INTERVENTION

 
 
The table above (Figure 8) is most often used with patients who are not alcohol dependent, and its goal may be moderate drinking¹ rather than abstinence (4-6). intervening with a person who has a alcoholic disease, it is aimed at the family making the effort to educate themselves first and make sure they do not rush the person , causing anger, resentment, non-cooperative behaviors.Nearly one-fifth of patients treated in general medical practices report drinking at levels considered "risky" or "hazardous" (1,2) and may be at risk for developing alcohol-related problems as a result. Brief intervention, which can be conducted in general health care settings, can help patients reduce that risk.Brief intervention is generally restricted to four or fewer sessions, each session lasting from a few minutes to 1 hour, and is designed to be conducted by health professionals who do not specialize in addictions treatment. It is most often used with patients who are not alcohol dependent, and its goal may be moderate drinking¹ rather than abstinence (4-6). intervening with a person who has a alcoholic disease, it is aimed at the family making the effort to educate themselves first and make sure they do not rush the person , causing anger, resentment, non-cooperative behaviors. This is but one of many intervention routes available.


 The term "Intervention" refers to the action taken when family members , friends or employers see a need to act in order to help a person who obviously in need of help. This is a very sensitive process in that it can be taken in a positive or negative way by the person with the disease. The person in need of help will be in a state of confusion, disorientated, depressed, under the influence and in some cases suicidal.. It is very hard to try and help the person who doesn't want the help, but in order to have some sort of trust all involved should take part in the intervention. Making sure the group intervention comes across as a caring, understanding, empathetic, and positive way.  This is a interview I conducted with a person in my AD-101 class, which is very personnel and an example of what she went through for a fellow in need of a intervention at the time.

Find someone who found themselves enabling a close friend, coworker, loved one etc.

"She was in a terrible state. Unfortunately they could not admit her that day. I called her boyfriend to see if she could come home for the night but things had gotten so bad between them and he has a small child that he said no way. After talking to the nurse about how to help her stay well over night, I decided to take her home with me. I got her a bottle and snuck her past the desk of my clean and sober building. I gave her a 2oz. shot every 4 hours over the next 20 hours. I got her up and ready the next morning, snuck her out of the building, and got her to Hooper. Thankfully, they admitted her that next day". 

·                             Give at least two examples of how they tried to assist that person in getting clean.

I have a friend who went thru treatment with me at DePaul. She left inpatient and within a few months was floundering. I organized a couple of friends and we went to see her at her home for a 12 Step call. We brought literature and phone numbers, offered support for her and her boyfriend, offered to take her to meetings. At the time she expressed gratitude for our concern and desire to get back into recovery. Unfortunately she was not ready. Her alcoholism progressed quickly and within another couple of months she had lost her job, her boyfriend had broken up with her, and she was drinking at least a 5th of vodka a day. It was a very frustrating and emotional experience for me. I was in contact with her boyfriend throughout the whole time, offering support and understanding, connecting him with al-anon websites and chat rooms, etc. Eventually I had to pull back from the intensity of trying to help her. I was so emotionally invested and so frustrated that it was effecting my disposition and my recovery. Finally she got in touch with me and said she was going to Hooper detox in the morning to try to get in. I offered to meet her there. The next day I met her at Hooper. She was in a terrible state. Unfortunately they could not admit her that day. I called her boyfriend to see if she could come home for the night but things had gotten so bad between them and he has a small child that he said no way.
       

·                               From their perspective what do they believe was helpful and not helpful in helping that person? 
                 And if they had to do it over again what would they do differently?

·         Upon reflecting on the whole experience I realized that since I live in clean and sober housing, I took a very big risk in taking her home with me. I put my housing at risk and caused myself a lot of anxiety. If I had to do it over again, I most likely would take my friend to the emergency room and have her admitted to the hospital overnight. I have learned that putting myself in such jeopardy is not safe and it is unnecessary. I cannot put the needs of others before myself, especially when there are other options, even if those options are not convenient for those I am trying to help.

N.p., n.d. Web.

