Factors influencing time spent in Substance Abuse therapy
In mental health, addiction to drugs and other substances that are often abused are one of the most complex and difficult but important area of medication. This area of treatment may call for both medical practitioners and psychologies to administer the most appropriate therapy to the addiction. Addiction to drugs is usually associated with some mental illnesses. The patient could also experiences significant emotional or psychological difficulties. In some case, psychological difficulties may lead individuals to drug abuse. These individuals end up becoming addicted hardly knowing that addiction is too difficult to treat. In administering treatment to addiction, the cause of addiction and the approaches to the treatment is very critical. This paper is based on addressing issues of substance abuse therapy. In this case, it would look at two discrepant sides of practitioners as far as the administration of therapy treatment to substance abuse addiction is concerned.
Drug and substance abuse is said to be complex and chronic but a treatable disease. An individual starts to get addicted to drugs whenever he or she makes conscious choices in using drugs or related substances. Addiction may hardly be associated with much of drug usage but a continued use of particular drugs and substances that can hardly be avoided by the user after some time of use. The problems with drug and substance abuse are that the effect is extended to the brain causing some brain damage. From the drug or substance user’s point of view, use of such substances creates a feeling of pleasures but scientists find the abused substances to have a long-term effect on the metabolism activities of the brain. The long-term effects include addiction or chronic problems, or even relapsing illness that highly requires the use of treatment therapy or psychological help (Flynn, Knight, Godley, & Knudsen, 2012). The good news about drug addiction is that the problem can be treated. The treatment program goes with a variety of approaches that have been set to help patients in dealing with their addiction problem as evident by their cravings. Given that a patient may be forced to avoid a certain drug to which he or she is addicted, the individual may go through a drug relapse. The therapy is administered to also aid patients avoid such relapse experiences and enable those live normal lives.
There exist discrepancies as far as administering therapy to drug abuse is concerned. Some drug abuse therapists find it hard for substance abusers to survive without using drugs or substances that they have been addicted to despite the administration of the therapy. Besides, the duration of administering therapy to substance abuse problems with patients may vary from one patient to another. The heath condition caused by substance abuse determines the treatment to be given. At the same time, patients getting the therapy are required to complete it if they are to get well. It is argued that some of the major problems in responding to therapy treatment are that some of the patients may fail to complete their therapy treatments.
According a research conducted on Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, and Cubans substance addicts as well as substance and therapy treatment on the same condition, Puerto Ricans and Cubans were found to be more likely to complete their medication than Mexicans or other Latin Americans (Guerrero, 2012). The research established that there is a significant variation in the way drug and substance addicts respond to treatment of their addictions. The research also indicates that Cubans and Puerto Ricans would mainly enter the treatment at an older age than Mexicans would and their assistance is provided by formal education. Cubans addicts together with substance addicts from Puerto Rica are found to report more cases of mental health problems as compared to other addicts from Mexico (Guerrero, 2012). Most of these substances that are abused by Cubans and Puerto Ricans consist of heroin and cocaine in which case the two drugs are the primary drugs of choice.
According to Guerrero (2012), the decreased chances of completing therapy treatment on substance abuse treatment is greatly affected by factors such as age, the condition of having mental health problems, elevated use of the drugs or substances being administered, as well as use of marijuana. The issue of age could determine whether a patient becomes a client for life or remains as client for some specified duration. A person’s specification on the duration h or she would go through the therapy treatment would as well be influenced by the kind of substance addiction he or she has gone through. Age is the main determinant of the time that a patient would spend in going through a substance abuse therapy although the completion of the therapy and the determination of whether the patient would continue being a patient are also influenced by criminal system monitoring.
In some cases, group therapy may be used as it works by changing the balance of the risky and protective factors that could lead to behavioral change. The part played by psychologists in trying to change drug and substance abuse behaviors can be very critical in terminating or mitigating the cases of substance abuse or addiction to such substances or drugs (Brook, 2001). The key issue in this case is the time taken by drug addicts to remain patients in a certain therapy. Group therapy is initiated for the purposes of decreasing the adverse effect in all cases of drug use or drug abuse while also acting as a major factor for change (Brook, 2001). In the course of going through a treatment therapy for substance abuse addiction, the patient may find it hard to go through the medication given that some psychological problems are influencing his or her progress in completing the full dosage in the therapy treatment. In this case, he or she may be forced by such circumstances to seek psychological assistance alongside group therapy. Group therapy is important in the case that it can lead to better chances of changing one’s personality and decreasing the likelihood of experiencing severe relapses.
