Treatment is a preliminary step towards recovery when a person clears their system of alcohol. It is the body’s way of removing an unwanted substance. When a person suffering from alcoholism stops drinking, they will experience alcohol detox symptoms, which can be uncomfortable, painful and sometimes frightening. Detox periods can be dangerous to do alone and should be monitored by a professional so that variables like diet, fluid intake, rest, and medication is supervised.

When a long-term heavy drinker abruptly stops drinking, they may experience factors including delirium tremens, hallucinations, seizures, other psychotic episodes, and heart complications. Although some people experience relatively mild withdrawal symptoms, disease processes or events that accompany withdrawal can cause significant illness and death.

How alcohol affects your body

According to Healthline, the effects of alcohol on the body are numerous. You can experience:

Behavioural changes

Blackouts

Slurred speech

Cancer

Alcohol poisoning

Heart damage

Liver damage

Fatigue

Dependence

Muscle cramps

Lack of coordination

Numbness

Sexual dysfunction

Infertility

Sadly, this list doesn’t encompass every effect that alcohol abuse has on the body, but it describes some of the dangers of alcoholism.

Unreasonable drinking excites and aggravates the nervous system. If you drink on a daily basis, your body grows dependent on alcohol over time. If this occurs, your central nervous system can no longer readjust easily to the absence of alcohol. If you abruptly stop drinking or significantly decrease the amount you drink, it can cause alcohol detox symptoms.

Safe alcohol withdrawal treatment – What you need to know

The first stage of treatment for alcohol abuse is detox. Simply put, you have to purge it out of your system so you can move on with the recovery process. Withdrawal is not pleasant, so you must be wholly committed to recovery, or you’ll be susceptible to falling back into the grips of alcohol dependency.

How to detox from alcohol

If you seek professional treatment, you will undergo tests that check your mental and physical health, undergo blood work and answer questions about your physical and psychological health as well as your drinking history.

You will then enter the support phase, where you may be offered alcohol withdrawal medication. The clinic’s medical professionals will provide support for you with alcohol detox symptoms and for any issues that come up during the detox treatment process.

Keep in mind that detox from alcohol can vary in length, depending on the level of your consumption. For some people, the treatment process is reasonably quick. Others may go through a much longer and more unpleasant process.

You might be surprised by how fast alcohol detox symptoms can hit you. Here’s a timeline of how long it typically takes to start feeling the effects of the alcohol withdrawal process:

6 -12 hours after

Headaches

Agitation

Anxiety

Shaking

Nausea

Vomiting

12 – 24 hours after

Seizures

Disorientation

Hand tremors

48 hours after

High blood pressure

Seizures

Delirium tremens (rapid onset of confusion)

Insomnia

Excessive sweating

Visual, auditory, and tactile hallucinations

Long-term alcoholics may also suffer from prolonged side effects known as:

Post-Acute Withdrawal Syndrome

(PAWS). PAWS

Excessive amounts of alcohol can affect the brain. It disrupts the connections between the neurons called the synapses, causing short-term memory loss and slurred speech. A person who abuses alcohol on a regular basis will have difficulty speaking and forming coherent sentences. Addicts usually mumble or change the intonation of their voices without reason. This happens while drinking, during alcohol withdrawal or for a few days after a binge-drinking episode.

Developing various health problems

Excessive alcohol consumption can lead to different types of health problems. For example, the person in question might start to have issues maintaining balance while walking. Cognition and logical thought can also be affected. If alcohol is abused for an extended period of time, hypertension might develop. Hypertension is also known as the “silent killer”, and it’s one of the leading causes of chronic illness and death worldwide.

Apart from hypertension, addicts can also have liver problems. The liver is the main organ responsible for filtering toxins such as alcohol. It can do a great job, but at some point, it can get overwhelmed, especially if the addict engages in binge drinking or heavy alcohol consumption. One of the most common liver problems is called alcohol-induced fatty liver disease. From this, the liver can develop cirrhosis, and in the worst cases, liver cancer can develop.

Contact Us:

Detox Plus UK London

71-75 Shelton Street

Covent Garden

London WC2H 9JQ

02072052734