Workshop on "The Specifics of Individual Counseling for Addicts: Tools and Technologies"
On March 4, 2025, the Department of General and Applied Psychology held a seminar-workshop on "The Specifics of Individual Counseling for Addicts: Tools and Technologies." The event was organized in partnership with the Sober Road Addiction and Crisis Therapy Center as part of the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 3: Ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all at all ages; SDG 17: Partnerships for sustainable development).
Seminar-Workshop Moderator: Kassen Gulmira Amankyzy.
Speakers:
- Zhanargul Zhumabayevna Akhmediyanova, Head of the Psychological Service at the Sober Road Addiction and Crisis Therapy Center, Lecturer at the International Academy of Addictology and Psychology, Psychologist;
- Denis Sergeyevich Grebenyukov, Chemical Dependency Consultant and Addictologist.
The speakers of the seminar focused in detail on the following issues: dependent behavior: chemical and non-chemical addictions, psychological characteristics of dependent personalities, stages of individual counseling, techniques and methods of individual counseling for addicts, effective methods of work during the period of resistance during addiction therapy.
The seminar participants got acquainted with the organization of counseling and rehabilitation, which make it possible to individualize the approach to the personality of an addict in accordance with his physiological characteristics and the specifics of his addiction.
The second part of the workshop was devoted to the practical aspects of the problem and questions to the speakers. The participants were interested in the answers to the following questions: How to work with clients who are in the phase of addiction denial? How to work with triggers that provoke use? What techniques are most effective? How effective is the motivational interviewing method in individual work with addicts? What factors increase the risk of relapse after therapy, and how should they be considered in counseling? What is the right way to deal with relapses so that the client does not perceive them as a failure? How can a psychotherapist prevent professional burnout when working with dependent clients? How important is the emotional intelligence of a specialist in dealing with addictions? How can a consultant build personal boundaries so as not to get involved in codependent communication patterns?
As a result, the first-year Master's students noted the relevance and novelty of the approaches and methods considered during the workshop.
Organizers: Associate Professor Kassen G. A.; First-year Master's students of the "7M03125 – Psychology" educational program: Alimkulova Zh. Zh., Sharanda A. A.
