Dr Dion Khlentzos: Pioneering Support for Fathers in Addiction Recovery

Dr Dion Khlentzos, the Head of School of Counselling at Excelsia, is an experienced lecturer, counsellor and registered psychologist. In 2017, he completed his doctoral study, which focused on the topic of fathers with addictions, and how an emotion-focused parenting program might be able to help them with their recovery process.  
 
Dr Khlentzos’ interest in this topic emerged from his experience working with the Salvation Army’s crisis telephone counselling service, as he listened to the stories of several callers who were family members of fathers struggling to control their addictive behaviours, including substance abuse and gambling. Dr Khlentzos’ appreciation of this important area grew further with his experience of clients in face-to-face counselling who had often been impacted by other people’s – and sometimes their own – addictions.  
 
Dr Khlentzos became very interested in how the recovery process worked, particularly how emotional awareness was a key factor in the recovery. Further, when it came to parents (and particularly fathers, as men have generally been found to have a higher rate of addictions than women for various reasons), their relationship with their children was often negatively affected by the addiction, but had also been shown to improve as they recovered from their addictions. 
 
In his interviews with a number of fathers recovering from addictions, Dr Khlentzos found that these men, who had often been dismissive or even neglectful of their children’s experiences, once they received support and were able to take responsibility for their own recovery, became motivated to be good role models and focus on their children’s welfare.  
 
Dr Khlentzos believes that, in many cases in which families have been harmed by the effects of addiction, the family relationships and the wellbeing of individuals can improve through individual counselling, group programs or other appropriate types of support. He has also seen the benefits of counselling for various other issues that impact people’s happiness, including low self-esteem, personal relationships, mental health, or trauma, grief and loss. 
 
If you’re passionate about helping individuals and families overcome challenges and want to make a meaningful impact, join our upcoming one-day Counselling workshop to discover how our programs can equip you with the skills to support others on their journey! Register here.