Introduction
Addiction is a condition that majority of people face and struggle with and it takes a toll on their lives and mostly the lives of their loved ones, specifically children. Children are quite vulnerable when their caregivers or guardians are struggling with addiction making them suffer from emotional, physical and mental abuse from the addicts (Morrison, & Miller, 2008). Addiction counseling for children of addicts, addresses symptoms expressed by children such as depression, physical abuse, stress and loneliness and evaluates the functionality of the child affected by close relation addiction, and monitors the recovery and healing program of the child (Cox, 2008). Addiction counseling model is not a one-time affair but involves an approach that is time-limited focusing on recovery, behavioral and change and growth. The paper addresses the criteria used in selecting members mainly children of addicts for the counseling group and also identifies the necessary screening questions for identifying the right candidate.
Criteria for selecting new group members
Selection and screening procedures rely largely on and are subjective to the group leader’s judgment and intuition (Corey and Corey, 1992). This is why it is important for counseling group leaders to limit their opinions and judgments whenever possible on specific information. Since group therapy is not for everyone, it is ethically important that the group leader screens each new member to assess the
The group facilitator is responsible of interviewing all members to ensure that all members will benefit from the group sessions, and that no member with interfere with the overall goal of the session. The screening of group attendee must comply with the standard code of ethic listed in ACA Code of Ethic (2005) under A.8.a. Group Work. “Counselors screen prospective group/theory participant. To the extent possible, counselor select members whose needs and goals are compatible with the goals of the group, who will not impede the group process, and whose well-being will not be jeopardized by the group experience” (ACA, 2015). The screening and group selection process is just as important as it sets the basis for what the group will offer or assistance the participants. The intake process can offer opportunities to the counselor to be tempted to engage in unethical practices. Extended research must be conducted before selection process takes place. The assembling a group would knowingly support the hypothesis and offer a tainted validation of the data generated.
Growing up in the household under substances influence can cause severe damage to the child. Parental substance abuse has a significant impact on family function, and it may also contribute to child maltreatment. It heightens the risks to both of the physical and emotional safety of the children, and it generates children’s problematic outcomes. Children who grow up in such families may also experience mental health issues, social isolation, financial difficulties, and exposure to stressful life events and so on.
According to current statistics released by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, “In the United States in 2011, there were an estimated 25.1 million adolescents aged 12 to 17. In the past year, more than one quarter of adolescents drank alcohol, approximately one fifth used an illicit drug, and almost one eighth smoked cigarettes” ("A Day in the Life of American Adolescents," 2013, para. 1). Substance abuse is major problem amongst adolescents. Some are experimenting, but some adolescents may become dependent on a particular substance. If one becomes dependent on a substance as an adolescent it could be detrimental to their future health and success as an adult. Spear (2003) stated in an article titled Alcohol’s
As soon as birth, children are exposed to new things; new life experiences that will develop the path of which direction their life will take. Adolescence is the most important time in a child’s life because it is where they learn appropriate behavior from their family and the outside world. Some children are able to use these experiences to differentiate at an early age what is right and what is wrong and hopefully carry this into adulthood. What happens when children are exposed to the wrong experiences at an early age? What happens if children assume that what they are seeing is okay because one of their parents are
The cost of alcohol and substance abuse in the United States reaches heights of four hundred eighty four billion dollars per year (“Magnitude”). That’s about seven hundred eighty times the amount it cost to diagnose and treat sexually transmitted diseases in the year 2000 (Chesson). The sole purpose of this is not to persuade you one way or the other on this topic. Nor is the purpose to apologize for this social issue. The purpose of this writing is to employ data showing the societal effects parental addictions have on children, to show how this data has remained relevant in society, and to show how it is affecting our future members of society.
