Substance abuse is tied with many other mental health challenges, such as anxiety, depression, and trauma. It’s never just one problem to solve, which is what makes treatment so difficult. There’s a lot of hurt, guilt, and shame to work through. It takes a special person to treat substance use.
Alishia Elliott, therapist at Kenosis, recently graduated from Valparaiso University with her master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. In her practicums, she worked in addiction treatment centers doing group therapy and some one-on-one sessions and enjoyed the field. She is currently earning her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology, where her focus will be on adolescent populations and substance use treatment.
We invited her to be featured on the blog to share her knowledge on how to help her clients overcome substance use disorder (SUD) by creating trusting relationships with them.
Why Therapy for Substance Abuse?
When entering into high school, Alishia had a difficult time coping with her parent’s divorce. They put her in therapy, and she connected with her therapist right away. She remembers, “My therapist was this super cool, older hippie woman. Meeting with her and seeing how calm and composed she was, I just idolized that. I was like, ‘Wow, she gets to spend her entire day in her own space, talking to people and helping them. I would love to do this.’” Consequently, she went down the road of psychology in undergrad and fell in love with it.
Her undergraduate studies are what allowed her to research substance use disorders, but her interest in the topic started young. Her grandmother’s struggle with alcohol use facilitated her interest in the area. Alishia shares, “It was just really hard to deal with. I never understood why she just couldn’t stop.”
These experiences motivated her to learn more about SUDs and inspired her to help people struggling with these issues. She says, “It does seem like such a strong pull that people are willing to give up their family and their entire life just to keep pursuing [substances]. I want to help combat that. After researching it and being able to work with that population during my practicum experience, I saw a lot of change. It was really amazing to see them become completely different people. It confirmed that this is what I’m supposed to be doing.”
Becoming a ‘Yes’ Man
She was confident in her chosen area, but that doesn’t mean she didn’t face hardships along the way. There was a time she faced instability in her life, and it was difficult to get back on track. She was advised by professors to join a research lab and they encouraged her to persist through her insecurities. A piece of encouragement she held onto was, “It’s going to be difficult, but you’re capable of doing difficult things.”
She remembered that saying as she progressed through her career. It encouraged her to start being a “yes” man and accepting new opportunities. She comments, “I started saying yes to things where normally, I wouldn’t have. By saying ‘yes’, I got involved in a bunch of different things with other people in academia and did research with them. I would have never done that otherwise. Saying yes to opportunities and believing I could do it, even if it’s difficult, propelled me through a lot of mundane and difficult things throughout my journey to get where I am.”
She also looks to God for the belief that anything is possible through Him. He has been the foundation of her life since she was saved in 2015. She says, “It made me a completely different person and has given me a different outlook on life in general.”
Working in Substance Use Therapy
Using her newfound belief in herself and God, Alishia dove into substance use therapy. She loves to work in a collaborative environment with her clients; it allows them to work together on challenges and find personalized solutions. She adds, “I don’t want to feel like I’m pulling them in a direction they don’t want to go. By collaborating with them, I can help them achieve the change and goals they want to achieve, to find their own definition of peace and wellness.”
It’s important to look at their situation in a holistic manner. It’s not the symptoms they have but the person they are and the underlying problems. “That way, the change they make isn’t short-lived, but it’s something that can be sustained throughout their life,” Alishia explains.
Individualized treatment is foundational to Alishia’s therapy practice. She shares, “I really believe in utilizing the therapeutic relationship to achieve change. I like to focus on establishing a strong therapeutic rapport with them. As long as we have a good relationship and connection, I believe they’ll be able to use that to be the change they’re trying to get to.”
Putting in the work is still important though. Sometimes clients aren’t in the mental space to commit to the program and just want to be told what to do by Alishia. But since her approach is collaborative, it doesn’t work. She adds, “If they’re not taking a step forward, neither am I.” Alishia needs to meet the client where they’re at on their journey to healing. She may assign homework to focus on their thinking patterns around the problems they are facing and how they can change those thoughts. She tries to strengthen their relationship even more so the client starts to believe they can work on healing without her there.
One client experience sticks out in Alishia’s mind: “There was a client in one of the recovery centers, and he was a severe alcoholic, so much so that I experienced something called countertransference (a phenomenon that occurs when a therapist transfers personal emotions to a client). Come to find out, he had reminded me of my grandma due to their shared struggles with substance use. Instead of having empathy for him, I started to get irritated with him because he reminded me so much of my past experiences with it. It was really difficult to get through to him. He wanted to give up several times and made a ton of excuses. I think he stayed in treatment for six weeks then he went through an intensive outpatient program. During the intensive outpatient program, he started showing signs of being in a sober mindset and wanting recovery for himself. It was pretty clear he was going to make this a lifestyle. When his treatment ended and we were saying our goodbyes, I let him know that the change I saw him go through was profound for me to witness, and I was proud of him. That was one of the most tremendous, dramatic changes I have seen a client go through. It stuck with me that I was a part of that.”
Therapists are just as impacted by success as clients. From overcoming countertransference to helping a difficult client achieve sobriety, Alishia developed as a therapist through this experience.
Even though therapy is still slightly stigmatized in society, it’s okay to ask for help. She says, “It doesn’t make you a bad person. It doesn’t mean you’re defective. There’s nothing wrong with you. It’s a very normal thing, and it actually shows strength that you’re able to reach out for help.”
Your feelings are valid. If you’re struggling with substance abuse disorder, depression, anxiety, trauma, PTSD, or other mental health challenges, ask for help. No one at Kenosis will judge you or make you feel alone. We want to help when you’re ready.
“This is a trustworthy saying: If we die with him, we will also live with him; if we endure hardship, we will reign with him. If we deny him, he will also deny us; if we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for He cannot deny who he is.”
– 2 Timothy 2:11-13