There are several different types of counselors in rehab treatment facilities. Each counselor may use different kinds of therapies to help people with addictions reach their sobriety goals. Your counselor might choose one or more different therapy treatments during your sessions. Addiction treatment therapies include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Behavioral Therapy

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or CBT

• Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy or DBT

• Motivational Interviewing

• Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy or EMDR

• Multidimensional Family Therapy

Behavioral Therapy Counselors

Behavioral therapists focus on helping their clients reach the goals they have in their present life. They will work to explore a person’s unhealthy and undesirable behaviors and put a plan into place to eliminate them. A behavioral therapist counselor will use particular interventions to help the client address unwanted behaviors including the following:

• Assertiveness training

• Psychoeducation and planning

• Functional analysis

• Relaxation training

• Exposure

Cognitive – Behavioral Therapy Counselors

Cognitive-behavioral therapy or CBT uses the same basic foundation as behavioral therapies. However, it gives equal importance to feelings and thoughts. Counselors in this type of therapy understand the negative thinking patterns that can bring on unwanted behaviors and feelings. Counselors of CBT often use some of the following strategies:

• Teach client’s how to get a better understanding of their behavior

• Teach how a person can use problem-solving skills to cope when faced with difficult issues

• Teach clients to have a better sense of confidence in their own abilities

• Teach people how to recognize the thinking methods that can contribute to their addiction problem

REBT Counselors

Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy or REBT has many similarities to CBT. It was formed along the same time as Cognitive-Behavioral therapy. REBT puts less emphasis on behaviors and more on the views of a client. In this type of therapy, counselors focus on the beliefs of an individual. Most clients have flawed, unrealistic beliefs as the source of their psychological issues. Some common irrational beliefs include the following:

• The people in my life MUST treat me fairly and love me.

• I MUST have everything I want all the time.

• I MUST always perform perfectly.

• I MUST stay away from things which are hard.

To help clients with these types of faulty beliefs, counselors use the ABC model of therapy. This system works by teaching the client it is not the situation creating your consequences, it’s the belief that creates the consequences.

DBT Counselors

Dialectical behavioral therapy or DBT is another therapeutic style based treatment. It is based on the same concepts of CBT. It is typically used to treat people with borderline personality disorder and chronic self-injurious behaviors. However, research shows DBT is effective in treating other mental health issues as well including the following:

• Eating disorders

• Mood disorders like depression and bipolar disorder

• Anxiety-related disorders

• Substance use disorders

• Posttraumatic stress disorder

DBT counselors believe mental health issues stem from a combination of invalidating environments and emotional vulnerability. Clients of DBT receive acceptance, validation, and encouragement so they can move forward in a more positive manner.

Person-Centered Therapy Counselors

Person-Centered therapy counselors believe all people have good inside of them, it is just finding a way to bring it out. It is also the belief in this type of therapy, people are more than able to resolve their own problems when given the following:

• Acceptance

• A supportive environment

• Understanding from the therapist

• Unconditional positive regard

In person-centered therapy, the counselor takes on a more passive role than in other forms of behavioral therapy. Most of the work toward success is done by the client.

Motivational Interviewing Counselors

Motivational interviewing is a modern, specialized type of person-centered therapy. It was developed to help those with addictions. Counselors of this type of therapy focus on helping clients find their own desire and drive in order to make appropriate choices. This process is done by using the following:

• Evocation

• Autonomy

• Collaboration

Motivational interviewing can be useful in a number of settings including the following:

• Individual sessions

• Initial intakes and assessments

• Mental health, substance use, gambling, obesity, and other addiction-related treatments

EMDR Counselors

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing or EMDR counselors are just one of the different types of counselors in rehab. This type of therapy was designed to help people with posttraumatic stress disorder. This type of treatment is based on a phased progression by reprocessing information from the trauma. The phases of treatment include the following actions:

• Providing relaxation and calming skills

• Assessing the symptoms

• Installation of new beliefs

• Identifying targets to reprocess

• Desensitization to reprocess the negative images and beliefs

Multidimensional Family Therapy (MDFT) Counselors

Multidimensional family therapy or MDFT is commonly used for adolescents and young adults who have addictions. Counselors in this type of therapy recognize all the influences which lead up to a client’s substance use including the following:

• Family

• Peers

• Self

• Community

• Educational instructors

Once the counselor and client figure out these triggers, they set forth a way to address and modify them. This can only be done by working on each one individually, which is exactly what is done in this type of therapy setting.

These are some of the different types of counselors in rehab. If you need rehab treatment help, counseling may be one of the treatments that help you the most.