BobGT

Many of you have written that you talk to an addiction counselor on a regular basis. I'm thinking about doing that.

My main question is how do you find a good counselor? And second, what kind of stuff do you talk about? Thanks.

least

Do you have a substance abuse agency in your area? If so, call them and ask about addiction counseling. If no such agency, call the local mental health agency and ask them if their staff includes any addiction counselors/specialists.

As to what I talk about every week... everything - just everything. My alcoholism affected every part of my life so I talk about whatever is bothering me. I am blessed to have a wonderful counselor and have been seeing her for over three years. It makes a great and positive difference in my life.

DayTrader

I would ask ppl in AA (they're a great source of real ppl in your area to talk to).

I've been to 4 substance abuse counselors / substance abuse therapists / Certified addiction counselors...etc. They had all sorts of diplomas and degrees too. 3 of them were, IMO, in it for the money. They talked about all sorts of neat stuff but only the 4th one I found talked anything about recovery, never drinking again being a realistic possibility, about there being more to "my issues" than just mommy, daddy, and the troubles in my past. ....turns out, she's in recovery herself and has somewhere around 18 years clean and sober "as a result of working the 12 steps of recovery which put her in touch with a God of her understanding who did for her what she could not do for her self.....not as the result of good therapy" (her words, not mine ).

My experience is, they're out there but they're hard to find.

***and this is KEY - don't be afraid to quit going or to fire one of them if things are going sideways. I was afraid to dump the first one and wasted a year with that guy (that was 10 yrs and 2 dui's ago - lol)

Goat

I second that.

I finally found a good counselor after several tries with poor ones.

There seems to be an opinion among many in the psychiatric community that addiction is just a behavior problem and it can be cured.

That opinion is deadly to an alcoholic or an addict, in my opinion, because it feeds the little voice in your head that is trying to tell you there may be a way you can drink/use successfully.

If you find a counselor that understands the disease, and can give you new ways of looking at things and dealing with things, then that's a good person to stick with.

In my own case, I use my counselor to discuss my triggers, and to talk about ways to handle my triggers and stressors rather then allowing myself to be led down the path to alcohol again. Because the sessions are one on one, we can go into more depth than we could in a meeting with a bunch of other alcoholics (note that I do not think a counselor is a good _substitute_ for fellowship with other alcoholics/addicts... rather a counselor is a good _addition_ to fellowship with other alcoholics/addicts).

Plus, you may have other underlying issues to deal with. Depression, bipolar disorder... who knows. Dealing with any such issues you may have will put you on much stronger footing in sobriety.

-Goat