Everybody needs to understand that addiction is a disease and not a moral failing. I, better than anyone, have learned that the same people who would not hesitate to seek professional help for a physical illness will hesitate before seeking treatment for substance abuse because the first step always means admitting the problem.







Addiction counseling is a challenging but rewarding career. The majority of addiction counselors retain an innate desire to help addicted persons get to the cause of their addiction and overcome it. The best addiction counselors possess a talent for creative problem solving, understand how to ask the right revealing questions, and are able to communicate on a very personal and meaningful level with their clients.
There has been support and assistance for drug addicts for many years now, but it has only been in fairly recent times that support and help for the families of drug addicted persons has been available. Having a drug addicted parent, sibling, or child can cause major stress on other members of a family. Because all of the focus tends to fall on the addicted individual, the needs of affected family members are not always seen or addressed.


