Empowering people with addiction in the social work counseling process

Abstract

The research problem concerns how social workers can contribute to the empowerment and motivation of clients with addiction. The object of the research is the process of counselling people with addiction in social work. The aim of the study is to provide an overview of the social worker – client interaction during the counselling process in order to identify the methods and tools used by social workers and addiction counsellors to help clients discover and strengthen their motivation to recover from addiction. A qualitative research methodology was used to conduct the study. Data were collected through expert semi-structured interviews based on pre-prepared questions, with the flexibility to respond to the experts’ answers and ask additional questions to obtain specialised information about their attitudes and preferences when working with clients with addiction. Six professionals participated in the study. A content analysis method was chosen to analyse the professionals’ accounts.

The study revealed that a person’s motivation to recover from addiction is a key factor in the implementation of a recovery process. During the research, one informant referred to the five-stage model of behaviour change (Transtheoretical Model of Change). This model refers to the client’s stages of motivation. By analysing the empirical information provided by the informants, it is possible to tailor intervention methods to the client’s individual needs.