Many individuals who go through the process of addiction recovery look into obtaining a career in the field of psychology or similar fields. Because of their progression through substance use disorder, they may find they desire to help another individual through the recovery process as well. There are many benefits of going into this field of work as someone who has gone through recovery, but there are also many aspects to prepare for.
Possible Concerns
There are some concerns to be aware of before jumping into this career path after recovery. Your past should not affect your ability to obtain these career positions, but it is important to ensure you are far enough along in your process of recovery that your sobriety is not a concern.
Eligibility
Looking into this career field, you may feel that you are not an eligible candidate for a variety of positions due to your past. It is common to fear that employers will view your prior addiction as a threat to those going through recovery. This often is not the case. Typically, if an individual is fully invested in the process of recovery, employers are less likely to deny them a position because of that aspect.
Past Memories
When your job involves the recovery process, you will be consistently interacting with people who are struggling with addiction, and their struggles can trigger strong memories from your past. Depending on how recently you have recovered, this factor may be important to consider. It is important to ensure you are confident enough in your recovery that this setting will not push you to fall back into old habits and that you can push your feelings aside at the moment to help the clients you are working with.
Potential Benefits
While the previously discussed risks are important to consider, your first-hand experience with recovery means you can have a huge positive impact on those currently working through addiction recovery. With an inside viewpoint, you can bring a skillset to the field that most people do not have.
Relatability to Clients
Working in the field of mental health and psychology as someone who has personally gone through recovery can have a lot of benefits. As you have now gone through the process of recovery, you understand the high and low points of the process on a first-hand basis. Clients may have an easier time listening to your feedback and relating to you because you have personally been through this process.
Having mental health professionals who have previously worked through their mental health problems and addictions can enable them to give clients insights about their experience combined with the knowledge they have gained. This insight can be extremely beneficial to people going through this process. Not only is their understanding valuable, but mental health professionals who have been through recovery also possess valuable empathy. After all, those who have been through addiction recovery often have a soft spot in their heart for people in recovery. Understanding their point of view enables mental health professionals to empathize with the struggles and care deeply about the work that is being done. Passion to help others and make a difference is essential in these positions.
The value of this relatability is similar to that of peer support groups. These support groups can be extremely beneficial to those working through the process of recovery because being surrounded by people who understand the emotions you are going through counteracts the isolation of addiction and increases motivation. Having a personalized experience to relate to your clients can bring upon this same form of support and help the client feel safe enough to express their true feelings.
Parental Support
Parents are often very concerned with their child’s well-being when their child is placed into an addiction recovery program as a minor. All professionals try to comfort the parents as much as possible, but it is hard to fully explain the recovery process and the emotions their child may experience. If you have personal experience in an addiction recovery program, you can give parents a deeper insight into what the process is going to look like and provide the parents with comfort. This can relieve anxiety throughout the family and help them understand the process further.
Personal Development
While working in this environment as someone who previously struggled with addiction can potentially bring up some triggering past events and memories, it can also help to substantiate the progress you have made. You may discover new aspects of recovery you would like to focus on and set new goals for yourself. The work can bring you a strong feeling of accomplishment, knowing that you were successful in making it through this process, and you can help others be successful as well.
Before deciding to follow this career path, ensure you can keep yourself in a healthy mental state through the potential challenges of the job. For some people who have gone through recovery, working in this setting would not be healthy or advisable. For others, it is an ideal situation to help others go through recovery as they did.
Many people who have successfully gone through recovery look into the possibility of working within the field of psychology, mental health, or addiction recovery. There are some concerns to be aware of with this career path, but there are also many benefits that people who have been through this process can bring into the recovery process of others. After personally going through recovery, you have a deeper understanding of the overall process and emotions that are involved in reaching success. Your knowledge and experience can help you relate to clients in recovery, ease the stress of parents whose children are in recovery, and develop new goals of your own. With a personal passion for the field, you may have the potential to make a true difference in the lives of others. To learn more about pursing this career path, reach out to Dream Recovery at (949) 732-1960.