What Is An Addiction Worker’s Role In Rehabilitation?
December 2nd, 2016 / By triOS College
There are stories of people who have successfully overcome addiction to alcohol and/or drugs on their own. While inspiring, the unfortunate reality is that most of us require the assistance of a professional to successfully achieve such a difficult goal. Addiction workers help to coordinate services and treatment for those in need, advocating for services that these individuals might not be able to access on their own. They also provide much needed support on a personal level. The successful combination of all of these job duties can be key in helping someone get their life back on track.
Addiction workers provide help and recovery pathways to people suffering from drug addictions, eating disorders, shopping addictions, or substance abuse.
Advocating for Clients
Depending upon the community, there may be a large number of clients waiting to access addiction treatment services. Not all of these individuals may require the same degree of care; where necessary, workers must effectively communicate the need for prompt treatment to the person’s case manager.
Addiction workers, and the case managers they work with, stay up to date so that they know the community, the services available, and the people responsible for running these programs. This allows them to request beneficial placement for their client on waiting lists. That can make a very positive difference in an addict’s journey down the road to recovery.
Presentations to Clients
Many clients are in great distress because of their condition and some have had bad experiences dealing with the system. An effective addiction worker knows how to get through to their clients by using the approach that best suits their demeanor and current situation. This allows workers to eventually get through any barriers the individual has erected, either intentionally or not.
Some addiction workers are recovered addicts themselves. Their memory of what did and did not work for them shapes the words and manner they use when helping their own clients. That degree of empathy is not always crucial, but can make a significant difference.
Handling the Administrative Aspect
Most people think that addiction workers spend all of their time interviewing clients or visiting them “in the field.” However, there is also an administrative side to this role that is quite important. The important details from meetings require documentation, along with referrals, observations of progress or regression, specific incidents from the individual’s past useful in judging the sort of treatment and resources that will best aid them, etc.
Without all of these details carefully organized and easily accessible to the necessary personnel, a client may not receive the treatment they need. It is even possible that they will fall through the cracks and have the system fail them completely.
Let’s Get Started
If you feel ready to tackle the challenges of this role, triOS College’s Addiction Worker program provides students with an excellent knowledge base. Over the course of 47 weeks (39 in class and an eight week internship), participants acquire the theoretical and practical knowledge required for employment in this vocation. These include intake, assessment, motivational interviewing, treatment, group facilitation skills, and entry-level skill development in one-to-one counselling. Successful graduates also have the opportunity to take the Canadian Addiction Counselors Certification Federation (CACCF) certification exam.
Contact triOS today for more information and the course start date at your local campus. Check out our Addiction Worker program.
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