Substance abuse and addiction is a mental disorder that affects the behavior and overall body performance of an individual. The brain develops an inability to control the use of the substance or drug. Substance abuse disorder may cause the individual to use the drug despite the harm it causes. The manifestation of substance use disorder can include an individual having intense urges for the substance or drug and hence blocking any thoughts. An individual may also manifest the problem of needing more of the drug to achieve the same effect, having a high tolerance for the drug and pending too much money on acquiring the drug. An individual may also fail to meet his or her obligations and responsibilities (Conway, 2009).
In assessing a client on substance use disorder one should engage the client and identify additional information from collaterals like family and friends. The second Strategy that can be used in assessing if a substance disorder is present, and its level of severity, is to identify the history of the client using the substance or drug. The third strategy is to determine the symptoms the client has had in the previous past and identify the client’s liability for substance use. The behavioral complexity and the frequency of the substance use can also be used to assess the substance abuse disorder present and its severity (Conway, 2009).
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Teenagers with substance abuse disorder may feel isolated and neglected by others. This may because of their behaviors and the symptoms they may have. The symptoms that can include living in unhygienic conditions may leave them feeling unwanted by other teenagers. This is mainly because of the behavioral complexity that the substance abuse disorder brings into their way of life. In addition, due to overreliance of the drug, their connection with social life and recreational activities is completely cut off and every chance they get to associate with others, the feeling of awkwardness may develop. All this drug addiction symptoms will be a challenging situation to people around them.
What might hinder most teens with substance abuse disorder is the over-reliance of the drug that has developed into a strong addiction. Bad treatment regimens at rehabilitation centers might also scare teenagers from seeking help, the withdrawal effects and symptoms might pose as a big threat to those seeking help. Stigmatization is also a main cause that can hinder a teen from seeking help that will enable them get over their drug addiction. Most of them will fear that might be isolated and bullied when they seek help. Lack of medical insurance will also hinder them from seeking professional help from rehab institutions, most of them have the idea that they will expense their family if they suggest to rehabilitation services. Peer influence might hinder family members from offering help to one of them who is on substance abuse (Chung & Shek, 2018).
The information that they would consider helpful, is by creating awareness to that will educate teenagers with substance abuse disorder about the number of deaths that drug abuse has caused in the recent past. Information that will educate them on the importance of abstaining from using the drugs and the harmful effects of substance abuse and what it might cause to the body and the loss it might create eventually if they do not seek help that will liberate them from substance abuse addiction and disorder.
As a social worker or a therapist for the family, one will need to encourage the family members from not giving up on offering support to their teen who has an addiction on drugs. The therapist would also want to educate the family members about drug addiction management and how they could apply the information. Encourage the family members to attend to their own health and wellbeing and help the drug addict in achieving overall wellbeing. The Social worker will also need to encourage the family members to seek professional and specialist help for their teenager in overcoming the disorder and addiction.
In social work, the person in environment perspective requires one to understand an individual and his behaviors in the context in which the individual lives. In this case a social worker need to understand that the teenager in the topic is a drug dealer and need to approach the individual without judging and looking down on them because of their substance abuse disorder. The approach of normalizing the situation and not freaking out will enable a social worker to approach their client with ease this then will create a better rapport and relationship between the two (Chung & Shek, 2018).
Therapeutic interventions that would be beneficial for teenagers with substance abuse disorder include detox programs, where the client will go through a process that will enable them get rid of all toxic drugs in the body; the detox intervention though must be followed up with further treatment that will enhance the process. The other intervention strategy will also include behavioral therapy that will focus on obtaining goals related to the present life of the drug user. This intervention will help the user eliminate unwanted and unhealthy behaviors. The third therapeutic intervention that can be used is person-centered therapy (Chung & Shek, 2018).
These interventions have proven to work in most cases. Substance abuse addicts have resolved in the detox and behavioral interventions. This intervention has achieved success in correcting the unhealthy behaviors of clients and has achieved success in gaining control of their bodies. The person-centered therapy has also achieved much success because it provides a supportive environment, unconditional positive regard, and acceptance of substance abuse addicts (Flynn & Brown, 2008).
They are many resources that both the teenagers with substance abuse disorder and their families can use in order to overcome his addiction. Public and private facilities around the community that offer rehabilitation services and free campaigns organized by non-governmental organizations are some of the resources they can use to help their child overcome their addiction on substance abuse.
Medications are useful for this treatment because withdrawal symptoms are massive and some teenagers cannot endure the pain of these symptoms and so they need to be medicated. Medications like Antabuse and Acamprosate are believed to inhibit the severe withdrawal effects, especially for alcoholic clients. These drugs exhibit zero side effects and if side effects might arise then the client will need to see Specialties (Flynn & Brown, 2008).
References
Chung, Y. Y., & Shek, D. T. (2018). Treatment Fears: Barriers to Young Psychotropic Substance Abusers Receiving Residential Drug Rehabilitation Treatment. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction . doi:10.1007/s11469-018-9884-x
Conway, K. P. (2009). Measuring Addiction Propensity and Severity: A New Instrument. PsycEXTRA Dataset . doi:10.1037/e620952009-001
Flynn, P. M., & Brown, B. S. (2008). Co-occurring disorders in substance abuse treatment: Issues and prospects. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment , 34 (1), 36-47. doi:10.1016/j.jsat.2006.11.013
