Counselor Praises CBT Curriculum
By Dana Malone-White, Regional Clinical Director – Kentucky
Seeing the positive impact BHG can have on front-line staff and patients is my favorite way to recharge and stay motivated for the work ahead. I have a feeling many of you are energized by the same which is why I’m sharing feedback from our Frankfort, KY, treatment center team about the difference our Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) curriculum is making.
I want to thank Naomi (Alix) Burke, Clinical Supervisor, who works with our team there on how to use our CBT curriculum. She is phenomenal at finding opportunities to give staff positive feedback and wanted all of team members to see just how helpful these clinical tools can be. I also want to thank Randall Gilpin, MA, TCDAC, Counselor, for taking the time to write about his experience.
What is Drug Addiction? a compulsive, chronic, physiological, or psychological need for a habit-forming substance, behavior, or activity having harmful physical, psychological, or social effects and typically causing well-defined symptoms (such as anxiety, irritability, tremors, or nausea) upon withdrawal or abstinence, which is the state of being addicted, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.
As a counselor, I always thought of addiction as just dependence on mind-altering illicit substances but that’s just the outer layer of addiction. Yes, it is like an onion with many layers. Why am I talking about these layers? Because for many individuals with substance- related issues, they keep these layers hidden.
As a drug and alcohol Counselor, I find that many patients always want to find ways to divert away from questions with short yes and no answers. They then follow up with short statements like “That is all I have to say” or “Is it really?” Research has proven that many individuals are covering their addictions up with many layers because of core factors. Many individuals with addiction develop defense mechanisms because of physical pain, trauma, injuries, abuse, death of family members and friends, they want to live normal lives and get jobs but cannot unless they hide their addictions somehow someway. They don’t want people to label them with negative connotations so what is the answer? Getting to the core factors means developing trust and understanding with patients. As a new counselor, I was having difficulties finding ways to really get patients to open up about their addictions. I wondered if I was asking the right questions or if it was because I was the new counselor, and the patients didn’t know if they could really trust me because many people in society put labels on addicts. I then realized that I inadvertently do the same thing because I was only looking at the addiction and not the human being with all the fragilities that we all have in life.
The next week, we got a memo that we are to start using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or (CBT) with our patients. I have to be truthful, I was thinking, “Oh great, just more paperwork we have to fill out.” With my next intake patient, in the first session, they filled out the Functional Behavioral Analysis, and it was like a roadmap had been unfolded right in front of my eyes. This worksheet shows the counselor what triggers the patients are exposing themselves to and what the patient’s thoughts and feelings are both physically and emotionally. I then realized that this patient just peeled several layers back in front of my eyes that I can now focus more intently towards.
The behaviors that occur after these thoughts and feelings can now give me the tools to focus on the core factors of this patient’s addiction. Who would have known that anger, sadness, or trauma could be the core factors that cause my patients to use every day?
Lastly, we can talk about the positive or negative consequences from real core factors straight from the patient. We now have a real way to connect with our patients and help make a positive difference. Thank you for helping us reach our patients every day.
Sincerely,
Randall Gilpin MA, TCDAC
Drug and Alcohol Counselor