One of the wonderful aspects of the drug rehab and recovery industry is that many of the very best counselors were once addicts and remain in recovery to this day.
Recovering addicts can offer a degree of empathy and understanding that is not only unmatched in those who have never experienced addiction but can also be very important in the counselor-client relationship. After all, addiction counseling is primarily about trust and when a counselor and a client have a two-way trusting relationship counseling becomes that much more effective.
Addiction counselors who remain in recovery must of course separate themselves from their former addiction creating boundaries that cannot be blurred. One of the most difficult aspects of counselors as a recovering addict is the tendency to impose techniques that worked with them on a client that needs their own customized treatment plan.
Ultimately, with all the challenges of recovery after substance abuse and addiction, becoming an addiction counselor is a wonderful way to give back to the community while also pursuing a growing and often fulfilling career path.
Through our sister company, The Academy for Addiction Professionals, we encourage all of our alumni to consider working in the addiction industry.
Becoming an addiction counselor is not an easy process. It requires over a year of education through the Academy and also requires significant work experience depending on the certification being pursued. It is a means to an end, however and that end is often a higher paying career in an industry that needs well trained addiction counselors throughout the nation.
Feel free to browse through the Academy for Addiction Professionals website at which point you can contact them to see if a certification in addiction counseling is something that fits in your life’s plan.
Recovery is hard, but it is also rewarding. Continuing education and giving back to the addiction community is just one of the many worthwhile options for those who are looking to regain a sense of normalcy and fulfillment in their lives. We of course wish you the best of luck in any endeavor that you choose to pursue now and in the future.
