AddictionStudies
AddictionStudies
Basedon your reading of chapters 11 and 12 of your text, what might be thebest way to assist members of a family who have experienced addictionin the family? According to your text what are their needs and howbest can these needs be met?
Addictionin the family comes as a challenge in treatment. The problem posesitself to various ways. The family members have a long journey ofacceptance that one of their own has an apparent addiction that nowneeds special attention and care or else they could lose their lovedone in the deep sea of addiction. Additionally, there is the strangeair of maintaining the reputation of the family since it is a commonpractice to have families to look out for the tone of their ownagainst the unforgiving eyes of the society. In such efforts,covering up for their member may be a typical stance for manyfamilies instead of focusing attention on helping the member with theaddiction problem. Addiction by one member of the family transcendsto the addiction of the whole family, neither to the drug nor thesubstance, but to the need to take care of one of their own and seethem free of the shackles. It is an additional problem because themember in the family who faces addiction may lie to the othermembers, or steal, manipulate and compromise family relations toacquire the necessary resources to keep up with their addiction (VanWormer 2012). Among the best ways of trying to help a relative out ofthe addiction, is through education. Education and immense knowledgeof the disease of addiction help unravel the typical mysteriessurrounding the addiction. The family should learn as much about thecausative agent for the substance abuse and its relations to thehuman behavior and control. The process of learning puts the wholefamily at a level where they could all understand what their lovedone has to go through each day to battle the addiction. Suchknowledge harbors more compassion to the family member, an imperativeitem they need from all of the family members to come outsuccessively of the addiction. Additionally, the knowledge reducesthe resentment from the family members who are quick to judge aboutaddiction. An intervention process follows where the family maysettle to send their loved one to the rehabilitation centers or maychoose another way to combat the addiction as a family unit. Once theaddicted members need a safe harbor to keep their loved one out ofreach of any causative agents for the addiction, the family plays apivotal role in providing such support. They provide such supportiveefforts until their member is completely from the program and can nowsurvive without using (Hanson 2015). Keeping the member encourages atall times, members availing themselves at counseling sessions,refrain from judgment or harsh condemnation and constant visits tothe victim goes a great deal from the family to the recovery of theaddict (Sheff 2013).
Basedon what you have learned in the course, design a prevention programfor AOD use and describe it in an essay. Assume that you have nolimits for funding or staff
Theprevention program for AOD termed as Guiding Good Choices (GGC) worksto educate the parents on how to reduce the risk factors andadditionally strengthen the bonds within their families. The programtargets the children between the age of nine to those of ages 14since the group is highly sensitive to introduction to drugs andsubstance abuse. Delivery of the GGC covers five weekly sessions thatall work out to strengthen the skills of the parents in familymanagement, parent-child bonding, and teach skills to help theirchildren evade peer pressure. Out of the five sessions, the childrenattend a single session that solely focuses on peer pressure. Theother four sessions will have an attendance by the parents, and theywill help identify risk factors for adolescent substance abuse andplot strategies to protect the family against such abuses, manage theanger and conflicts within the family. They will also offeropportunities for a positive inclusion of the children in the familyactivities and development of working parenting skills, moreparticularly on the substance abuse. The evaluation outcomes of thestudy include the proactive communication where it is an expectationfor parents to improve their communication with their children. Theynegative interaction of parents and the children will face a drop,and the relationship quality in the family amongst all members willgo a notch higher. The positive intervention of substance abuse bythe parents will show that there will be a drop in the likelihood ofteens to launch into drug addiction after learning through the GCCand the overall progression in substance abuse will lower from theeffects of the knowledge offered by GCC. The implementation of theprogram includes kits of information to use throughout the workshopsand to hand out to the participants. The information includes CDs andDVDs with information stored as PowerPoint presentations for thewhole family to watch after the workshops. Guiding gooddecision-making process is a task for the workshop leaders who havethe liberty to incorporate outside sources to affirm the message tothe audience.
Asdiscussed in recent lectures/readings, there is some controversy inthe field about whether we should consider non-substance addictionsas similar to drug and alcohol addictions. Give me your opinion onthis topic, and support your arguments with course readings.
Overthe years, purist psychologists tend to lean on the claim thataddiction must have the self-administration of an agent to affect theexperience of self or the environment. I think that the strictness ofthe purists is traditional and should face revoking to include thenon-substance addiction. I would term the word addiction to thedistinct pattern of behavior that relates to obtaining a substance oractivity, and where there is a distinct set of responses when onecannot longer be in control their response to the substance oractivity. Behavioral addiction or addictions to any non-drugaddictives have the full capability of stimulating a person toaddiction, by making a habit change into an obligation. Onlineaddiction, gambling, exercising, online shopping, and evenmasturbation fall to this broad category of behavioral addiction. Asthe drug and substance addictives, the addicted persons can havespecialized training to help them learn about their addiction andhave possible ways to covert the obligation to a habit that they caneasily abandon.
Whatis addiction? For people who struggle with addiction issues, what isthe best approach to treatment?
Addictioncovers a broad perspective it is a condition that results from oneinjecting their bodies with substance, or engages in an activity thattends is pleasurable to them (Ross 2010). Additionally, Ross statesthat the continued usage or injection makes the person compulsive andinterferes with the normal performance of the daily human tasks(2010). The person may then be unaware of the harm caused by theiraction to their bodies and those in the surrounding. The full focusof handling addiction does not come from what matters in theaddiction it is the need to take cautious action when under certainkind of stress that stimulates the urge to inject substances, or getto an addictive activity. The best approach to the treatment ofaddiction is in the psychology of understanding of how the addictionworks to the individual (Hajela 2015). Treating addiction is atwo-way thing. The task of understanding the psychology of addictionis the role of the counselor and the medical team while the personunder addiction carries the hugest responsibility to see an end tothe addiction (Hajela 2015). Their role is acceptance and thewillingness to open up to the therapy. The combination of thementioned factors works to see an end to addiction.
Basedon what you learned this semester, what information do you believewill be the most relevant for you later in your career, and why? Whatdo you think are the most important issues for the field movingforward? 
Afterthe encounter and learning of the course on drug and substance abuse,the pivotal lesson lies on the decisions I make regarding my actions.The start of misuse of drugs and other substances, in addition to thebehavioral addictives, comes from a frail decision-making process andfailure to recognize that even the simplest of actions producesresults and effects to our lives. Moreover, the course teaches theimportance of self-acceptance, to live a self-defined life that doesnot in any way lean on to any external negative pressure. The momentI lose my self-dignity to seek recognition by external parties byventuring to drugs and substance abuse is the very moment that I digmy addiction grave for myself. Additionally, the course will aid mycareer choice and will extend to apply the knowledge acquired tothose surrounding me everywhere I go. Getting into professions thatneed me to take anti-depressants or emotion suppressants to completethe requirements of the career indeed cut off from my mind since theyare most likely to kick me to a path of the addiction-one whoseprocess of reversing is way complicated and long than the one forbeing hooked to.
References
Hajela,R., Newton, S., & Abbott, P. (2015). Addictionis addiction: Understanding the disease in oneself and others for abetter quality of life.
Hanson,G., Venturelli, P. J., & Fleckenstein, A. E. (2015). Drugsand society.
Ross,D. (2010). Whatis addiction?.Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Sheff,D. (2013). Clean:Overcoming addiction and ending America`s greatest tragedy.Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
VanWormer, K., & Davis, D. (2012). Addictiontreatment.Nelson Education.