Drugs and alcohol have been used for medical and recreational purposes throughout history. With advancement of technology it has become easier and easier to access these substances. It is not only illegal drugs but prescription drugs that are being misused and wreaking havoc across the world. Even with billions of dollars being paid out to stop the war on drugs, the problem persists. People from all walks of life have been affected by drugs or are becoming drug addicts themselves. One particular group afflicted by the misuse of these substances is the children of drug addicted parents. According to Cattapan and Grimwade, “Drug use seen in one generation affects the lives of the next”. Children with one or both parents on drugs face huge
When it comes to preventing addiction, there are factors like environments and influences to consider. As children get older and get closer to their teen years, they are shown drugs from their peers more often and are influenced from going to social events (Palmer et al., 6). Environments have a significant amount of importance when preventing addiction. There are always influences around and they affect how a person thinks and acts. “‘Peer influence’ is often more a matter of the attraction of a particular social group for the teenager than it is a matter of pressure from anyone specifically to drink, smoke, or use drugs”(Room 937). “Exposure to portrayals of alcohol in film, television, and commercials has also been linked to adolescents’
Substance abuse and addiction have become a social problem that afflicts millions of individuals and disrupts the lives of their families and friends. Just one example reveals the extent of the problem: in the United States each year, more women and men die of smoking related lung cancer than of colon, breast and prostate cancers combined (Kola & Kruszynski, 2010). In addition to the personal impact of so much illness and early death, there are dire social costs: huge expenses for medical and social services; millions of hours lost in the workplace; elevated rates of crime associated with illicit drugs; and scores of children who are damaged by their parents’ substance abuse behavior (Lee, 2010). This paper will look at
A research funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse showed a high percentage of substance abuse disorder of previously incarcerated youth. That is, 90% of males and 80% for females. This analysis covered approximately 1800 youth, with age ranging from 10 to 18; most of them listed in the detention in Cook County, Illinois. They investigated how human existence and/or past-year rampant of substance use disorders vary by race/ethnicity, sex, and substance abused as the group matured to young adulthood. The partakers were re-interviewed more or less nine times in a period of 16 years and were determined for substance-use disorders. These involved alcohol, cocaine, marijuana, opiate, amphetamine, hallucinogen/PCP, sedative, inhalant and other
There are more than a dozen addictions prevalent in society today. Addiction itself is not new; however, what has changed is these addictions are no longer hidden secrets that are misunderstood. Although denial remains a powerful entity when experiencing or identifying an addiction, overall there is a better understanding of the symptoms and ramifications to these addictions. Alcoholism, overeating and nicotine addiction have oral fixation as a commonality. Screen addiction (computer, television & gamming) and workaholics’ share a need for constant stimulation. These addictions are a few of the ubiquitous addictions plaguing lives daily.
Parental addiction is becoming more of a worldwide problematic concern in our generation. What exactly do I mean when I say addiction? Addictions can be anything, whether it falls in place of alcohol, drugs, sex, stealing, gambling, and etc. Now let’s just imagine all of us, girls and guys growing up with parents who are alcoholics and cannot take care and provide for us because they are constantly spending money on alcohol, or sleeping most of the day because they passed out from drinking too much, or it can be that parents are being violent to each other or even to the children. Having parents who are addicted is an issue we need to change and face the fact it is a growing problem. When children grow up with parents who are
These treatments could be given on out-patient basis, in-patient basis or on short-term or long-term residential basis. There are variety of professionals are giving service for drug addiction treatment. These professional are physicians, psychiatrists, psychologists, rehab counselors, social workers, nurses, etc..
Drug addiction is caused when chemicals from drugs are released into the brain and cause one to become dependant on a drug or substance, which ultimately becomes a new way of life. Drug addiction is bad because it causes negative health effects such as brain damage, emotional stress, and could possibly cause one to overdose resulting in death. In addition, drug consumption is bad for one’s social life because it is a way of fitting in and giving into peer pressure. Furthermore, drug addiction is used to hide emotional pain and can isolate a person from having a social life, which causes one to suffer from social anxiety and low self-esteem. Additionally, drug addiction also changes one’s outlook on life, causing depression and poor work performance. Poor work attendance can result into being terminated from one’s job; unfortunately, this can lead to a person having to find an alternative way to make money, which can include prostitution and theft. It can also affect one’s family life and can result in the loss of children to aid organizations, the abuse of significant others, or can result in an entire family being evicted and forced to live on the street due to not having the money to pay bills because a family member decided to spend money on drugs instead.
You have your mother’s eyes and her long flowy hair. You inherit your Dad’s height and sadly a slight drug addiction. Drug addiction can be inherited in family history. This is how drug culture is continued in history as well. The influence of father’s drug addiction can possibly bring the likelihood of a child to do drugs. However, even if there is a family history of abusing drugs the individual can make his or hers own choice in persisting drug addiction.
Hard drugs have been around for hundreds of years. It is a reoccurring problem in society that is increasing dramatically among adolescence and young adults. The actual drug can change he structure and function of the brain. It can do great harm to the human body psychically, emotionally, and socially. Often times, young adults have a greater risk of addiction when they become older and the addiction can transfer to adulthood. There are many way to prevent drug use and addiction amongst teenagers. However, if they do not seek help, the problem will continue. Drug use can prevent an individual from achieving goals society has set and increase the likelihood that the individual will engage in deviant criminal behavior. It has been argued amongst scholars and researchers that drug use can occurs through biological cause. Some argue that is caused through interaction with current drug users. Overtime, nonmedical prescription opioids and heroin became the drugs that have a higher chance of being used and abused amongst young adults. The authors, Magdalena Cerdá, Julián Santaella, Brandon D. L. Marshall, June H. Kim, and Silvia S. Martins, of the article, Nonmedical Prescription Opioid Use in Childhood and Early Adolescence Predicts Transitions to Heroin Use in Young Adulthood: A National Study, conducted a research to examine the relationship between nonmedical use of prescription opioids and heroin beginning from childhood to young adulthood.