Counselling for Alcohol Addiction: What to Expect
Alcohol addiction comes with a variety of physical and psychological symptoms, all of which need to be properly addressed before you can successfully recover.
Alcohol counselling is one of the best ways for you to reach that point, making it a key tool in alcohol treatment plans.
Drug or alcohol problems can affect every aspect of your life. If you are addicted to alcohol long term, drinking may lead to mental health problems. Unless you seek help, you can expect to become fully dependent on alcohol if you keep it up.
Here at Help4Addiction, we can direct you to a rehab treatment centre for your alcohol abuse/ alcohol misuse and addiction problems.
We consider ourselves to be one of the first ports of call to those suffering from alcohol addiction.
As such, know that you can call us to secure help to fight back. For more information, contact us on 0203 955 7700, or visit our online consultation page and one of our team will call you back.
What is a Counselling for Alcohol Service?
An alcohol counsellor helps alcoholics to give up drink or keep away from drugs. Counsellors might run recovery groups or support groups, offering a way for you to work through your psychological health issues and allowing you to talk freely about your alcohol addiction.
Counselling services are often offered in residential rehab clinics – but can be offered during day clinics too. You may receive counselling as well as other therapies such as CBT/ cognitive behavioural therapy or interpersonal therapy.
Some other types of counselling or therapy for alcohol addiction include dialectical behavioural therapy/ DBT, online therapy, group therapy, and even holistic therapies such as arts therapy.
It is common to find an alcohol counsellor running a group therapy session, or in positions where generic therapists work better than specialists.
In the case of alcohol counselling, they are provided to give you a physical point of contact that can answer any individual questions you have about your treatment plan.
Adversely, some alcohol rehab services in the UK don’t realise that counselling and therapy for drug and alcohol dependence are actually two different types of treatment. Both are needed, however, for the patient to successfully recover from alcoholism.
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Counselling as an Addiction Treatment
Whether you are addicted to drugs or alcohol, you may find that talking through your problems with a counsellor can help.
They give you the type of support that your peers cannot, bridging the gap between therapists and doctors. Alcoholism and drug addiction treatments can benefit from this type of support because it is less formal than other medical professionals might be.
There are other reasons why people favour this type of support. From a medical standpoint, however, counselling for alcoholism or as part of drug addiction treatment fills the gap in care between medical professionals and peer support.
Those that find it difficult to talk to a doctor or therapist are more comfortable in a less formal setting, as is found in the counsellor’s office.
Some reasons to get counselling for alcoholism include:
Identification of triggers – during rehabilitation and through group and solo time with our alcohol counsellor, you should be able to identify all the things that make you drink alcohol in the first place.
Management of withdrawal symptoms – you may wish to see someone as part of your psychological recovery or seek ongoing sessions as part of rehab aftercare.
Sessions can be taken online – if you have to, counselling for alcoholism can be done from your own home.
The counsellor/therapist may wish to talk to your family – family sessions are often available through your rehabilitation centre.
Offer Perspective – an alcohol specialist therapist can teach you how to reality-check your situation. Do you have to drink or is it just a craving? Do you have to take drugs or is it just how you feel at that moment? This is an important step in recovery treatments.
It can be tailored to the individual – there is no ‘one cure fits all’ with your alcohol therapist. They will listen to your questions, help you take back control, and even enlighten you about common treatments for your condition.
Extra support – having someone to talk to during your recovery may help people to recover sooner.
Alcohol addiction treatment helps you manage your withdrawal symptoms effectively, but no treatment is complete without getting to the root cause of your addiction issues.
When you seek help for alcohol use disorder that means therapy so you understand what makes you drink. Without therapy, your alcohol problem will likely manifest itself again when you come out of rehab.
Where to Find Alcohol Counselling?
If you are suffering from a psychological addiction problem, you can seek step-by-step help by giving Help4Addiction a call.
We have all the information you need to take the first step towards a successful life. When you choose our rehab locator, you know there will always be people in your corner, proving support that you just don’t receive anywhere else.
To find out more information about therapy or counselling sessions as a part of your alcoholism treatment, call 0203 955 7700 today.
Someone from our team will search for the best rehabilitation clinic near you, so you can change your alcohol habits and stop drinking once and for all. Alcoholism is about more than getting over the physical symptoms. It’s about taking back control of your mental health, too.
What Happens During Alcohol Counselling?
Treating alcoholism can be tough. During your treatment, you may find that things become worse before they improve – at least on an emotional level. You and your counsellor will talk through all of the things that make you want to drink. Once identified, these can be managed, avoided, or treated accordingly.
Alcohol Addiction treatment is a very individual thing so it is hard to say exactly what will happen during your stop drinking talks.
We do know that it starts with you and the alcohol specialist therapist in a room together, or in a group together, with you being encouraged to share your story. You may find this part difficult and you may find you don’t like this treatment, but however you find it, it will be focused on your alcohol addiction.
Once you have shared your story, your alcohol addiction can be treated with enough time and help.
You and your therapist will search through your memories for the specific day you realised you were an addict, then go farther back, to the specific day you first took a drink. Even when you have identified this place and time in your memory, you still may not be able to see what it is that made you turn to drink.
That is why discussing it with an unbiased expert can help you spot many of the reasons you want to drink. This experience is uncomfortable and you will probably feel that you don’t like it, but this is why people say you need to get worse before you can improve.
Is Group Therapy a Form of Alcohol Counselling?
Group therapy is a way of getting treatment for alcohol addiction, in a way that includes peer support. Many of our life experiences are learned from other people.
Listening to them share their stories can make your alcohol problem seem relatable. Sharing information this way can make you feel less isolated, thereby alleviating some of the mental health issues associated with tackling a drinking problem.
Group therapy will help you combat alcohol addiction by sharing your drinking problem with people who have also been through it.
Sharing with those who have much the same problem will give you the confidence to know you are not alone in your struggle. It makes alcohol addiction seem manageable, and not like some sort of untamable beast.
Ultimately, group therapy is a form of alcohol counselling that can make one feel less alone while we quit drinking.
Addiction is tough to quit and life can get on top of you. With the information you gain from other people’s experiences, you can make a faster recuperation.
The journey of a thousand steps starts with a single one… so if you want to quit drinking, choose when that one will be and stick to it. Your whole life is waiting for you. Don’t let it pass you by without living it first.
Where to get Help for Alcohol Therapy and Counselling?
You can get all the aid you need in selecting the right rehab centre and therapist for you, right here on the Help4Addiction pages. Alternatively, call 0203 955 7700 right now to speak with one of our advisors.
FAQS About Counselling for Alcohol Addiction
Does alcohol addiction cause mental health problems?
Can you go to rehab for alcoholism during Covid-19?
Can counsellors help me to quit drinking?
Counsellors are trained to listen to what you have to say. Alcohol counsellors are especially trained in this area. They help you quit drinking by letting you work through your problems.
Are therapists and counsellors the same thing?
Does addiction treatment always include counselling?
I have mental health problems, should I get addiction treatment?
Can you seek counselling for mental health problems if you don’t have an addiction?
I have a drug addiction and an alcohol addiction, how do I get counselling?
About Author
Nicholas Conn
Nicholas Conn is a leading industry addiction expert who runs the UK’s largest addiction advisory service and is regularly featured in the national press, radio and TV. He is the founder and CEO of a drug and alcohol rehab center called Help4addiction, which was founded in 2015. He has been clean himself since 2009 and has worked in the Addiction and Rehab Industry for over a decade. Nick is dedicated to helping others recover and get treatment for drug and alcohol abuse. In 2013, he released a book ‘The Thin White’ line that is available on Amazon.
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