Relapse in Substance Abuse Treatment Essay

The significance of the proposed research is three-fold: (1) Treating METH relapse. METH abuse is the most serious drug problem in the majority of US counties1,2 with behavioral modification therapy being the only support available to METH users after rehabilitation. The development of addiction to drugs of abuse is regulated by a variety of factors, including pre-existing vulnerability. Important basic research in this area addresses questions such as mechanisms driving the shift from controlled to compulsive intake3. As a complement to this work, it is critical that we understand the factors that confer vulnerability to relapse after rehabilitation. These factors include depressive symptoms, stress and motivation, both conscious and unconscious,

“Traditional… treatment approaches often conceptualize relapse as an end-state, a negative outcome equivalent to treatment failure. Thus, this perspective considers only a dichotomous treatment outcome—that is, a person is either abstinent or relapsed.” (Larimer, 1999). For a substance dependent individual like Rosa, equating abstinence to failure is counter-productive and ineffective. Considering her history of pain management, we can expect that Rosa may feel emotional and physical discomfort without her opiate and alcohol combination. A setback in treatment would be negative, but doesn’t warrant “giving up” on established treatment goals. Relapse may be anticipated with the relapse prevention model, but it is considered to be a part of “the

If recovering from drugs and alcohol is a process, then a relapse is an event. However, how a relapse is interpreted can be debated. In abstinence-based programs such as Narcotics Anonymous (NA), the basic text notes that relapse does occur and may be the result of an individual not following the program. If an individual stops following the basic principles of the NA program, old thoughts and behaviors may return which can lead to them to engage in the use of drugs or alcohol. Furthermore, the NA text suggests that these behaviors are “reservations” (p. 79) and because addiction is a disease, relapse can occur. As such, any individual who begins using drugs or alcohol again has relapsed. The basic text of NA describes relapse as a “reality” (p. 78) and states “It can and does happen”. When it does, the individual

Counselor met with Pt. for his reschedules individual session and to discuss his current recovery issues and plan dealing with Relapse Prevention Strategies. Pt. reported that he is currently taking 40 mg of methadone and he is responding well. Counselor inquired if he has used any drugs since the last session, which he replied no. Pt. denied having any suicidal ideation and no mental health issues. Pt. reviewed his TX plans without objections. During this week, Pt. has been violating program rules and receiving several verbal intervention form AMS staff especially nurse. Pt. explained his struggles trying to provide a urine analysis because he is sick. Pt. indicated that he is dehydrated and he couldn’t urine when ask to do so. Pt. claimed

Relapse is highly prevalent following treatment for substance abuse, highlighting the need for more effective aftercare interventions. MBRP has the opportunity to improve treatment outcomes (Bowen, S., (2014). Roos et al., (2017) proposed an inverse relationship between treatment outcomes and the severity of Substance Use Disorder (SUD), with symptom severity effecting how much the individual benefited from MBRP treatment. Kelly, J. F., (2013) wrote that TAU, in this case 12-step participation before and after treatment, was able to build resistance to relapse among adults and adolescents. Research into treatment outcomes is essential when time and resources are limited. Information regarding treatment outcomes is clouded

D: Group topic was focused on Dim 5. Reviewing the relapse process, identifying relapse warning signs, discussing how to take steps in the right direction and avoid even small steps back toward alcohol and other drug use. Client was present and actively engaged in the group activity as evidenced by completing the worksheet, and shared personal plans to maintain sobriety. Client stated “

Just as relapse simple does not happen, neither does addiction. Addiction is quite readily accepted as a disease by the public and by professionals, and similar to the majority of diseases, its prevalence depends on a delicate dance of nature and nurture. Just as an individual that is predisposed to heart disease does not catch the disease by eating a single bag of potato chips, someone predisposed to alcoholism must develop a pattern of drinking before it reaches the severity of a “disorder.” The difficulty of avoiding and preventing relapse is wrapped up in all of these factors. While a person can unintentionally fall into alcoholism, it is much more difficult unintentionally fall out of it, and this is where John is struggling.

D: Pt. attended group on time and moderately participated in the group activity. Pt. was able to identify her personal relapse triggers and share positive coping skills that can be used to avoid and prevent future relapse. Stated “Once I know my weaknesses and vulnerabilities, I can make healthy lifestyle changes in order to avoid certain behaviors, people, and places that can trigger relapse”.

The main reason for substance and alcohol relapse is the craving even after successfully completing the treatment program. The brain-body relationship and the need to consume alcohol and substance causes craving to increase. Ok. What makes a person crave for something? Studies show that external motivation and individual needs determine the craving level. The environment the patient returning to, family members or friends who are still addicted, smell, painful memories are some of the factors increases the craving level. The craving is the bio-behavioral Phenomenon that is related to physiological and psychological processes which happen inside and outside of conscious

Substance Use Disorder’s (SUD) have become an escalating issue in the mental health field over the last few decades. The alarming incline to drug related and co-occurring maladaptive behaviors has created a dedicated science to better understand and define this problematic situation. Definition allows the therapeutic process to evolve around the symptomatic problem in order to deliver the hope of recovery. Social stigmas often view drug abuse and addiction as one in the same, but when viewed by the clinician, they take on an important role in defining treatment. Drug abuse is viewed as a reoccurring use of a substance outside of its intended purpose resulting in negative consequences. The use of drugs in any form, is often voluntary and has a high risk factor of developing dependency that leads to addiction. The American Society of Addiction Medicine has characterized addiction by the inability to consistently abstain, impaired behavior control, craving, diminished cognitive behavior in regards to relationships, and dysfunctional emotional response (ASAM, 2011). At this point, the progressive substance use cannot be changed without a course of treatment. The therapist’s subscription to a particular pharmacological theory, such as the disease model, behavioral/environmental model, or diathesis-stress model can determine the therapeutic approach.

The article” Relapse and Craving” Alan Leshner, says he estimates that the highest prospect of success is about twenty percent of recovered addicts and eighty percent of drug addicts will relapse back into drug use. It’s interesting but scary to know that the craving of the drug can linger for months or years after one stops using the drugs. The reason why drug addicts cannot stop their craving is because the mind is unable to function normally. When a person is addicted to a drug then the brain will become activated all over the brain versus when a normal human brain is only active in some areas. Steven Hyman, M.D recommends addicted people who had reclaimed from their addiction to avoid surroundings that brings back pleasures and memories

These situations trigger great quantities of stress, a common prompt for substance abuse and relapse.

In the article” Understanding Recovery Barriers: Youth Perceptions about Substance Use Relapse” researchers explore how treatment-involved youth relapse from substance use. The study consisted of 118 youth which had been enrolled in a substance abuse treatment programs. This is a qualitative assessment of the relapse process among treatment-involved youth. The overall study was developed to analyzed for relapse perception themes. Results show that there was some correlation between emotional reasons, life stressors, socialization processes and environmental issues which cause dominant relapses. Researchers believe that the youth perceptions that was gathered from this study should be used to inform clinical approaches and create intervention

Understanding relapse is important because the phenomenon suggested that even when there is suppression on responding, operant behavior may be susceptible to relapse as changing contexts (Bouton, Todd, Vurbic, & Winterbauer, 2011).

Drug relapse is the process of being unable to handle life in sobrietry. Drug relapse is caused by many different things. Some of the things which contribute to a persons relapse are: 1.) A person can easily be prone to relapse, 2.) The person might not have been instructed on methods of identifying the abstinence based symptoms of PAW, 3.) A person might not know how to keep themselves busy so they are not thinking about using drugs, 4.) Treatments might not have given the person the skills they need to stop their addiction progression needed for them to stop using drugs.