Most people think that the counseling part of a drug addiction treatment program is only for the patient. Though the patient is definitely counseled quite emphatically during drug addiction treatment, it is not the only counseling that is done in such a program.

During the drug addiction treatment program, the counselors will also guide the immediate family of the patient. The immediate family is that which lives in the same house as the patient does. They will also treat friends and employers of the patient if the need arises and if they are willing.The importance of counseling the family of the patient cannot be stressed enough. During the entire drug rehab program, the patient may live only for a few days or a few weeks in the drug rehab center, but after that they have to return to their families. This opens up a whole new world of possible problems. The family may show signs of rejection for the person or they may behave in a negative manner, such as blaming the patient which could incite them into a new lease of addiction. That is the reason why the drug rehab centers will want to counsel the family of the person. It is seen that a treated addict who goes back to a counseled family shows very few chances of recidivism.

The friends need to be counseled because they have to know the right way of bringing the patient back to a constructive social life. The purpose of employer counseling is so that the addict does not have professional repercussions now that the habit is treated. The point of counseling people other than the addicts themselves is to get them reinstated in a normal healthy life once again.