The major disparities that arise in the patterns and therapy treatment of substance abuse are mainly among ethnic and racial groups as seen in the case of Latinos research on therapy treatment in substance abuse. In the case of Latinos, Cubans and the Puerto Ricans who go for such therapy treatments are more likely to experience bad effects from their inability to complete their therapy treatments (Guerrero, 2012). The case may not be defined definitely since hardly all Puerto Ricans or Cubans terminate their therapy treatments before the full dosages are achieved but the rate of going through incomplete therapy treatment and being unable to remain life clients is the highest among other Latinos. This implication means that if drug addicts were to be consistent with their medication, something should be behind their motivation but not just their willingness to go through the therapy treatment. One major reason why clients may not be clients until the prescribed medication period elapses is that medical practitioners may fail to monitor their movements after the first dosage. This problem may call for the invitation of psychologies to prescribe the medication with respect to the responsible medical practitioners administering the therapy treatment.
There could be some individual factors that would always affect a person’s ability to complete a given therapy dosage in the treatment of issues in substance abuse. The completion of medication does not imply that a substance abuse patient taking the therapy would remain a client for life. The medication could only be estimated to take a shorter period such as several months, one year, two year, or a period of less than a decade. The time taken to administer a certain substance abuse therapy depends on the kind of therapy and the degree of substance abused by the addict (Flynn, Knight, Godley, & Knudsen, 2012). The client’s characteristics form an important ground for determining whether to take a serious follow up or not. The key traits in this case include employment type and conditions of the patient, his or her family background, as well the severity of the addiction. It thus comes out that conditions of administering therapy treatment are not meant to last until the death of the patient but as per the period of going through the treatment, which may last in accordance with individual factors especially the mental effect of the substance abuse practice or the severity of the condition (Flynn, Knight, Godley, & Knudsen, 2012).
Whenever administering therapy to drug addiction, there need to be a consideration of all factors that could lead to clients’ failure in completing their therapy treatment in order to assist all possible subjects of substance abuse problems. There could be programs that are useful as alternatives given that patients with mental problems or difficulties associated with stress or depression may be the key causes of their addiction habits. In this case, it may be important to call for the help psychiatrists therapies and avoid the misconception in drug addiction that it is because of social problems. This could ruin doctor’s interest to help their clients but create an aspect of trying to benefit from their negative conditions. The point of view or perception by many people that drug and substance addicts, should be in position to stop their addiction problem, can hardly end the problem (Barrett, Meisner, & Stewart, 2008). People should be in a position of understanding their problems and then calling for the correct action towards helping the addicts. Medical practitioners should therefore collaborate with psychologists by giving them a change to prescribe medication to clients while initiating motivational talks that would help heal mental problems in most of the clients. Drug and substance addiction can be treated clearly through various approaches. Treatments can be tailored to individual clients and incorporate psychological lessons on the patients to help them in coming up with ways of dealing with their addiction conditions as well as way they should take keen on the prescribe therapies to avoid becoming clients forever.
References
Barrett, S., Meisner, J., & Stewart, S. (2008). What constitutes prescription drug misuse? Problems and pitfalls of current conceptualizations. Curr Drug Abuse Review Volume 1, Issue 3 , 255–62.
Brook, D. W. (2001). Introduction to the Special Issue on Group Therapy and Substance Abuse. International Journal of Group Psychotherapy Volume 51 Issue 1 , 5-10 .
Flynn, P. M., Knight, D. K., Godley, M. D., & Knudsen, H. K. (2012). Organizational Dynamics Within Substance Abuse Treatment. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment Volume 42, Issue 2 .
Guerrero, E. G. (2012). Disparities in completion of substance abuse treatment among Latino subgroups in Los Angeles County, CA. Addictive Behaviors Volume 37, Issue 10 , 1162–1166.
