The journey to addiction recovery is no easy feat, it involves both mental and physical liberation. This is why addicts need professional psychological help during the recovery process. 

A counsellor’s role goes far beyond simply listening, teaching, and offering advice, they help patients recognize problematic behaviours, guide them into recovery, and empower them to take action and make necessary changes.

They create a therapeutic alliance with their patients by creating a trusting atmosphere and developing strong and real bond with them. That way addiction patients can be vulnerable enough to express themselves without fear of judgement.

They not only communicate but listen they use a combination of endearment, knowledge and understanding to provide rational explanations for their predicament. They also encourage patient recovery by ensuring addiction patients stick with rehab and treatment.

By showing non-possessive warmth, friendliness, genuineness, respect affirmation and empathy, patients will record significant progress.

During recovery, relapses are very common and can prove detrimental to the patient’s recovery progress. Counsellors therefore help patients develop a relapse prevention and recovery plan.

More so, family can be greatly impacted if they have an addict in recovery as this requires substantial amount of work, social considerations, guidance and motivation.

Counsellors therefore provide education on substance abuse, the recovery progress, family support groups, and what loved ones can do to support their loved one.

They also refer patients to outside support groups. Groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous can help recovery addicts connect with like-minded peers, help them understand their addiction better without judgements and reinforce that they’re not alone during the recovery process.

The role of a recovery counsellor cannot be overemphasized. It is a key component in ensuring that the patient is fully recovered.

The 12-step recovery model is widely accepted addiction treatment recovery programme; however, it has its principles in spirituality. 

The basic premise of this model is that people can help one another achieve and maintain abstinence from substances of abuse, but that healing cannot come about unless people with addictions surrender to a higher power.

Although the 12 Steps are based on spiritual principles, many nonreligious people have found the program immensely helpful.  However, some persons are sceptical about the strong religious under tones.

There are many 12-step programs for various addictions and compulsive behaviours, ranging from Cocaine Anonymous, Alcohol Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous to Debtors Anonymous all using the same 12-Step methods.

Here are the 12 Steps as defined by Alcoholics Anonymous:

1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol–that our lives had become unmanageable.

2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.

4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

5. Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.

6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.

7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.

8. Made a list of persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.

9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.

11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.

12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

This recovery program can be modified to accommodate any kind of addiction.