Roles of an addiction counselor Essay Example for Free

Roles of an addiction counselor Essay An addiction counselor has many roles; counselor is only one of them. Others include interventionist, mediator, advocate, change agent, adviser, and facilitator (Lecture Module 4, 2013). While treating a client those roles are constantly changing and are necessary to help a client to overcome addiction. In addition the counselor must be able to maintain a balance of ethical, moral, and legal behavior while treating their clients. This may seem easy; however there are often blurred professional boundaries present that the counselor is forced to navigate flawlessly or risk upsetting the balance between helping and hurting their client. While an addiction counselor’s main goal is to improve the mental health and wellness of clients through a treatment plan the goals need to be based on the individual the counselor is working with; therefore each case must be individualized to meet the needs of the client. Individual therapy consists of working directly with an individual, an assortment of approaches are used in individual therapy. The approaches include harm reduction, coping skills training, life-skills training, motivational interviewing, cognitive-behavioral therapy, social skills training, and behavior therapy these approaches are included in the direct effect strategies as well as the broad spectrum strategies. The central component to these strategies is the client- counselor relationship also known as the therapeutic alliance. The counselor must be able to listen objectively to the client, they must be aware of their responses not only verbally but non-verbally as well. They must be able to validate the client through non-verbal communication as well as positive regard. The language the counselor uses must engender motivation toward change for the client. By moving away from negativity these strategies give the clients hope and breed independence which leads to abstinence. These strategies are imperative to the success of the client and the counselor is the facilitator of this. Individual therapy consists of creating an environment where lifestyle changes can begin, the therapeutic relationship is a partnership in which the counselor facilitates change with the client (Smith Stevens, 2013). When working in a group many of the same approaches are used; however a counselor must now be able to use the strategies in broad form to reach all of the members of the group. Groups are more focused on the here and now; because there is a time limit they must be able to stay focused in order to make progress. A group setting gives a client a bigger base of support; however the counselor must be able to provide culturally diverse guidance to all of the group’s members. This can often be challenging, so the group counselor should be a highly trained individual. A rapport must be established with the group so that trust can be built and cohesion will occur. The cohesion of the group takes precedence over the individual needs of clients (Smith Stevens, 2013). There may be times when a counselor acting as an advocate for the group must remove a member for the greater good of the group. Group development can be considered in terms of stages or phases; the group can become more complex and resourceful over time with sufficient leadership and member investment. It is also important to note that clients should receive pretreatment as an individual in order to prepare them to become productive members of a group and to receive maximum benefits from the process (Smith Stevens, 2013). Relational therapies involve individuals and intimate others in the group process to examine bonding and boundaries (Smith Stevens, 2013). This type of therapy group can help individuals, couples, and families avoid dynamics that contribute to replay of unfinished business or relapse. The role of the counselor is to create a therapeutic alliance through creating a safe and honest environment by which the client’s family can support each other. In this type of therapy each member of the group must be allowed to share their feelings to essentially cleanse the environment of past resentment and to start fresh. Families often avoid dealing with the problem of drug or alcohol abuse they would rather hide it than deal with it. The counselor must be able to root out the pattern of abuse so that the family can work to change it. This can be hard because the counselor must be careful about being overly critical of the client this could cause the family to turn on the counselor and become counterproductive. Addiction encompasses every aspect of the client’s life this includes their family, it is imperative to address the patterns that exist within the family not only to help the client but also to prevent future generations from having the same issues. There are many soft skills that a counselor must possess in order to be effective. One of the biggest is empathy; empathy requires that the counselor be able to feel how the client must feel and to communicate understanding in order to help the client move past the addiction. The counselor must show warmth by showing they care what happens to the client. Listening is paramount as well; the counselor should create an environment where the client wants to share their story. By doing this the counselor builds a trusting relationship where the client feels safe from judgment. The counselor must exhibit communication skills being able to redirect when necessary, verbal and non-verbal communication must be on point. The counselor must also be able to maintain a professional and ethical position with the client. The counselor must see the client as a human being worthy of help; accept the person not the behavior (Doyle-Pita, 2004). When all of these skills are employed to help a client the many roles a counselor must facilitate will be more easily navigated and the client will be more likely to achieve success.

