--Original published at Em
I chose option two on addiction counseling styles. Addiction counseling is an interesting topic. Before this post I had not thought much on the topic. I was aware of programs such as alcoholics anonymous but unaware of alternatives. I also was aware of the abstinence program. For example in hard drugs this is almost impossible to simply stop or else this wouldn’t be addiction. In the New Hope article address the differences in counseling styles. New hope does explain the steps to have the patient cognitively understand the addiction. It is a disease. Yet I feel the the process is black and white and very cut and dry. If a person is addicted telling them to stop and never be around it or think about it ever is a lifestyle and neuro-chemical change. They know where and who to get these substances from. They may be friends or family with people who partake in these activities. The AA model does allow for relapses. The harm reduction model gradually encourages addicts to go towards healthier decisions as this process isn’t all at once. When addicts go to prison and then are forced to quit what psychologically changes prisoners to not want to do drugs besides the chemical reason. There is no program but gradually weening along with counseling would enable them to do that. When the removing addict gets out of prison there needs to be knowledge in place. In contrast if a loved one was addicted I think the AA approach would be more appealing as the emotional response would scare me to knowingly allow them to continue substance abuse even if it was in a weening fashion.
New Hope Recovery Center . “Addiction Counseling: Abstinence Versus Harm Reduction.” New Hope Recovery Center, 24 July 2014, Accessed 2 Oct. 2017.