Role of Social Worker and Substance Abuse

Traditionally, Social Workers are seen as human rights workers who advocate for the people to ensure equal access to all services by ensuring services are in place to meet human rights such as the right to

According to the National Association of Social Work, “The primary mission of the social work profession is to enhance human well-being and help meet the basic human needs of all people, with particular attention to the needs and empowerment of people who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty. A historic and defining feature of social work is the profession’s focus on individual well-being in a social context and the well-being of society. Fundamental to social work is attention to the environmental forces that create, contribute to, and address problems in living.”

One issue that has made me passionate about social work is substance abuse, an issue that has made a deep impact for communities everywhere. Not only does it affect the mental and physical health of the individual, but it also burdens the friends, family, and community as a whole. This concern is a personal interest because of my mother and grandfather’s past struggle with alcoholism, as well as because of a childhood friend who was killed by a drunk underage driver on her second offense. While my mother won her fight against her addiction during the time that she was in therapy for depression, I know the tragic effects of addiction firsthand from my grandfather’s death from the consequences of alcoholism and my friend’s death at the wheels of a drunk driver. I wish to address and understand this social issue in detail during and after graduate school.

Each professional helper is placed with a chosen population with an overall objective to create positive changes. Through social justice, I serve as an advocate for clients experiencing financial hardships or empower a client mistreatment in an uncaring society. Social workers can serve in a community, individually, and globally that broadens the span of the social justice. In the social justice, we are objective and encourage the restructuring a system that is in desperate need of a renovation. In my opinion, social justice can be most effective through team collaboration and dedication of all parties involved in the system.

As we ranch and analyzed various counseling article that are many areas to consider in the practice of substance abuse counseling. The most important is always ethical and legal considerations. During treatment or research study of substance abuse, laws and professional ethics codes must be discussed. As we examine the ethical principles we must implement "best practices" such as autonomy including client self-determination. I also believe that it is important to make clients aware that their participation in a research study or treatment is strictly voluntary unless they have been mandated by the court.

An understanding of addiction must remain broad: addiction as a possible consequence of the human desire to alter consciousness; a chief public health concern for its dramatic negative impact on society through the destructive behaviors of the addiction; a chronic, relapsing, biopsychosocial disorder that cannot be understood apart from social context—not simply as a brain disease (Hammer et al., 2013). It is much more than a brain disease and everyone deserves to be treated for their individual issues and/or traumas. The challenge of providing quality care for the addicted is layered not only with careful consideration and social context of the addicts—their ability to cope, their understanding of the nature of

Since mental illness carries a stigma in today’s society, a person may feel that they are a failure and that the only way they can feel normal is to use a drug that is not prescribed by a medical doctor. A person who feels that life holds no meaning, or experiences manic depression, or manic episodes because of a mental illness such as bipolar, may find a chemical drug that allows for the person to experience a purposeful life. However, to be able to completely understand why a person chooses to use a chemical compound to feel better, we must understand is it the substance abuse that causes the mental illness, or is it the mental illness the cause.

Many young adults who go into a substance abuse treatment program, will discover that they have some type of an underlying mental health issue. There are several reasons for someone to have a type of mental health issue before they start using or while they are using. Sometimes they already have been diagnosed thus the reason they use substances to replace the prescribed medications, because they don’t like the way prescription medications make them feel. Other times some of these issues develop during the time that the individual has been using substances, in response to an environmental issue, and the person does not know. Sometimes the issue is a lack of growth and development, which occurs due to substances interfering with the young person’s ability to acquire the life skills, the same as persons who do not use substances have learned. In that case, the individual will not know whatever issue exists, or how it will affect them when they stop using.

4). The Social Work profession wants to provide the clients with the correct resources. A Social Worker is an advocate for the individuals who need the basic resources to survive. The duty of a Social Worker is to provide assistance to the client, by advocating for the client. Activism ensures the needs and services of the individual are being met and that they have the resources to survive. Values, skills and knowledge will play a vital factor when advocating for the

Hiring competent substance abuse counselors will be beneficial for designing a successful treatment program. The substance abuse counselors will be unbiased, knowledgeable, and accepting when working with clients suffering from addictions. Substance abuse counselors should follow the four ethical principles which include: nonmaleficence, beneficence, autonomy, and justice. Nonmaleficence focuses on substance abuse counselors not causing harm to their clients. Beneficence involves display best interest for the client’s well-being. Autonomy is understanding that the client’s know their own worth, and as a substance abuse counselor respect should be given. Justice involves that the substance abuse counselors promote fairness and equality to all clients by providing appropriate services. When looking at the practical guidelines of a treatment program a substance abuse counselor needs to follow appropriate legal and documentation protocols. The legal and documentation protocols include: informed consent, confidentiality agreements, duty to warn, duty to protect, effective records,

Social workers observe first-hand the struggle the clients who lack the resources for maintaining the basic needs for themselves and their families face. As a future social worker, one would need to advocate for clients to receive access to social work services. Social workers will need to get the resources, work with other agencies whose responsibilities are to serve the needs of the population are ways to advocate for the rights of individuals. There are many of ways to advance, for communities and society as a whole social worker would need to advocate in another way. Through group advocacy and community organizing. As one people would come together and make up a plan of activities that address the social problems, improve services and enhance

The fundamental mission of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) is to promote human well-being as well as to help meet the needs of all people, while paying special attention to the needs and empowerment of people living in poverty, oppressed and vulnerability. The social work profession focuses on human and societal well-being in a social context. The key areas of the profession are to outline the environmental forces responsible for creating and contributing to social problems. Social workers are tasked with promoting social change and social justice on behalf or with the clients. Clients in a social context include an organization, a community, a family, a group or an individual (Parker-Oliver and Demiris,

The practice of social work requires knowledge of human development and behavior, of social, economic and cultural institutions, and of the interaction of all these factors. Social workers help people of all backgrounds address their own needs through psychosocial services and advocacy. Social workers help people overcome some of life’s most difficult challenges: poverty, discrimination, abuse, addiction, physical illness, divorce, loss, unemployment, educational problems, disability, and mental illness. They help prevent crises and counsel individuals, families, and communities to cope more effectively with the stresses of everyday

Social workers take on a range of roles and their purpose is to support disadvantages individuals and improving their health and well-being for example organising the best quality care for children whose parents cannot care for them and for adults who finds it hard to cope in their own homes. Social workers safeguard the public from harm and they assist individuals to access training, benefits, work

Determining treatment effectiveness begins with an understanding the biological, psychological and environmental factors that influence the outcome of treatment. These factors include the knowledge of the nature and progression of drug addiction and knowledge of social and medical services needed and available to the individual to aid recovery. Many drug users suffers from social, health and legal consequences and for that reason interventions should be integrated, coordinated and involve the justice system, the medical care, and the social and educational systems. Only treating ‘total person’, matching clients’ needs to the treatments and available services might increase the likelihood of treatment success. Understanding clients’ history of drug use and previous drug treatment, degree of social maladjustment (e.g., lack of education), lack of interpersonal skills, economic status (e.g., unemployment) and criminal