Business and Society Articles

The self-help arena is massive and usually new age in nature, yet the path to truth starts with a desire for the truth about ourselves. What makes us who we are? Growing up, I was introduced to Jesus and the Holy Bible, it was a part of my life in some measure, and I’m very grateful for this. I’m not sure how much of my personality and values come from those early introductions to the Christian faith, yet I believe it helped me grow a conscience. Besides a testimony about myself, I want to write about how group counseling can help a person grow, and how the literature of Al-Anon, AA, and other twelve step programs can help us gain insight into why we feel the way we do, why we behave or think the way we do. I don’t think we understand how much alcoholism and drugs affect our lives, how deeply it shapes our perception about ourselves and others. Much of how we interact and deal with others is based on what was lacking in our families and growing up. Many times, we are stunted and unable...

Press enter or click to view image in full size Why being a Substance Use Disorder counselor is meaningful. Why being a Substance Use Disorder counselor is meaningful. Recently, I was hired to work as an addiction counselor for substance use disorders. The official title is Certified Drug and Alcohol Counselor (CADC) intern, or a Substance Use Disorder counselor (SUD). I wanted to explain why this is a meaningful field to work in. When looking at the statistics for substance abuse in the U.S., the numbers are significant, yet they don’t or can’t tell the entire story. These stats are gathered mostly from the self-disclosure of people being surveyed or screened/treated for substance abuse; this means the stats exclude people not screened or treated, and include people being dishonest about their answers. A few interesting stats ( U.S. population: 347 million ): 29.8 million individuals have an Alcohol Use Disorder in the U.S (NCDAS, 2023). 134.3 million individuals have used alcohol wit...