The Issue of Inflation Control as an Objectice of Central Banks Essay e

The Issue of Inflation Control as an Objectice of Central Banks This paper looks at the issue of inflation control as an objective of central banks. Viewing the British Commonwealth and Continental European models of ‘zero inflation’ in contrast with the moderate inflation policy of the US provides a case against zero inflation as a policy objective. A variety of issues that surround inflation; e.g., the inflation/unemployment relationship, etc, will be brought to the fore. In the final analysis, it is clear that efforts to eradicate inflation are misguided and more moderate inflation is preferable in an era where steady economic growth is desirable. Introduction Hyper inflation has plagued most of the world’s developing countries over the past decades. Countries in the industrialised world, too, have at times duelled with dangerously high inflation rates in the post WWII era. With varying degrees of success, all have employed great efforts to bring their inflation rates within acceptable limits. Generally, a moderate rate of inflation has been the ultimate goal. More recently, however, a few countries have pursued policies that strive to eradicate inflation altogether through complete price stability. This has proven to be a contentious enterprise, which clearly indicates that there is still no universally accepted solution to the inflation problem. Indeed, there is not even an agreed consensus regarding the source of inflation itself. The monetarist perception that the root of inflation is solely the excessive creation of money remains. So too does the belief that inflation originates in the labour market. And amongst a variety of others, the opinion that inflation â€Å"serves the critical social purpose of resolving incompatible demands by different groups† is also strong. This last, and more widely accepted, case shows that the problem is hardly a technical one; but rather a political one. It highlights the now unquestionable fact that politics and inflation are inextricably linked. And as with all inherently political issues, consensus is difficult, if not impossible, to achieve. But, political characteristics do provide flexibility. In some countries, high rates of inflation have clearly been compatible with rapid economic growth and fast rising standards of living. In such cases, it is quite reasonable to suggest that higher r... ...n and France. And unless the elusive benefits of zero inflation soon manifest themselves, it is only a matter of time before the rest of the ‘no inflation’ pack realises they are barking up the wrong tree. Bibliography: Akerlof, George., Dickens, William., Perry, George., ‘The Macroeconomics of Low Inflation’., Brookings Papers on Economic Activity (1996 NI) Dale, Reginald., ‘Zero Inflation is Not a Great Idea’., International Herald Tribune (Tuesday, September 10, 1996) Fortin, Pierre, ‘The Canadian Fiscal Problem: The Macroeconomic Connection’ in Lars Osberg and Pierre Fortin (eds.), Unnecessary Debts (Lorimer, 1996) Fortin, Pierre., ‘The Great Canadian Slump’., Canadian Journal of Economics (November 1996) Freedman, Charles, ‘The Role of Monetary Conditions and the Monetary Conditions Index in the Conduct of Policy’., in Bank of Canada Review (Autumn 1995) Friedman, Milton., ‘The Role of Monetary Policy’., American Economic Review (March, 1968) Frisch, Helmut., Theories of Inflation (Cambridge University Press, New York, 1983) Lovewell, Mark., ‘Getting to Zero: Bank of Canada Policy in Context’., in Bank of Canada Review (Autumn 1996)

