Motivation in Addiction Treatment

One of the hardest parts for counselors working in the addiction treatment field is helping clients sustain motivation to continue in treatment. Motivation in addiction treatment has to eventually come from within, but in the beginning, it’s very difficult for the client to resist the mental obsession with their drug of choice. Even if the client claims to desire recovery, the desire for the drug doesn’t leave very quickly.

Addiction treatment is a slow, arduous process, and many clients struggle with day to day commitments required to make treatment successful. The challenge for addiction treatment professionals is to constantly provide positive motivation in the face of resistance. Burn out in the addiction field is a risk, because professionals are working with a clientele that can seem hopeless and ungrateful– they resist, they relapse, they deny, they lie, they minimize, on and on. Yet, recovery is possible and does happen.

It takes someone dedicated to the addiction treatment field who understands the nature of physical addiction and the psychological aspects of addiction that make the first part of recovery so difficult. The addiction professional has to look past the personality to the person. The personality has been twisted by years of addictive behavior, addictive thinking and all the consequences that go along with addiction. The “person” is buried under the addiction twisted “personality”. The task is to reach the person, through all the barriers.

Some new therapists will take the resistance personally, but this is a mistake. The challenge for the therapist is to compassionately and objectively speak to the person and offer recovery. There are certain daily techniques the client in recovery can practice to get past dwindling motivation. Recovery is basically a daily commitment. One way to keep focused and motivated is to keep a daily record of negative thoughts, then look at these thoughts to see if they fit reality — turn the negative around and see how a positive perspective looks and feels. It helps to start the day with a positive reflection and there are many daily reflections books for all types of beliefs. Many clients find it helpful to start the day with quiet meditation, then stop periodically during the day to check their attitude and emotions. Calling someone who understands addiction and recovery and is supportive is very helpful.

Whatever works, a person who gets into a daily routine to keep motivation fresh usually recovers.