Concurrent Disorders: A Case Study

A counselor’s job is to journey along with their client and to provide insight and support to those who are at risk and those who are hurting and searching for comfort and acceptance. If the counselor is a Christian they will also want to share our Heavenly Father’s love with the counselee and help guide them on a path that will lead them to Christ. There are several different techniques that can be used to break through the walls of some people in order to help them recognize the basis for their feelings whether it is such things as sin or faulty

Kaut and Dickinson (2007) suggested, without expert training in pharmacology, the mental health counselor must self-educate. Counselors have to pull information from peer-reviewed articles/journals, books, and colleagues to educated themselves. In order for a counselor to address client concerns or therapeutic issues a counselor role is to understand prescription medication (Dickinson & Kaut 2007 p. 216). If the prescribing medical professional does not fully explain the medication side effects, the counselor is left to educate the client on the medication (Kaut and Dickinson, 2007). The counselor monitors side effects and drug interactions, while maintaining an open discussion about the drugs specific to the client treatment. Counselors are encouraged to help their clients manage their medications, and provide therapeutic services that capitalize on the medications desired effects (Mears, G. 2010).

They help people address aging problems or emotional and mental health issues. Often working with a group, they counsel individuals and their families dealing with drug or alcohol addictions. The counselor helps their clients prevent and rectify conflicts or problems. A mental health counselor gets his or her information through observations, interviews and tests so they can decide the best course of action to help their client. Some of the other professionals they work closely with when necessary are psychologists, family and marriage workers, psychiatric nurses, school counselors, psychiatrists, and social workers. Many counselors choose to specialize in specific areas or with certain age groups like substance abuse or teenagers.

Co-occurring disorders can be difficult to treat due to the complexity of symptoms. Both the mental health and substance abuse disorders have biological, psychological, and social components assessed throughout the treatment process. Co-occurring disorder individuals battle to maintain their sobriety as they need to find services for both mental health and support groups catering to their unique needs.

Each person is unique with different gifts, abilities, and struggles. Counselors are committed to walk with individuals on their journeys to growth and healing without judgement.

Therefore, the counselor needs to be someone that has a personality and willing to listen to Ray and his stories. The therapist needs to approach Ray as a human and not a client. This will let Ray open up to him/her and will allow for Ray to get deeper and deeper into his reasons of his drug addiction.

Individuals with a mental illness often turn to drugs or alcohol to reduce their symptoms, as opposed to or in addition to seeking treatment for their illness. This problem is much worse than previously imagined, with experts estimating 65 percent of prison inmates suffering from a dual diagnosis. The prevalence in the general population is likely very high also, thus anyone with a mental illness or substance abuse problem may find they need specialized care.

The best treatment centers will typically offer dual diagnosis programs. Often, addicts have co-occurring mental or health disorders that make it difficult to recover from an addiction. During dual diagnosis

A statistical piece of information that was interesting is that how the number of mental disorders increases as the number of substance abuse disorders increases as well. Services, U.D. (2005) states the likelihood of mental disorders rises alongside with substance abuse dependencies. With the rise of both abuses at the same time, it complicates treatment for the mental disorder patients that have drug use however, multiple drugs is normal for those who are substance abusers (Services, U.D., 2005). The reason this information is found to be interesting is because with the two disorders rising at the same level, it appears that the challenges will be harder and more co-occurring disorder patients are going to need help with their issues. As a counselor, one must be dually competent to treat these clients or have staff available to treat the clients who have co-occurring disorders to ensure an effective outcome.

When an individual chooses to pursue a life in the role of a counselor, there are a few items that must be established before one can move forward. These items include the field of counseling to practice, the location to practice in, and a college that offers the desired degree. Once this process has been completed, the next step would be for the individual to adhere to the states' requirements and began the application process to become certified or a licensed counselor. The process to become a counselor is technical as it requires practice and scope, a formal credentialing process, and training to ensure it is effective for clients, counselors, and service providers which will be outlined in these paragraphs.

Substance use disorder (SUD) is a serious, worldwide problem. SUD has physical, psychological, social and economic consequences (Papastavrou, Farmakas, Karayiannis, & Kotrotsiou, 2011, p. 108). In addition to SUD, many patients are simultaneously diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder (Papastavrou et al., 2011). When SUD and a psychiatric disorder co-exist, it is referred to as a dual diagnosis or co-morbidity (Papastavrou et al., 2011). In the case of dual diagnoses, one disorder can worsen the other disorder, leading to an increase in relapse and decreasing the chance of successful rehabilitation (Papastavrou et al., 2011). A common dual diagnosis is that of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and SUD (Papastavrou et al., 2011). SUD is a term that refers to both abuse of and dependence on drugs

Counselors should have good knowledge on the topic /problem like compliance to medication.  Some people do not take medication for the same reasons, while others demand medication. Understanding the factors why people may not do certain activities at specific time will help you to assist them better. Try to understand the feelings the patient is having in the counseling process. In other words put yourself in his/her position. Give the patient the opportunity to make

According to Stevens & Smith (2013), if the counselor looks at substance abuse on a continuum, it will allow them to design an individual treatment plan. Counselors needs to obtain the client background information and other resources from the client to help them develop a treatment plan. Because the counselor wants to ensure they uses the level of care that will produce the best results. then they can start to determine if the client will need to detox or not. Clients using opioids will need to detox to have the substance removed from their body with the lease number of adverse

There are different treatment programs provided. No single treatment is appropriate for all individuals. Effective treatment attends to multiple needs of the individual. To be effective, treatment must address the individual's drug use and any associated medical, psychological, social, vocational, and legal

Mental health counselors work with individuals, families, and groups to address and treat mental and emotional disorders and to promote mental health. They are trained to address a wide range of issues, including depression, addiction and substance abuse, suicidal impulses, stress management, problems with self-esteem, issues associated with aging, job and career concerns, educational decisions, issues related to mental and emotional health, and family, parenting, and marital or other relationship problems. Mental health counselors often work closely with other mental health specialists, such as psychiatrists, psychologists, clinical social workers, psychiatric nurses, and school counselors. (US Department of Labor)