4 Core Functions Of A Substance Abuse Counselor

HS 43 Term Paper

4 Core functions of a Substance Abuse Counselor

By

Roslyn Smith

Introduction

This paper will discuss the following 4 Core Functions of a Counselor: Case Management, Client Education, Crisis Intervention, Referral and their primary purposes.

Discussion

Case Management

According to IC & RC, Case Management is defined as, “activities intended to bring services, agencies, resources, or people together within a planned framework of action toward the achievement of established goals. It may involve liaison activities and collateral contacts” (Herdman, John W., 6th Edition). Case management is a concerted effort of various professionals in the human social services network that assess’, plans, implements, coordinates,

Client education is also a process by which clients are educated as to the course that alters health risks and behaviors associated with alcohol and other drug use and abuse primarily by abstinence but in some cases with medication to improve client health status. “Client education provides culturally relevant formal and informal education programs that raise awareness and support substance abuse prevention and the recovery process” TAP 21, competency 99 (www.samhsa.gov). Clients and family members are often unaware of the initial root cause (s) of the health impairment that led to or became the issue (s) (beyond presenting situation) of the impairment. Educating the client in a variety of forms is an essential part of the healing process and will aid in the overall wellness of the client. Some forms of client education are addressed in a class or group setting but can be significantly addressed in a one on one setting with a counselor however; the advantage of peer on peer feedback, or interaction is lost. The styles of learning whether auditory, visual, or kinesthetic vary from client to client. Designing an educational program should entail the consideration of the range of problems in the population and the differences in learning abilities. Client

Effective crisis intervention must follow ethical principles which ensure that client is not placed in further harm also that the decisions and opinions of the client are respected throughout the process and the intervention upholds a rights-based approach. This involves good listening communication skills, observing, understanding, genuineness, respect, acceptance, non-judgment and sensitivity demonstrating empathy, among other support provided by counselor. A number of specific strategies can be used to promote effective listening during crisis intervention. These include using open-ended questions - “what” or “how” questions. They are used to encourage sharing of information from a client about their feelings, thoughts and behaviors, and are particularly useful when exploring problems during a crisis. Closed-ended questions usually begin with action words such as "do", "does", "can", "have", "had", "will", "are", "is" and "was". These questions can be used to gather specific information or to understand the client 's willingness to commit to a particular action. Using close-ended questions that seek specific details and are designed to encourage the client to share information about behaviors (such as the specific actions or behavioral coping strategies used by