Introduction
Drug and substance abuse is perhaps one of the most persistent challenges in most societies. The efforts to discourage people from engaging in drug and substance abuse are gaining traction in most societies. However, the processes and strategies of helping those who are willing to withdraw from drug and substance reliance are still not as effective as they are supposed to be in the context of meeting the set objectives. Medical interventions and other forms of therapy are gaining quite some positives, but it is clear that more needs to be done to contain and uphold the positive steps that have been attained so far (Laschober, de Tormes Eby, & Sauer, 2012). Supervision of individuals under drug and substance abuse related therapies has been observed to be an effective method of enhancing the ability to overcome the persistent challenges of the negative effects of drug abuse. The current summarizes the scholarly and research trends related to supervision in addiction counseling.
Discussion
Drug-related counseling has been observed to come with various positives. Seemingly, a wide spectrum of scholars all concedes that counseling in drug and substance related abuse has multiple-pronged benefits. Counselors get the benefit to monitoring effectively the progress of their work as they coordinate with medical therapists in offering remedies to the individuals facing the challenges of drug and substance abuse (Connell, 2006). Apparently, counselors can understand the weaknesses in the strategies for therapy and treatment being employed as they also advance their agenda of monitoring the progress that those undergoing treatments make as they receive specific therapies. It should be noted that counselors employ other experts as the supervisors who monitor their patients as they undergo therapy and other drug and substance abuse related treatments. Just like the counselors, these supervisors also benefit from the supervision undertakings in the aforementioned activity.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
The supervisors can gather information from their direct involvement with the processes of helping patients be treated and taking up new lifestyles. The information that these supervisors collect could be used to inform their practical decision in the endeavors in a similar context concerning their practice (Byrne & Shufelt, 2014). The involvement of supervisors enables the process to be up to date and coherent to the actual processes and strategies employees to meeting the objectives of involving drug and substance abusers in the rehabilitation programs. Supervisors serve the role of linking counselors and the involved drug users, and both medical and rehabilitative scholars have appreciated the unique role that such individuals play in the treatment and control of drug and substance abuse. Apparently, the functions of supervisors have been critical to the positive developments that drug and substance abusers undergoing treatment have reported in their involvement in the treatment and therapy processes.
The problem of addiction could be hard to overcome without the help of counselors and supervisors. In effect, drug and substance addicts need the combined services both counselors and supervisors to attain the objectives of the therapy and treatment processes that they undergo. In this context, supervision enables drug users to be able to withstand the influence and entanglement that arises from the problem of addiction. In fact, with consistent and effective supervision, the problem of addiction among drug and substance abusers could be overcome. As such, effective supervision requires that all the three stakeholders cooperate and work together with the aim of attaining the objectives of the therapy and treatment processes being put in place to address the problem of drug addiction. Every player needs to play his or her roles effectively so that it is possible to overcome the addiction problem. It is important that patient-specific issues be addressed in as far as the supervision process is concerned.
Summary
Supervision has been claimed to be an effective process as it has been associated with a significantly positive effect regarding the interventions to addiction to drugs and substances. With effective supervision, it is apparent that there are increased chances of overcoming the drug and substance addiction problem. However, research and objective analysis have identified various gaps that apparently derail the attainment of the objectives of the entire process. For instance, the failure to incorporate individual-specific supervision strategies could be an ineffective approach in as far as addressing the problem of addiction is concerned (Scott, 2000).
Recommendations for Future Research
Besides, the reliance on supervisors who are engaged in other activities could be influencing the failure to attain the set objectives within set timeframes and within the projected levels of effectiveness. Therefore, future research needs to focus on ways to ensure that the supervision exercise is undertaken based on the specific needs of individuals. Besides, such research needs to address the issue of a lack of total commitment from supervisors given the fact that any instance of repeated drug and substance abuse could lead to serious negatives in the entire exercise.
Conclusion
In conclusion, supervision in drug and substance abuse therapy needs to be focused on the individual rather than the public, as is the case with other forms of intervention. So far, available records indicate that supervision has been significantly effective in addressing the problem of addiction among drug and substance abusers (National Center for Biotechnology Information, 2005). Due to supervision and other related interventions, drug and substance patients have been able to overcome the problem of addiction and adopt positive lifestyles. However, some gaps unless addressed as urgently as required, could derail the positive steps that have been taken so far. Finally, the current paper advocates for the adoption of supervision as one of the main complimentary processes to aid in the treatment and implementation of therapy to individuals suffering from drug and substance abuse.
References
Byrne, J. & Shufelt, B. (2014). Factors for Personal Counseling Among Counseling Trainees. Counselor Education And Supervision , 53 (3), 178-189. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/j.1556-6978.2014.00056.x
Connell, P. (2006). Organization of the treatment and supervision of heroin addiction. Addiction , 90 (6), 843-845. http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1360-0443.1995.90684313.x
Laschober, T., de Tormes Eby, L., & Sauer, J. (2012). Clinical Supervisor and Counselor Perceptions of Clinical Supervision in Addiction Treatment. Journal Of Addictive Diseases , 31 (4), 382-388. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10550887.2012.735599
National Center for Biotechnology Information, (2005). 7 Training and Supervision. Substance Abuse And Mental Health Services Administration (US) . Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK64226/
Scott, C. (2000). Ethical Issues in Addiction Counseling. Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin , 43 (4), 209-214. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/003435520004300405
