Substance Abuse And Drug Therapy

According to the Diagnostic Statistic Manual 5 (DSM-5) substance use disorder is when the individual has a dependency on alcohol or drug, followed by penetrating craving and antisocial behavior to acquire the substance. The terms substance abuse and substance dependence refer to substance use disorder, which has been separated into three classifications as follows

Not every addict should be treated the same. The regimen should address all of the aspects of an individual's life, including medical and mental health and follow up options. Behavioral Treatments help patients modify their attitudes and behaviors and increase healthy lifestyle skills and options. They can enhance the effectiveness of medication and help addicts stay committed to the treatment process. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is a behavioral treatment with the goal of helping the user recognize, avoid, and cope with anything and everything involving their drug use and recovery (Davison, 2007). Therapeutic communities can also be extremely effective, especially for those who are severely addicted. They are highly structured programs that often involve residency for up to 12 months. It is important to recognize that no single treatment is appropriate for all individuals addicted to drugs (National, 2005).

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.

This clinician wants to open his own dual diagnosis center with substance abuse disorders and mental health disorders. Many individuals with substance abuse issues also suffer from mental health issues. This counselor suffers from the disease of substance abuse and has made it his lifelong goal to help individuals with these types of issues.

Although the task force does effectively address the problem of substance abuse and addictive disorders, it does not effectively address co-occurring disorders. Early on in the text, a co-occurring disorder is defined as an individual who has a substance abuse disorder and a mental disorder at the same time. The task force mainly focuses on substance abuse. There are elements that are present in the treatment such as release prevention, engagement, and persuasion. The task force provides a number of interventions strategies address problems with substance use.

When a counselor has a new client they are working with, the client has to be assessed. When being assessed the counselor has to determine what issues the client may have. Through being assessed, the counselor may come to realize the client has more than one issue which is called co-occurring disorders. At this point the client will have to be treated for more than one disorder to effectively overcome the problems they are facing. Within this paper one will locate the prevalence of co-occurring disorders, mental health and substance abuse

Behavioral Healthcare professionals are likely to encounter individuals with substance use disorders (SUDs). These are highly prevalent and often co-occur with Mental Health Disorders. SUDs affect vital areas of life, such as physical, emotional, and behavioral functioning. Recovery from addiction is a long a road with highs and lows, however having a strong support system makes facing these challenges manageable. Addiction support groups gives the person a safe place to discuss these challenges while maintaining sobriety. They offer invaluable education, guidance, and the encouragement the patient needs to succeed in living a healthier lifestyle.

The right support can make recovery much easier. No one has to live with the pain of an addiction. If you or a loved one suffers from an addiction, you can lay the foundation for your recovery by going through detox. To find out how detox can help you out, call Serenity House Detox today at

According to Mitchell (2015), Treatment of co-occurring disorders should be integrated or closely coordinated with substance abuse treatment when the former is not available on site. Treatment Improvement Protocol No. 43 (2005) clinical barriers often stand in the way of care for co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders; that have previously been treatment as two separate organizations. substance abuse providers can be educated and trained to identify and make referrals for patients with co-occurring problems but this did not result in improved outcomes (Treatment Improvement Protocol No. 43, 2005).

The Substance Abuse and Mental Services Administration (SAMSHA) defines a need for priority of treatment services to those defined as “chronic public inebriates”. These individuals are in need of priority and legislative preferences due to the connections between public inebriates and homelessness, frequent emergency room use, criminal activities, mental illness and co-occurring disorders.

People’s ability to manage their health related behaviors may occur along a spectrum ranging from highly controlled at one end to profoundly disordered at the other. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration’s 2009 National Survey, Drug Use and Health Report, found that 22.2 million people in the United States met the criteria established for a substance use or dependence diagnosis. Out of those identified, only 2 million are estimated to seek treatment in a given year and less than half of that population will be able to maintain their sobriety after leaving a therapeutic environment. Based on these statistics “the overwhelming majority of

Substance abuse complicates almost every aspect of care for the person with a mental disorder. When drugs enter the brain, they can interrupt the work and actually change how the brain performs its jobs; these changes are what lead to compulsive drug use. Drug abuse plays a major role when concerning mental health. It is very difficult for these individuals to engage in treatment. Diagnosis for a treatment is difficult because it takes time to disengage the interacting effects of substance abuse and the mental illness. It may also be difficult for substance abusers to be accommodated at home and it may not be tolerated in the community of residents of rehabilitation programs. The author states, that they end up losing their support systems

There are several different ways to approach substance abuse therapy but the approach must be fitting to the client and the client’s needs. The main goal of substance abuse counseling is to prevent the client from using harmful substances in excessive and potentially dangerous ways. A major portion within the therapy itself is relapse prevention. Relapse prevention is aimed at counseling the individual in such a way to prevent future relapse. The relapse prevention technique also helps the client to discover any underlying issues that may have caused them to start using drugs and alcohol in the first place. Substance abuse counseling focuses on the whole counseling technique, not just the small area of substance abuse.

affected by drugs. Whether it be valium, heroin, cocaine, marijuana, etc… these people have had

Source: Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), National Drug Control Budget: FY2015 Funding Highlights, March 2014,