Assertiveness Training in Addiction
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Assertiveness training is recommended for all sorts of
people with all different life skill levels. But, assertiveness
training is particularly useful for the recovering addiction.
Most people who are just starting their journey down the
recovery path from addiction struggle with various levels
of denial and have a difficult time claiming accountability
for their actions.
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Many drug and alcohol rehab centers,
however will offer assertiveness training to those in recovery as
one technique that will help reduce stress and help the addict achieve
more control over their otherwise out-of-control lives. Most addicts
are low on the assertiveness scale when it comes to dealing with
family, friends, coworkers, acquaintances and the public at large.
According to a survey in Counselor Magazine, those who had undergone
recovery through a drug and alcohol rehab center were asked what
treatment the center offered benefited them most. Out of all of
the different treatment methods used, assertiveness training was
named the one that was the most beneficial.
Now, assertiveness training may at times be dependent upon other
treatment methods so that the addict can receive full benefit of
the training. For instance, if someone in recovery for substance
abuse isn't in touch with their feelings, they will have a hard
time asserting their own needs based on their feelings. Treatment
aimed at getting the addict in touch with his or her own feelings
may be required first in order for assertiveness training to be
fully effective later.
Assertiveness training involves the addict being honest and acknowledging
their own feelings to themselves first. Once the addict is clear
about what they are feeling, then they can take action to communicate
to others based upon their own clarity of feeling. Enablers and
others may not be used to this new assertiveness from the addict
and may react to try to restore the status quo.
Through assertiveness training, the addict will be prepared to
deal with the reactions of others to this new assertiveness. This
new assertiveness may be threatening to others involved in close
relationship with the addict as all of a sudden, the relationship
has changed and their own role in the relationship may now be unclear.
Assertiveness training will teach the recovering addict to be clear
about their wants and needs, be consistent and be persistent. Expectations
will also need to be dealt with in a realistic manner. For instance,
some people think that by receiving assertiveness training they
will now be able to get all the things in life that they were never
able to get before.
What most people who have been through assertiveness training and
practice the techniques find, however, is a quite confidence, a
sense of empowerment, a new found clarity and a lessening of stress
in general. And, to most of those who achieve these new life skills,
assertiveness training is worth its weight in gold.
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