This site gave me an idea of how family, friends, empolyers would plan a positive way to confront the person with the disease.
"Drug And Alcoholism Interventions - Guidelines And Resources For Performing An Effective Addiction Intervention." Drug And Alcoholism Interventions - Guidelines And Resources For Performing An Effective Addiction Intervention. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 July 2013.
www.niaaa.nih.gov  

THEREPY THURSDAY THOUGHTS

 

ENLIGHTENING TOWARD A BETTER  PLACE

With all the types of addictions these days there are vast amounts of resources to help get people help with thier diseases.The most notable and widely known for success in the United States is the Alcoholics Anonymous program. This is the mother ship for other programs that use the twelve step program for various other disease (narcotics,marijuana, nicotine, prescription/over the counter drugs, gambling, cocaine, sex, over-eating) which have thier own concepts of doing these steps.


I can attest to the idea that addictions are but a side effect in most cases from previous personnel expieriences, physical/mental trauma, or some family history of addiction in some form or other. The term "addiction" is very vague as noted before. This requires varied types of treatment, almost on a individual basis, but with times the way they are today a cookie cutter process is the norm.

The treatment of any addiction will include some sort of trauma in our childhood or early in our youth that plays a part in our developmet to deal with situations. In other cases it is a genetics and or environmental interplay.This is noted in "Scared Sick" where it states "Still, we cannot blame genes alone for addiction. As in heart disease, obesity, and other disease, "genes merely load the gun," researchers note, "while environment pulls the trigger,"Trauma, abuse and neglect in childhood are known to be associated with environments that contribute to drug abuse and addictions of all kinds, but some people never the less manage to avoid addiction. In our latter years some may have expierienced a traumatic event causing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), abandonement, adoption, death of a love one, physical,mental, sexual, and emotional abuse.




 Additional correlations between early abuse and mental health include the following: Dissociation interferes with the normal learning and with commonsense judgement, especially in relationships.The most surprising finding was children who experienced both verbal abuse and witnessed domestic violence were even more likely to suffer from dissociation than children who had been sexually abused. Anxiety, depression and anger/hostility:The effect of this toxic combination is equivalent to the effect of experiencing physical, emotional and sexual abuse combined. Substance abuse: Early maltreatment is clearly implicated in the later development of substance abuse and is also linked to depression and anger/hostility. In summary, the destructive impact of domestic violence on health does not simply appear out of the blue in adulthood.


For many people, addiction is a chronic, recurring problem, and it costs to society are emormeous. It has been estimated that state ans federal governments in the United States spend more than $15 billion per year, and insurers at least another $5 billion per year, on substance abuse treatment services for some four million people. this amount is likely to increase sharply with the recent mental health parity law, scheduled to take effect in 2010. For the first time federal law will require addiction treatment under a statute mandating that insurers cover mental and physical ailments equally. Today many clinics across the country have lengthy waiting lists, and researchers estimate that some twenty million Americans who could benefit from treatment are not getting it. the costs in human suffering, family disintegration, and lost of productivity are staggering. The lingering questions remain, What is effective treatment? How can it best be administered?
 






Maté, Gabor. In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic, 2010. Print.

AD-101 required reading, insightful on canadian physhician helping a communiity with the disease of addiction.

 "University Bound Network Sites." Psychology Degrees. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 July 2013.

This pie shows the vast area that counselling positions are available and how great the need is in the field.

"Cope with Life." Helping Introverts Learn How to Obstacles. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 July 2013.
 chucklestravels.com

THE MANY FACES OF ADDICITION

 Addiction is a chronic, neurobiological disease, with genetic, psychosocial, and environmental factors...It is characterized by behaviors that include one or more of the following: impaired control; over drug use, compulsive use, continued use despite harm, and craving." (Savage, Joranson, & Covington, 2003, p. 662
 

Chemical dependence disease shares some of the same charecteristics as impulse-control and obsessive compulsive diorders.

A drug is any chemical that changes normal physiological and function in the body and in high doses produces a toxicological or harmful effect. It is any chemical other than food or water that produces a therapeutic or nontherapeutic pharmacological action (effect) in the body.
Alcohol is a drug, not a food. drugs are generally catagorized as medicinal (pharmaceutical, therapeutic), legal (licit), or illegal (illicit). Nicotine is a chemical that is also a drug. Sometimes a drug can fall into more than one catagory, depending on how it is used. When drugs are taken in high doses, more often than recommended, or in ways that harm an individual or those around the user, the drug is abused. (A better term is misused, as people don't hurt or mistreat drugs, but misuse in the United States generally refers to the overuse of perscription drugs).

