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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 9 of 9. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by justyourlaugh on April 14, 2005, at 12:17:43
my pdoc wants me to go to an addiction councillor. i said no..i was afraid of the unknown..also no wanting to admitt to stranger that i have a problem..
what is an addition councillor?
thankyou for any insight.
jyl
Posted by partlycloudy on April 14, 2005, at 15:49:33
In reply to roth; or anyone..., posted by justyourlaugh on April 14, 2005, at 12:17:43
> my pdoc wants me to go to an addiction councillor. i said no..i was afraid of the unknown..also no wanting to admitt to stranger that i have a problem..
> what is an addition councillor?
> thankyou for any insight.
> jylwhen you find one can you ask if he or she has a cousin in Florida? Thanks, sweetie.
Sorry, I'm being flippant.I also wonder why an addiction counsellor might be advised versus going to an AA meeting or its equivalent.
Posted by justyourlaugh on April 14, 2005, at 15:51:15
In reply to Re: roth; or anyone... » justyourlaugh, posted by partlycloudy on April 14, 2005, at 15:49:33
pardon my phonix..counsellor*
Posted by partlycloudy on April 14, 2005, at 16:00:47
In reply to Re: roth; or anyone... » partlycloudy, posted by justyourlaugh on April 14, 2005, at 15:51:15
I might have anglicised the word there. I wouldn't know the difference, except I think one is what a lawyer is called when they aren't being called by words with 4 letters.
Posted by jeffrey d roth, md on April 14, 2005, at 21:15:56
In reply to roth; or anyone..., posted by justyourlaugh on April 14, 2005, at 12:17:43
> my pdoc wants me to go to an addiction councillor. i said no..i was afraid of the unknown..also no wanting to admitt to stranger that i have a problem..
> what is an addition councillor?
> thankyou for any insight.
> jylDear Justyourlaugh,
A good addictions counselor is someone who can recognize and work with a person who suffers from an addiction, and sometimes this counselor will also understand how other compulsive behaviors relate to addictions. Your fear is a good indication that something positive is happening. If the addictions counselor is on the ball, you will be supported in feeling your fear and talking about whatever difficulty you have trusting this strange person. Be careful of someone who pushes you or seems impatient with where you are at at the moment. And you may need to interview more than one counselor to find someone who will work well with you.
Best of luck on your journey!
Jeffrey D. Roth, MD
Posted by justyourlaugh on April 15, 2005, at 9:20:43
In reply to Re: roth; or anyone..., posted by jeffrey d roth, md on April 14, 2005, at 21:15:56
Posted by AuntieMel on April 15, 2005, at 11:55:47
In reply to roth; or anyone..., posted by justyourlaugh on April 14, 2005, at 12:17:43
This is what I know about Texas, and I'm pretty sure it's true in Florida - my cousin used to be an addiction counselor there:
An addiction counselor is licensed for that only - it doesn't require the psychology license first, but it does require a couple of years of training. What they do is teach methods for staying sober - including looking at why you drink. They do *not* go into things a 'regular' therapist would.
Counseling is usually done in groups - and usually lasts a finite time.
I went through 5 weeks of it in the evenings. The program I went to was through a psych hospital, but on a different property. Participation in the discussion was voluntary whiched worked great for me as I wasn't capable of much input the first week or two. Just listening to the other people helped - they were all in the same boat I was, and all with about the same amount of dry time.
It used a variety of sources - discussions of a daily meditation from a book, movies followed by discussions, etc. One interesting technique was writing a 'farewell' letter to your addiction. There was a lot of talk about AA, but it wasn't AA - we discussed the 12 steps, but we didn't do them.
And since it wasn't one-on-one I wasn't afraid. I don't usually do groups, but here I was allowed to just listen if I wanted to.
Posted by partlycloudy on April 15, 2005, at 14:53:04
In reply to addiction counselor - jyl and pc, posted by AuntieMel on April 15, 2005, at 11:55:47
That actually sounds like what would work for me. I might see if I can get a recommendation for one here.
It certainly couldn't hurt me at this point.
thanks, Mel.
Posted by AuntieMel on April 15, 2005, at 16:02:26
In reply to Re: addiction counselor - jyl and pc » AuntieMel, posted by partlycloudy on April 15, 2005, at 14:53:04
I found this site about certification:
http://www.flcertificationboard.org/certs/addictions.html
without giving you the links and disclosing your location I also found some in your area.
google on addiction counseling <your state> <your city?
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