BTG Fall 2018

The client is the expert Of course, formal education is only part of what goes into making a skilled addiction counselor. In clinical practice, “one thing you learn is that, although you are a counselor, the client is the expert on making the change. You can only guide and help facilitate the change process. Ultimately the client makes the change.” For addiction counselors, it’s not uncommon to encounter clients who don’t want to change, especially early in the treatment process. What happens then? “I continue to work with the client to find out what they do want to change. If they didn’t want to change, they wouldn’t be in treatment. Not all clients are here voluntarily – some are ‘court ordered’ – but they may want to address something – medical, financial, housing, or something else. So you start from there.” Often, the amount of time counselors have to work with clients is limited by insurance guidelines or other factors. Twenty eight days is not a lot of time to address problems that developed over a period of years. “The most important thing is to set each client up with a good aftercare plan to address those issues, and continue to recover, when they are back living in the community.” Eldridge says one thing he appreciates about Bridging the Gap is the holistic approach to serving clients – not only helping them overcome addiction, but providing assistance with other areas of life, such as housing, employment, ID cards, and more. Addiction typically

“We encompass a lot of things in dealing with clients.” - Guy Eldridge

breeds a chaotic lifestyle, so helping clients get back to a stable situation provides a necessary foundation for long-term recovery, he notes, adding, “We encompass a lot of things in dealing with clients.” Eldridge believes his own experience as a recovering addict helps him develop a healing relationship with clients. Having been in their position makes it easier to empathize with clients, and also to get past clients’ defense mechanisms and “understand when people are not being forthcoming with the truth.” While working at Bridging the Gap, Eldridge is also continuing his schooling, finishing post-graduate class work toward earning his LCPC certification. He eventually may open his own practice, do some consulting work and possibly do some teaching at a local college to pass on what he has learned. With the need for effective addiction treatment continuing to grow, “everybody has something to bring to the table.”

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