Alcohol is the most widely used and accepted drug. people often wonder how alcohol can be legal, socially acepted drug when most other mood-altering drugs are ilegal to posses, sell, or use. The reason it is seperated from other drugs is that it has aunique place in society, it has a tradition of benificail use that transends its overwhelmingly negative effects, and it is legal to buy and sell. "Socila use" of alcohol in my view, consists of an occasional drink or two in company of friends:a glass at a wedding, cold beer after a game. Two thirds of the U.S. population drinks alcohol, but the number of social drinkers cannot be defined due to conflicting definations of "social drinking. "Moderate use" which maybe 1-2 drinks per day, the definition of a "Heavy drinking" is defined by drinks per episode and duration of time drinking. "Problem drinking" is defined as drinking that results in significant risk of physical damage, psychological problems,accidents, legal problems, or other social problems.

These three addictions seem to be the top choices of our society today. The term addiction is a common part of every person's vocabulary. How often do we hear, "I love that so much, i'm addicted to it" or "I guess I'm hopelessly addicted to it". but there are aslo so many other forms of addiction. Much of the confusion regarding "addiction" is due to the umbrella-like nature of the term: it lumps all drug-use problems together. It also fails to acknowledge the critical differences between concious drug abuse (bad judgement" use of drugs, not a disease) and the pathological chemical dependence (impaired control over drug use, a brain disease). The public and the media have used and will continue to use the word addiction to describe situations where drugs, gambling, and other disorders are negatively affecting peoples lives. as long as this continues,
 it will be difficult for the public and policy makers to relate the word addiction to disease.

"The Science of Addiction 1st Edition." The Science of Addiction 1st Edition by Erickson. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 July 2013.
"The Science of Addiction: From Neurobiology to Treatment (Norton Professional Books) [Hardcover]." The Science of Addiction: From Neurobiology to Treatment (Norton Professional Books): Carlton K. Erickson: 9780393704631: Amazon.com: Books. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 July 2013

http://www.alcoholanddrugabuse.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/community_substance_abuse_centers.png

 

"Neurochemistry, Escalation, and the Process Addictions | Sex and Intimacy." Psych Central.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 July 2013.





 

 

Terminology & Charecterization of 'ADDICTION'

                                    Terminology and Characterization of “Addiction”

 Taken from the book Science of Addiction, Carlton K. Erickson, Ph.D. he states the word is unscientific. It is also referred to as “dependence syndrome” and is too broad, too vague, and too misunderstood. Much of the confusion regarding “addiction” is due to the umbrella-like nature of the term: it lumps all drug-use problems together. It does not acknowledge the critical differences between conscious drug abuse (“bad judgment” use of drugs, not a disease) and pathological chemical dependence (impaired control over drug use, a brain disease).

The term chemical dependence is preferred by many in the field, due to it being the closest in meaning to the term addiction as used by scientists. The term drug abuse (not a brain disease) and chemical dependence (the brain disease) are the preferred terms for scientific studies and clinical differentiation of people with drug problems. The same with the term alcohol dependence which is used more widely used than the term alcoholism in the alcohol scientific literature, whereas the term addiction is still more prevalent than drug dependence or chemical dependence in the “other drug” scientific literature. In most cases the term “addiction” over “dependence” is the case in order to avoid confusion with the term “physical dependence” which relates to withdrawal from drugs.

The public and media have used and will continue to use the word addiction to describe situations where drugs, gambling and other disorders are negatively affecting people’s lives, As long as this continues it will be hard for the public and policy makers to relate the word addiction to disease.

I am currently taking the Alcohol & Drug Counseling course here at PCC. I feel the topic of addiction is very broad, and has an affect/effect in just about every aspect of daily living in some form or other.

"The Science of Addiction 1st Edition." The Science of Addiction 1st Edition by Erickson. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 July 2013.
"The Science of Addiction: From Neurobiology to Treatment (Norton Professional Books) [Hardcover]." The Science of Addiction: From Neurobiology to Treatment (Norton Professional Books): Carlton K. Erickson: 9780393704631: Amazon.com: Books. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 July 2013.