Skills to assess patient needs The process of becoming an effective substance abuse counselor combines formal education and training with the experience that can only be gained in actual, clinical practice, Butler points out. To succeed in helping patients get started in recovery, counselors need to have the interpersonal and assessment skills to understand each client’s exact needs, assess where the client may be in the recovery process, and address those issues. “For example, you may deal with someone who is not very verbal by nature and not able to communicate effectively. Someone else may be better able to verbalize what they are feeling, and express their needs,” she explains.Those differences can play major roles in determining success in treatment, which is why a personalized approach is so important, Butler says. “What we’re providing is not a blanket treatment.”
approach espoused by Robert Ellis. Rogers and Ellis were among the founders of the humanistic, or “client-centered” approach that has been influential in both the psychotherapy and addiction- treatment fields. Ellis taught that learning new ways of thinking about situations, events and people can trigger a positive change in feelings. “If you change the way you feel, then the behavior changes,” Butler notes. “But the field is always evolving.” Along the way, Butler completed counseling internships at two area treatment centers, which gave her the opportunity to observe how theories are put into the practice of helping clients recover. She was also able to observe patients’ desire to change their lives, and how that provided motivation for recovery. She was inspired by witnessing the graduations of several groups of clients she had worked with who were beginning their recovery journeys. Another milestone in Butler’s career came in 2013, when she earned her master’s degree in addiction counseling with a concentration in human services from the University of Maryland.
“When you can see a positive change take place in someone that you helped, that’s phenomenal.” —Shirrette Butler, substance abuse clinician at No Turning Back
Outreach is always important for community-based organizations hoping to deliver help where it’s needed, and that certainly applies to the treatment and recovery field. In that regard, one trait Butler appreciates about No Turning Back is the fact that the program is well-grounded in the community, providing outpatient treatment, housing and other assistance, such as free meals offered to the local neighborhood during the holidays. “The support No Turning Back offers is phenomenal, and well-rounded. We’re doing the best we can to treat the whole person.Those kinds of things are what attracted me here.”
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