Dual Relationships and Self-Disclosure Chemical Dependency counselors have quite a few ethical dilemmas to deal with. Therapists that are in recovery may confront some even more complex dilemmas, opposed to those who are not. There is a high percentage of addiction counselors that are in recovery. In fact, 55% of 36,000 members of the National Association of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Counselors (NAADAC) are recovering alcoholics and 21% are recovering from some other chemical dependency. This brings up two sides to counselors in recovery. “There is something about the personal experience that assists counselors to being especially attentive to the needs of the recovering client.” On the other hand, counselors bringing personal experience with them are likely to raise personal/professional boundary violations. Two specific dilemmas that recovering counselors may run into are dual relationships and self-disclosure.Outpatient rehab centers are on the rise because it is what most people with drug and alcohol problems are attending. The one problem with outpatient facilities is that they create the likelihood of dual relationships. A dual relationship is a situation where a counselor (usually in recovery) and client have more than one type of relationship. A good example of this is the counselor – client relationship and the relationship they might possess in A.A. The difficult part for the drug therapist is knowing which hat to wear and when to wear it. It is hard for them to differentiate between their professional self and their self as an A.A. member. It is two completely diverse settings. Some counselors have no problem going to an A.A. meeting when a client is there and others would feel very uncomfortable in that position and choose not to go to meetings anymore. Several counselors will notice a client in the rooms (A.A.) and continue to talk and disclose normally. The downside to this is the clie...
