Drug Use Behaviors - Essay Example

Addiction Behavior s Addiction Behavior Introduction Drug addiction is not a regional or national problem; rather it is a global problem. A successful treatment program for drug addiction needs to revolve around cultural realties. In the drug addiction society, the twelve-step fellowships need to be adopted. These steps include Narcotic Anonymous (NA), Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Cocaine Anonymous (CA). These programs are primarily used to ensure long-term sobriety and abstinence via addiction recovery. According to various researches conducted, it has been suggested that, an approach referred to as cultural congruency should always be adopted when a counselor and the patient shares a similar ethnic background. This is for purposes of improving public health intervention outcomes and treatment. Alcohol and drug abuse treatment programs are not an exception to solving the problem of addiction as numerous studies have illustrated that a careful attention to a cultural framework that is population variant can help in decreasing recidivism and enhance treatment efficacy. As such, the treatment provider should ask the client questions that are relevant to the program targeted for the client (Amodeo, et al., 1997). The questions are such as, at what point is drug use and alcohol use considered an issue in the client’s culture? At what point does the client deemed to require treatment? Who is conceived to own this problem? Is it the community, individual or the family? To what extent is stigma associated to the problem? Are specific individuals more stigmatized? Thus, the purpose of the paper is to document how the Drug and Alcohol addiction treatment facility in Stockbridge GA helped a drug addiction client (Asim) through its 12-step programs. Case Study: Coming Out and Cultural Issues in Addiction Treatment Asim is a 36 year old South Asian heritage Muslim male. He presents himself for individual counseling and admits to abuse of alcohol and marijuana. When Asim is asked about precipitants to his drinking behavior, Asim says that he began drinking and smoking marijuana after the end of a difficult relationship 3 years ago. When Asim is asked for more information about the relationship he hesitates. At this point I notice Asim is not using any identifying pronouns about the person he was in the relationship with. Asim suddenly changes the subject and asks whether it is possible to be attracted to women and men. Asian Americans have traditionally been treated as a group that is conglomerate and whose drug use problem has always been ignored (Nemoto, 1999). Fear of injecting drugs, drug addiction and the community attached strong stigma to individuals addicted to drug use are some of the cultural constructs that are often present among the Asian Americans with reference to alcohol and drug use. That is why the client was hesitant in revealing his true story till he was assured of confidentiality. From visiting the facility where the client had enrolled for his counseling sessions, I realized that their programs have helped many people overcome the problem of drug and alcohol addiction. Addiction treatment is not similar across distinct drug rehabs. However, drug rehabs’ basic foundation and ideals are virtually uniform. The primary goal of the Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation treatment facility in Stockbridge is to help addicts and alcoholics such as the Asim, client in the above case study to recover from their addiction behavior. The facility relies on the 12-step philosophy in treating their patients. As a matter of fact, there has existed numerous therapies and philosophies developed since the emergence of the 12-step philosophy which encompasses CBT, DBT and motivational interviewing among others to treat alcoholism and drug addiction. On the contrary, none of them has been able to outperform the 12-stage philosophy in developing a treatment method that is more successful in helping an alcoholic or addict to recover from their addiction. What has transpired in the treatment facility being attended to by the client over years, is that the rehabilitation centre has been able to incorporate the Cognitive Behavior Therapy(CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy(DBT) and the more recent and popular Motivational Enhancement Therapy into their matrix of its programs. Behavioral institutions such as Drug and Alcohol addiction treatment facility in Stockbridge GA often pairs counselors with patients depending on their environment or background. As such, these counselors have realized the importance of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) role in counseling of drug addicts. Therapists always seek to build rapport and develop trust with their clients for purposes of facilitating dialogue. The CBT technique allows patients to talk issues concerning their lives. Discussing and confronting painful events in an addicts life helps them in eliminating the factors that triggered them in indulging in drug abuse. The client identified that, through this programs, he was able to handle his personality disorders and co-occurring moods. Through the interaction with the health professionals at the rehabilitation centre, I was able to acknowledge that, the primary