Social skills training for the substance abusers: Alcoholics and drug addict

The rate at which the prevalence of drug use is escalating is worrying that we can no longer keep quiet about it. The most valuable gift we can ever have is that of good health. If this virtue is under threat because of substance abuse, the all of us must pool together in finding lasting solutions. As an individual you can seek for social skills training for the substance abusers to make a difference in their lives by impacting knowledge of rehabilitation and treatment of this unhealthy condition. I know that this may not be very easy on many people since addiction is something many would not want to associate with. But the most important thing is that we lend a helping hand to drug addicts and all alcoholics. Doctor Dalal Akoury MD and founder of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center are acknowledging that one common trait of many drug addicts and alcoholics are problems interacting with others in social situations. This is known as a lack of social skills. Sometimes this difficulty is what leads an individual into addiction in the first place. And some people have been addicted to substances for such a long time that it has affected their social development. Therefore if anyone is lucking social skills, then that calls for social skills training.

When opting for social skills training for an alcoholic or drug addict then these are some of the things that you must be ready to take the following into consideration: you must be ready to learn how to interact with friends, family members and even colleagues at work. You must also know how to interact in social situations especially when drugs and alcohol will be served or present and finally you must take a firm stand in declining any offer to use drug and alcohol in other words, you must be well armed with the refusal skills. That is to say when you say NO then it must remain that way irrespective of the prevailing circumstances. Doctor Akoury says that social skills training are closely associated with behavior therapy. Behavior therapy attempts to remove unwanted behaviors and replace them with desirable behaviors. It must be noted that for desired result, social skills training may not be very effective on its own but when combined with other cognitive behavioral therapy treatments, then its effectiveness can be realized. From the professional findings, it has been established that social skills training can significantly decrease the relapse rate for alcoholics and drug addicts.

Social skills training for the substance abusers: Interpersonal relationships and substance abuse

Social skills training can teach drug and alcohol addicts how to relate with coworkers, friends, and family in a variety of social settings. Clients will learn such skills as:

• Listening as well as talking; that is, two-way communication
• Empathy
• Understanding unspoken clues such as body language
• Assertiveness, and how not to be taken advantage of

Social skills training for the substance abusers: Social settings in addiction recovery

After addiction recovery is complete, drug and alcohol addicts still face a lifetime of social settings where drugs and alcohol may be present. Social skills training can teach clients better ways to deal with these situations. Different skills that can be taught are eye contact and small talk. Some people drink or take drugs to overcome their awkwardness in social settings. Learning the art of small talk can help a recovering addict get past this awkwardness without relapsing.

The recovering addict can choose to avoid social situations where there will be alcohol or drugs. However, this is not always possible. In that case, the recovering addict can also learn skills to avoid drinking in social situations where alcohol or drugs are present. These are called refusal skills. Refusal skills training are often conducted by role-playing in group therapy. This way, patients in recovery can get experience in saying no, which makes it easier to remember when the patient is in the social situation. The following are some of the refusal skills that may be applicable to drug addict or alcoholic:

• No phrases to use
• Strategies to deal with peer pressure
• Practice saying no at home, before the social situation
• Ask friends and family to help with saying no by supporting your resolve to make your No to be No and your Yes to be Yes.

Social skills training for the substance abusers: Where to Find Social Skills Training

When you have made up your mind to get the social skills trainings, it is important to appreciate that social skills training in many cases will take place in group therapy. When you are finally there, in many instances one or two therapists will work with a group of patients in recovery to teach social skills. Clients will be taken through practices of drink refusal skills by role playing with each other. They will also practice small talk and drink refusal skills. Besides that clients in recovery can also learn these social skills in individual therapy. This is less common, as the group model is important for role playing. Finally in the explanation given above in response to the question “where to find social skills training I want to urge that do all it takes to be on top of everything that is threatening to bring your life down. This may be quite a challenge to many and therefore I want to introduce to you the best way forward that will be simpler for you. Your struggle will be no more if only you can schedule for an appointment with doctor Dalal Akoury today for a much more lasting solution. It will interest you to know that on seeing the difficulties people were going through, Dr. Akoury made a decision to create a medical center whose main objective is to transform each individual’s life through increasing awareness about health and wellness and by empowering individuals to find their own inner healing power. Dr. Akoury’s practice focuses on personalized medicine through healthy lifestyle choices that deal with primary prevention and underlying causes instead of patching up symptoms. So stop going for symptom patching and come to the place of solutions right now.

Social skills training for the substance abusers: Alcoholics and drug addict