COUNSELING

Individual Counseling

All patients are assigned a primary counselor who is responsible for all case management responsibilities for the patient. Care is taken to assign the patient to the counselor who is best qualified to meet his/her individual needs. Individual counseling is the primary methodology of service delivery. Consistent with CARF requirements, Patient Centered Therapy is the predominant counseling methodology. Research suggest this methodology is best suited for a Medication Assisted Treatment setting and our experience shows an enhanced degree of patient involvement when Patient Centered Therapy is utilized, thus increasing patient ownership of the treatment process and increased levels of personal accountability. Individual counseling sessions also utilize additional Cognitive Behavioral techniques when indicated.

Patient progress/lack of progress is addressed in our weekly patient care monitoring meetings plus our weekly counseling staff training meetings. These formats allow a closer examination of the patient and the development of specific approaches and interventions. Patients who consistently fail to meet minimal treatment expectations will be referred for a multi-disciplinary staffing to formulate more intense treatment strategies.

Choices of Louisiana utilizes ongoing counselor training as a means to assure all counseling staff are informed on current treatment methodologies and best practices as applicable to Medication Assisted Treatment. This training format is also utilized to examine specific patient situations with the intention of preparing individualized treatment approaches. This process serves as a means to review prior recommendations to determine intervention effectiveness. This training mechanism is facilitated by one of Choices of Louisiana’s Certified Clinical Supervisors or an approved LPC supervisor.

Access to counseling should be an integral part of methadone maintenance treatment. Patients will have increased success in Methadone Maintenance Therapy when they receive appropriate counseling. It is important that patients have input both into where and what counseling services they receive. It is expected that where physicians are unable to provide counseling services directly, they would be familiar with the resources that are available in their community.

Family Counseling

Incorporates the patients’ families into the treatment and recovery process. The focus is to nurture, develop, and begin to repair those relationships that have been affected by the addiction.

Dual Diagnosis

Focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of patients who are affected by both a mental disorder or psychiatric issue and a drug or alcohol problem. These co-occurring issues must be recognized and treated to help facilitate a successful recovery.

Reality Therapy

Choices of Louisiana, Inc. will use Reality Therapy as a primary modality of therapy. Other cognitive/behavior therapy methodologies will also be administered with the goal being the shifting of control of the client from the addictive substance to the client himself. Methadone will be utilized as a pharmacological aid to help stabilize and detox those clients with an opiate addiction. Community resources such as legal aide and vocational rehabilitation will be referred as needed. Additionally, clients will be referred to Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Cocaine Anonymous, and public health centers.
 

Counseling can be structured around the following areas:

• Securing basic necessities such as housing, food and clothing
• Legal issues
• Life skills
• Coping with stress
• Identification and treatment of concurrent mental illness
• Issues of abuse — physical, sexual, emotional
• Parenting and family counseling
• Education about harm reduction
• Stopping drug use and preventing relapse
• Knowledgeable of MMT and abused substances (i.e. street names, effects, and drug interactions)