The Relationship between you and your Counselor

The relationship between you and your addiction counselor will be very unique. Your relationship is based on trust and respect and differs greatly from other relationships that both you and your counselor engage in. If you are suffering from addiction you may likely be cautious, especially in your relationship with your counselor. The counselor is typically trained on how to gain your trust and how to be of comfort to you and your needs. Therefore, you are likely to talk to your counselor about things that you would never talk to anyone else about. This builds a connection that is very different from other relationships.
Since you rely heavily on your counselor to listen, your counselor must be in a personal place to be able to be portrayed in a way that helps you. For example, it would hypocritical and not professional for your counselor to attend a session with you if they are hung over. Other things to consider would be your counselor’s physical appearance including the way that they dress and mental stability. You probably do not want to hear about your counselor’s cheating husband.
It is also very important for your counselor to recognize when there may be periods of time that they should seek personal counseling for themselves. For example, if your counselor is having a hard time with their own child who may be abusing drugs then they should maybe talk to someone else about it instead of keeping it in or even worse, talking about it to you.
The most important thing for your counselor to be aware of is the boundaries that they establish. You may have a very different view of the relationship between you and your counselor. For example, please understand that your counselor should not attend self help meetings with you such as AA. Your counselor should help you understand completely how they view your relationship. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the relationship between you and counselor you can always ask them. If you still feel uncomfortable then switching counselors or asking for a second opinion would be an option too.