distinction between the 12-step philosophy and other available psychologies is that the 12-step intervention focuses on the inability and higher power of a person to control his or her addiction behavior on their own. In comparison to the 12-step philosophy, other therapies endeavors to assist an individual to control his or her behavior whilst the former emphasizes on the lack of control by an individual to control their drug use and drinking behaviors. Thus, the model helps such individuals to rely on a” power greater than themselves” for purposes of helping them to overcome their problem. According to the client, they are spiritually thought to become responsible members in the society. The rehabilitation centre visited by the client utilizes the spiritual elements in their practice. In addition to that, the 12-step philosophy in the organization combines effectively psychology and spirituality to treat their clients who are addicted to alcoholism and drug use (Bickley, 2008). The problem with the 12-step fellowship is that, some individuals belonging to certain religious background may not be comfortable when relating to some of the 12 step components. For instance, many Buddhist do not perceive their god as higher power. Thus, the utilization of God concept or higher power in their cultural context would not work. This is because they view their faith as way of life and philosophy rather than a religion. In that case, point of reference needs to be developed for purposes of making the12 –step recovery meaningful to such individuals. However, the subject in the case study being a Muslim responded well to the 12-step fellowship. This is because, the Muslims have always recorded few problems with the surrender concept as” Islam” literally means submitting to the will of God. Apart from the twelve-step model, there exist other models that can help individuals to recover from drug and alcohol addiction. The professional intervention is such as the Engagement project implemented and developed by Longshore et al. This model is extremely congruent with individual’s cultural values. The model is effective in scientific measuring of the cultural congruency effects. The model views drug abuse as both the community and individual problem. It emphasizes on the inequality power between the dominant institutions and the community of the African-American. The intervention has been proved to be effective statistically in terms of participants responding positively through abstaining from drug use one year after joining the intervention program. The experience I had with individuals in the rehabilitation centre helped me learn a lot of things as a future addiction counselor. For instance, if I need results when counseling drug and alcohol addicts, I need to apply an approach that is comprehensive. As such, it should not only rehabilitate addicts but also assist in addressing the prevailing causes of depending on chemicals. Moreover, through the interaction with drug and alcohol addictives, I learned that people involve themselves in drug use for various reasons. For example, some do that so that they can cope up with failures in their lives and disappointments, to get accepted by their fellow peers and some do that for purposes of forgetting the pain of past, present or future conflicts. Counselors and behavioral therapists strive to find out the principal cause of substance abuse through conducting face to face consultations with individuals who are willing to enroll in rehabilitation programs. Some addicts have come to an end of their life and hence the need for them to seek professional intervention. Professional interventions are often secular or faith based and is the only avenue for the addicts to come out of their vicious cycle of depending on chemicals. In summary, the 12-step fellowship is a perfect program to deal with individuals who are addicts. If I am an addiction counselor, I can only apply the program if an individual has not been able to control his alcoholism or drug use behavior. On the contrary, I cannot use the approach if an individual does not believe on the spiritual concept being used by the model. In conclusion, at the heart of every rehabilitation program, lies hardworking women and men referred to as drug addiction counselors. Drug addicts address their psychological component of their dependence through enrolling in drug addiction counseling. This process helps individuals to avoid using drugs in their lives. Counseling sessions are essential in decision making and enhances an individual life in terms of spirit and mind. References Nemoto, T., Aoki, B., Huang, K., Morris, A., Nguyen, H. & Wong, W. (1999). Drug use behaviors among Asian drug users in San Francisco. Addictive Behaviors, 24(6), 823-838. Longshore, D., Grills, C., Annon, K., & Grady, R. (1998). Promoting recovery from drug abuse: An Africentric intervention. Journal of Black Studies, 28(3), 319-333. Amodeo, M. & Jones, K. (1997). Viewing alcohol and other drug use cross culturally: A cultural framework for clinical practice. Families in Society, 78(3), 240-254. Bickley, B.( 2008). Addiction Treatment Philosophy. Retrieved May 21, 2012, from http://www.soberrecovery.com/drug-rehabilitation-alcohol-treatment/drug-rehabilitation/addiction-treatment-philosophy.html. Read More