Hi Alfo!
The first methadone clinic that i went to had a drugs councillor, we could see her once a week for free! I thought that drugs counselling would be a great help! Like you i wanted to learn how to control my cravings for heroin. I'm sure drug counselling is good, but the councillor that i had was hopeless!
She didn't seem to have a clue, she used to say things like "when you feel that you want to score just keep telling your self no! Instead of spending the money on heroin buy your self a new dress" I used to sit there looking at her saying "Ummm why didn't i think of that? Doh!!!" And she'd smile and she look pleased that she was getting through to me! But she wasn't getting through to me, she was talking pony!
One day i asked her what was the 1st step of the 12 steps & she didn't know!!! She was a very nice lady but she just didn't seem to understand heroin addiction at all! But i imagine that if you got a good councillor then it could be really helpful! I went to a great councillor about 15 years ago, it was before i started taking heroin, i had had problems in my childhood that where really starting to effect me as i got older. The councillor i had back then was amazing, she told me how to deal with my feelings & she helped me with my anxiety. She thought me how to think about things differently! She really really helped me through some very dark times.
Unfortunately that councillor was not free, in fact it was very expensive! So i had to stop going because i couldn't afford to any-more. I often wonder if i had been able to continue on with the counselling then maybe i wouldn't have turned to heroin for help? But i just don't know! I didn't start using heroin until i was 30years old, i was a very late starter!
The clinic that i go to now doesn't have a counsellor but my Doctor has put me on a waiting list to see a new councillor who will help me with my addiction & hopefully help me with my past as well. I'm sure your Doctor could put your name down to see a councillor as well! There is a very long waiting list, but at least you will get to see someone eventually. Your Doctor can write to a councillor for you, then you will be called in with-in a few weeks to be assessed by a psychiatrist. Once the psychiatrist feels that you need counselling then they will put your name down on the list. Make sure you talk to your Doctor about it & get your name down, anything that can help is worth a try!
I'm not sure what way the law is now in Ireland but when i first went to councillor 15 years ago i was able to tell the councillor everything about my childhood, i had to be able to tell her everything so that she could help me. I told her things that i have never told anyone else, she was really nice & i totally trusted her! I could tell her exactly what happened & who did it. But then the law changed in Ireland, so when i went to see the drugs councillor about 6years ago things had really changed. When i started to talk about my childhood the councillor had to stop me & warn me that if i was to tell her that someone had harmed me when i was a child then by law she would have to report it to the police, coz that was the law! Now i do agree that i probably should have reported what happened to me, but families can be complicated & hard to deal with. The family members who harmed me should be help accountable for their actions, but that doesn't just effect them it effects my whole family, so i didn't want my past reported to the police. So therefore i couldn't tell my councillor about my past. This meant that i couldn't talk to my councillor about things that were important. But there were talks that the law was to be changed back again, so maybe it has been changed by now.
Either way Alfo you need a good drugs counsellor, your Doctor should be able to advise you. Maybe the waiting list won't be as long in your area. Give it a shot! It would be great to learn how to stop the cravings! It would be great if we could have our brains rewired. Let me know what your Doctor says, i'll have a look on the internet to see if i can find any info for your area. I think that you are taking a step in the right direction! Make sure you let me know what your Doc says, best of luck! Take Care!