The Use of Mythological Allusions in Margaret Atwood’s Poetry

Julie Mewhinney ENG4U1 October 16th, 2012 J. Edwards Mythology: Because I’m Too Jaded to Write about Love An allusion is a casual or passing reference to a famous historical or fictional character. In poetry, allusions are often used to help reinforce a point or characterize the speaker or the addressee. In the case of Margaret Atwood’s poems, â€Å"Helen of Troy Does Countertop Dancing† and â€Å"Sekhmet Lion-Headed Goddess of War†, allusions are used to empower and change the way we view the female speaker. This is especially obvious in â€Å"Helen of Troy Does Countertop Dancing†.The poem is about a stripper, which is considered to be quite a degrading job in today’s society. Normally such a protagonist would be looked down upon and pitied by the readers, and yet through allusions to Helen of Troy (a woman widely considered to be the most beautiful of the ancient world, and also the sole cause of the Trojan War according to myth) the speak er comes off as superior to women with â€Å"respectable† jobs, and also to the men who watch her, when you would think it would be the other way around.In using lines such as â€Å"I don’t let on to everyone, / but lean close and I’ll whisper: / My mother was raped by a holy swan† (Countertop, 59-61) Atwood references Helen of Troy’s links to the Gods of Greek mythology (her father was Zeus; he had appeared to Helen’s mother in the form of a golden swan and raped [or had consensual sex with, depending on the version of the story that you read] her), and makes her speaker seem otherworldly and goddess-like in doing so.Instead of feeling ashamed of herself for her employment, the speaker feels superior in that she can make so many men swoon, much like Helen of Troy, and also in the knowledge that they cannot lay a finger on her; â€Å"I hover six inches in the air/ in my blazing swan-egg of light. / You think I’m not a goddess? / Try me. / This is a touch song. / Touch me and you’ll burn. † (Countertop, 78-83). Atwood uses these allusions to aid in the acceptance of the feminist view on such a controversial subject as stripping or prostitution.In â€Å"Sekhmet, Lion-Headed Goddess of War†, Atwood references the Egyptian goddess of war and destruction, Sekhmet, daughter of the god Ra, and various other Ancient Egyptian deities, most notably Osiris. The speaker in this poem seems to be Sekhmet herself, or at least a statue of her, much like in â€Å"Siren’s Song†, where the sirens are the speakers. In mythology, Sekhmet is the daughter of the sun god Ra, who unleashes her upon the world to bring vengeance upon those who have rebelled against him.She goes crazy with blood-lust and begins to kill everyone resulting in her being tricked into drinking red dyed beer by the men of the day in order to stop her killing rampage. With a bit of cleaver emphasis, and a feminist viewpoint, Atw ood turns Sekhmet into a proud and fearsome warrior queen, who is not content to sit in a museum with the god â€Å"†¦who wouldn’t hurt a fly† (Sekhmet, 2), Osiris, and who would like to go back to the days when she was worshipped, not just shown to children learning about cultural diversity.Both of these poems utilize strong female characters in their allusions, most probably because Atwood tends to write from a feminist viewpoint and likes her woman to have ower over the men, as opposed to in the majority of society, where the view is quite patriarchal, and the men tend to hold power over the women. Helen of Troy, the femme fatale who caused one of the greatest conflicts of the ancient world, and Sekhmet one of the most revered, and certainly the most feared warrior of the Egyptian empire are strong, untouchable and confident in themselves, just the sort of woman that Atwood believes all women should strive to be like.Because of these references, we do not see a degraded stripper who is taunted and looked down upon, or a lonely and forgotten goddess sitting in a museum gathering dust. Instead we see an unattainable woman of unsurpassable beauty, above the people who sneer at her, confident in her own skin, and a proud, fierce warrior goddess who remembers her glory days but still knows that she will never be forgotten.Margaret Atwood uses allusions to mythological figures to the highest degree, giving protagonists that would normally be seen as weak or pitiful characteristics of such influential women; she empowers her speakers with these allusions, using them to show us a different, stronger side to cliche characters that we thought we already knew. Works Cited Atwood, Margaret. â€Å"Helen of Troy Does Countertop Dancing. † Morning in the Burned House. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1995. Print. —. â€Å"Sekhmet, Lion-Headed Goddess of War. † Morning in the Burned House. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1995. Print.

