Addiction Counseling Competencies

Addiction Counseling Activities

Introduction

To begin with, it is essential that the core meanings of both Addiction and Addiction counseling are explained before progressing with the rest of the main discussion. Addiction is defined as a persistent deterioration of the brain along with changes in the social and behavioral patterns, all because of a continuous alcohol consumption.

While Addiction counseling relates to the application of certain competencies by the counselor in order to help the addicted patient come out of his misery of substance abuse and be able to enjoy a good, normal and a healthy life. These competencies employed by the counselor includes main practice facets such as the clinical evaluation, planning of the treatment of the patient, individual and family counseling, documentation, the client's family counseling and community education about the substance abuse predicament (TAP 21, 2006).

This paper will aim to highlight ten of the many competencies that are most effective in addiction counseling, followed by a discussion about any development plans, which may be of importance in order to acquire these competencies followed, by a discussion about the areas, which are of no relevance to the chosen area of interest. This is further followed by a discussion about which treatment modalities best suit the competencies included in the TAP 21 (2006).

Discussion

The Ten most effective TAP 21 Competencies

The ten of the chosen TAP 21 (2006) competencies that are most important in affective addiction counseling are as following

Competency 1: states a varying understanding of the various theories and models related to addiction and the many problems associated with substance abuse. A reason for selecting this competency has been that it highlights the various theoretical frameworks, which is necessary for the knowledge of the counselor. In addition, access to extra literature related to the subject may be considered more authentic compared to personally derived opinions in order to help them achieve correct diagnosis.

Competency 2: this comprises of a detailed analysis and understanding about the social, cultural and economic context of the substance abuse addict as well as the knowledge of these in general. The reason for choosing this competency was mainly due to its relevance to the cultural, economic, political and social pre-context about the drug addiction.

Competency 5: this describes the many practices, philosophies, outcomes and policies of the commonly accepted models of treatment relevant to substance abuse addiction recovery.

Competency 6: this consists of the importance and the pivotal role that ...