According to the Careers in Psychology website, CMHCs must hold a master’s degree in most states. Earning an M.Ed. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Lamar University can help you get started changing lives for the better. Lamar University offers this program online so that working professionals can continue to earn a living while they invest in their future.
How Do Clinical Mental Health Counselors Help People with Addiction?
According to allpsychologyschools.com, “As a counselor, you’ll listen to your clients describe their problems and what causes them to engage in addictive behavior.” After getting to know the client’s particular situation, the substance abuse counselor will offer advice and teach the client certain methods to combat cravings and avoid situations that may cause relapse. They may also refer them to other programs such as 12-Step meetings.
Addiction counselors may provide treatment in group or individual sessions using varied schools of thought on strategies for recovery. Some counselors may use Motivational Enhancement Therapy or MET. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Association (SAMHSA) describes this strategy as follows: “MET is based on principles of motivational psychology and designed to produce rapid, internally motivated change. Rather than directing an individual through recovery, practitioners make efforts to help to mobilize the person’s own resources and build their own motivation to address a goal, such as reducing alcohol use.” Cognitive behavioral therapy is another widely used strategy, and both are useful in group or individual therapy.
Where Do Addiction Counselors Work?
Addiction counselors can find rewarding careers at inpatient and outpatient treatment facilities. Treatment in these rehabilitation centers often centers on group therapy. According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, “In the hands of a skilled, well-trained group leader “¦ a group can be harnessed and directed to foster healthy attachments, provide positive peer reinforcement, acts as a forum for self-expression, and teach new social skills.”
At present, mental health counselors use five kinds of group therapy:
- Psychoeducational — clients learn the many facets of addiction and substance abuse.
- Skills development — clients learn the skills to avoid relapse.
- Cognitive-behavioral — clients learn about the thought processes that lead to using drugs or alcohol and how to redirect their thinking to something healthier.
- Support groups — clients offer support and hold each other accountable.
- Interpersonal process group psychotherapy — clients explore their pasts to identify the triggers or memories they want to avoid by using drugs and alcohol.
Coordinating Care
Mental health counselors also work as part of a team, often coordinating with physicians, psychologists, social workers and legal professionals. Unfortunately, many people with substance abuse problems also have problems with employment, housing and other social services. For example, a client may have lost custody of their child, and a clinical mental health counselor may be the person to point them in the right direction for legal advice. A mental health counselor can also coordinate care with a psychiatrist to make sure the client gets the medication they need. According to SAMHSA, “”¦ people with a substance use disorder are more likely to have a mental disorder when compared to the general population.”
Why Do People Seek Help for Substance Abuse
People struggling with substance abuse problems seek treatment for many reasons — and at many places. A person with a substance abuse problem might not even be seeking help on their own; it may be the decision of a judge and jury. Counselor-license.com points out that “It can be much more effective to treat addictions as an illness than as a criminal offense. Increasingly, people are being sentenced to treatment in lieu of, or in addition to, jail time.” The rise in this kind of sentencing is increasing the demand for substance abuse counselors. Though many think this is not an effective or appropriate method of rehabilitation, the National Institute on Drug Abuse disagrees: “Most studies suggest that outcomes for those who are legally pressured to enter treatment are as good as or better than outcomes for those who entered treatment without legal pressure.” Counselors who focus on these clients may work at jails or prisons as well as other treatment centers.
Others seek treatment on their own. They might have problems at work, or their families may persuade them to go. Health problems can also motivate a person to enter a substance abuse program. These people also go to inpatient or outpatient treatment programs, depending on the severity of their addictions. Group and individual therapy led by a qualified mental health counselor is huge part of the recovery process no matter why or where the troubled person seeks help.
People interested in helping those with substance abuse problems should consider earning an M.Ed. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. The online master of education program at Lamar University is “designed to examine theories, techniques, and practice of drug and alcohol counseling, sources of help and information in the field, methods of drug and alcohol counseling, assessment and program planning.” Lamar offers the M.Ed. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling program completely online, which means students can complete the degree without taking time away from their jobs. Working online allows people to complete assignments on their own time, from anywhere with an internet connection.
Learn more about the Lamar University online M.Ed. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling program.
Sources:
http://www.counselor-license.com/
http://www.samhsa.gov/treatment
http://careersinpsychology.org/
