The essential ingredient to recovery from addiction is a good assessment with a qualified Recovery in Reality therapist.  From this assessment a true diagnosis of the severity of the illness can be made but without this assessment the correct treatment may not be delivered.  Addiction can be diagnosed with some certainty using criteria used for many years by the American Psychiatric Association or the World Health Organisation and if dependency (addiction) is the outcome of the assessment there is seldom an alternative to residential treatment.  For some this is a daunting step to take and preparatory work may be needed in order to convince the patient for the need for treatment, to dispel some of the myths and misunderstandings of treatment or to ‘hold’ a patient in preparation for treatment at a later date particularly relevant where treatment is being sought away from the country of residence and an immediate admission is not possible. Pre-treatment counselling is a short term option in these circumstances.

At the back of the minds of all addiction treatment professionals is that if left untreated, addiction being a progressive and chronic illness, can lead to a premature death or serious health complications.  The aim of pre-treatment counselling is, therefore, not only preparing and motivating the client for treatment but also helping to reduce the risk of complications resulting from further abuse and even greater consequences. You often hear in treatment patients who say they haven’t lost their job, crashed their car or caused harm to their families.  We always reply “yet”! Harm limitation or controlled drinking or using is seldom successful for those with a clearly defined dependency but in the lead up to abstinance treatment it is an important aspect. Often this may be accompanied by medical examination, psychiatric evaluation and blood tests. All essential ingredients to ensure that any delay in entering residential treatment is safe.

Our web page on One to One Counselling describes in some detail the aims of counselling in general and they are little different to the aims of pre treatment counselling.  Basically we will work with you to look at changes that need to be made to your basic thinking and behaving in your world with the aim of reducing the dangerous behaviour of drinking or using, minimising the consequences, reducing the harm and motivating you to addressing the issue.  The short term aim would be to minimise the harm of the continued use of drink, drugs or behaviours and the long term aim to motivate you to enter treatment. Often this may involve family members who have been on the receiving end of the inevitable consequences of chemical abuse.  They too need support and can also be a useful tool to help break down the ever present denial – our psychological defence mechanism against emotional pain.

One to One counselling is no substitute for group based therapy for the treatment of addictions, but as an additional tool it can greatly contribute  to a final successful outcome.