Addiction Rehab Thousand Islands All About Addiction Counseling | Page 13

3. Building a therapeutic alliance takes time and work
• Do not share everything you have to say the moment you step into the addiction counselor’ s office. Take your lead from them and slowly work on all the contributing issues one by one. Work with the counselor to build a strong and safe relationship. While that might take more time, it will get you better results.
4. You can only get better for you
• If you want to get better, then you have to want it for yourself. Even though you might be doing to make life better for your family or friends, it is not going to work. When you choose that as a reason, you are actually looking for a quick fix. It won’ t last long and neither would the motivation for recovery.
5. Abstinence isn’ t the only thing that matters
• If your eyes remain on abstinence, then you might be setting up yourself to fail! Don’ t think about major improvements but try to take things one day at a time. Your goal should be to focus on taking smaller steps. In this case, short-term thinking will help you not hamper you. It is better to work with the counselor to dig deeper and find the underlying cause for your addiction. When you discover that, progress will be certain. Don’ t look for quick fixes; look for long lasting recovery.

5“ Secrets” Addiction Counselors Want You to Know

3. Building a therapeutic alliance takes time and work

• Do not share everything you have to say the moment you step into the addiction counselor’ s office. Take your lead from them and slowly work on all the contributing issues one by one. Work with the counselor to build a strong and safe relationship. While that might take more time, it will get you better results.

4. You can only get better for you

• If you want to get better, then you have to want it for yourself. Even though you might be doing to make life better for your family or friends, it is not going to work. When you choose that as a reason, you are actually looking for a quick fix. It won’ t last long and neither would the motivation for recovery.

5. Abstinence isn’ t the only thing that matters

• If your eyes remain on abstinence, then you might be setting up yourself to fail! Don’ t think about major improvements but try to take things one day at a time. Your goal should be to focus on taking smaller steps. In this case, short-term thinking will help you not hamper you. It is better to work with the counselor to dig deeper and find the underlying cause for your addiction. When you discover that, progress will be certain. Don’ t look for quick fixes; look for long lasting recovery.