ABSTRACT
Clinicians who work in the addiction and recovery field are often faced with complex challenges that are inherent and unique to this population. In a traditional urban private practice, therapists more often than not engage the client in a confined setting, whereas addiction treatment routinely involves therapeutic encounters that lend to a broader array of overlapping roles, multiple relationships, and a variety of boundary crossings. Addiction therapists, particularly those who work in treatment milieu settings, often wear a variety of hats that are essential to and an inherent part of the recovery process. The addiction therapist, for example, may be required to set limits outside of the therapy session with clients, serve in the role of group therapist, family therapist, and individual therapist for the same client, or may be involved in unconventional therapeutic community activities such as eating with clients, supervising client smoking breaks, or rapport building outside of session.