How to Compose an Effective Paragraph

Paragraphing, says William Zinsser, is a subtle but important element in writing nonfiction articles and books—a road map constantly telling your reader how you have organized your ideas (On Writing Well, 2006). If youre prepared to go beyond conventional formulas for dividing a text into paragraphs, consider these observations by experienced authors, editors, and teachers. Enlightening ReadersThe breaking up into paragraphs and the punctuation have to be done properly but only for the effect on the reader. A set of dead rules is no good. A new paragraph is a wonderful thing. It lets you quietly change the rhythm, and it can be like a flash of lightning that shows the same landscape from a different aspect.(Isaac Babel, quoted by Konstantin Paustovsky in The Story of a Life: Years of Hope. Pantheon, 1968) ExperimentingParagraphing is often taught in English classes with the same sort of false dictums that poisons much of writing instruction. . . . [Encourage] students to experiment with paragraphing in their own essays, looking to see how paragraphing develops their intended rhythm and tone.(Paul Lee Thomas, Reading, Learning, Teaching Kurt Vonnegut. Peter Lang, 2006) Following InstinctA clever man might successfully disguise every element of his style but one—the paragraphing. Diction and syntax may be determined and controlled by rational proc esses in full consciousness, but paragraphing—the decision whether to take short hops or long ones, whether to hop in the middle of a thought or action or finish it first—that comes from instinct, from the depths of personality.(Rex Stout, Plot It Yourself. Viking, 1959) Practicing the Art[P]aragraphing is ultimately an art. Its good practice depends on feel, voice and instinct rather than on any formula or techniques that can be dutifully learnt.(Richard Palmer, Write in Style: A Guide to Good English, 2nd ed. Routledge, 2002) Editing by EarWe think of paragraphing as an organizational skill and may teach it in conjunction with the prewriting or planning stages of writing. I have found, however, that young writers understand more about paragraphing and cohesive paragraphs when they learn about them in conjunction with editing. When developing writers know the reasons for paragraphing, they more readily apply them in the editing stage than in drafting.Just as students can be trained to hear end punctuation, they can also learn to hear where new paragraphs start and when sentences are off the topic.(Marcia S. Freeman, Building a Writing Community: A Practical Guide, rev. ed. Maupin House, 2003) Punctuating ProseWe must stop asking what a paragraph is and start asking what paragraphing (i.e., the initiation of a new paragraph) signals to readers; we must think of paragraphing as a kind of macro-punctuation mark that guides readers interpretation of passages much as commas guide readers interpretation of sentences.(Richard M. Coe, Toward a Grammar of Passages. Southern Illinois University Press, 1988) Taking BreathsIn general, I would suggest, the paragraph could be understood as a sort of literary respiration, with each paragraph as an extended—in some cases very extended—breath. Inhale at the beginning of the paragraph, exhale at the end. Inhale again at the start of the next.(Francine Prose, Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them. HarperCollins, 2006) Using Common SenseEffective paragraphing is based on common sense. Most readers dont prefer reading extremely long paragraphs or strings of very short paragraphs. Neither helps them to get the most out of what they are reading.(Thomas Tyner, Writing Voyage: A Process Approach to Writing, 8th ed. Thomson Wadsworth, 2008) Catching the EyeKeep your paragraphs short. Writing is visual—it catches the eye before it has the chance to catch the brain. Short paragraphs put air around what you write and make it look inviting, whereas a long chunk of type can discourage a reader from even starting to read. . . .But dont go berserk. A succession of tiny paragraphs is as annoying as a paragraph thats too long.(William Zinsser, On Writing Well. Collins, 2006) Catching a RestThe purpose of paragraphing is to give the reader a rest. The writer is saying to him: Have you got that? If so, Ill go on to the next point. Th ere can be no general rule about the most suitable length for a paragraph . . .. The paragraph is essentially a unit of thought, not of length.(H.W. Fowler, Modern English Usage, 2nd edition, revised by Ernest Gowers. Oxford University Press, 1965) More About Paragraphs in Essays Paragraph BreaksParagraph LengthParagraph Unity