Psychological theories are the foundation upon which counseling is based. A counselor needs to know the theories so that she may pick the appropriate theory to use in conjunction with the client. Different clients present with different problems and so the therapy needs to be tailor-made. That being said, there are basic counseling tenets that must be upheld such as unconditional positive regard. In the case of substance abuse counseling, the counselor also needs to get a full history of the client's drug abuse.
Substance abuse counselors utilize therapy to help clients overcome dependence on drugs. In order to do so, a counselor needs to have an understanding of basic techniques used in therapy. A course in therapeutic techniques covers appropriate body language, how to speak to the client, how to respond, how to direct the therapy session and how to appropriately confront the client.
In order to treat a client, one has to have knowledge of his issue. In the case of substance abusers, counselors need to know what the substance does to the client's body. A psychopharmacology course covers the different classifications of psychotropic substances, how addicting the substances are, physiological effects of using the drug and physiological effects of withdrawal from the drug.
Counselors hold a lot of power in the therapeutic relationship and so it is important that the power not be abused. An ethics course covers the laws associated with the profession as well as ethical standards that are upheld by the counseling community, such as do no harm. Sometimes ethical standards do not align with the law. Counselors learn that what is ethical may not always be legal. This might include refusing to release patient records to authorities if the information is confidential.
HIV and AIDS are grave concerns worldwide but greater still within the community of substance abusers. Many substance abusers share hypodermic needles, a leading cause of HIV infection, so counselors need to know how to counsel clients with HIV or AIDS. Counselors also need to know the ethics regarding HIV/AIDS. That could include deciding when to notify authorities about a client's HIV/AIDS status if client is intentionally doing harm by exposing others to infection.
Substance abuse is often a symptom of a deeper issue. These issues will often come from past traumatic experiences. According to Child Help, a national non-profit organization committed to helping victims of child abuse and neglect, nearly two thirds of people who have undergone substance abuse treatment have reported being abused as a child. For this reason, counselors need to have an understanding of how a person changes throughout her lifespan and how events may change her.
Much substance abuse counseling is done in a group setting. Group dynamics and therapeutic techniques are different from those of individual sessions, so a counselor must learn how to effectively screen clients for groups, facilitate a group, stages of group development and group-dynamic theories.