Substance Abuse Case Study

Edward is an approximately 30 yo Caucasian male who lives in California. Edward presented in the interview as relaxed and confident, sitting with his arm stretched over the couch. Edward stated his main goal today was in the spirit of helping others by telling his prescription substance use disorder story.

Ronny is a 46-year-old white male who present to CRU from RRC-W on ACOT for PAD. He was amended by his OP clinic, Life Behavioral Wellness, for not complying with the terms of the order and treatment plan. Per collateral, Ronny has a hx of violent behavior including pulling knives on people and stabbing. According to his OP psychiatrist, Diana Havill, MD, Ronny pulled a knife on a pregnant woman. He also have a history of self-harm including attempted hanging. Patient is cooperative during admission, and answered all questions. He has a PMH of HTN, Asthma, TB, seizures, and Brain surgery (infant). His vital signs were WNLs. Patient will benefit from medication

In a quiet community like Thornton, Colorado (CO), people are often reluctant to discuss important issues that affect the area's residents. No one likes to talk about drug abuse an addiction, but the fact remains Thornton is not immune from such problems, especially considering its close proximity (12 miles North) to a large city like Denver.

On 08/12/15, Mr. Harrison’s mother reported that Mr. Harrison was not living at his reported address (104 Hudson St, Clayton DE 19938). Mr. Harrison mother stated that Mr. Harrison is living in Wilmington, DE with a friend. She could not confirm the address. Mr. Harrison has failed to report his new address with 72 hours.

“Catherine” is a 31 year old, divorced female who is currently employed as a receptionist at a local human service organization. Last week, she began a treatment program for alcohol and cocaine dependency. Catherine lives with her 5 year-old daughter, “Joy,” in a home near her place of work. Despite little earnings from her job, she has managed to take care of herself and her daughter without monetary support from Joy’s father. Catherine was married to Joy’s father when she was 25 years old, but they divorced after he started abusing her physically. Joy’s father was an alcoholic, a condition that contributed towards the demise of their marriage. Catherine has not had contact with her former husband since they ended the marriage. Catherine’s mother, a widow, has been of great support. Catherine’s cousins, “Jane” and “Cynthia,” have also been of great help. Catherine stated that Jane and Cynthia, are the only family she feels she can depend on. Catherine is the eldest of four children.

The client was sexually abused at the age of 7 by her stepfather. Her stepfather was verbally abusive towards her mother. Once her mother found out about the abuse, she left and divorce him. At the age of 17, she got pregnant but had an abortion. This started the downward spiral in her life. Ms. Jones and her mother relationship is not great. The client believes her mom blame her for the sexually abuse and that she broke up the family. They still have a relationship but not as close. The client situation worsen when she started using drugs at the age of 19. It started out using marijuana but escalate to heroin. Due to her excessive use of drugs, she is in the risk of losing her children. The client expressed interest to change for

There are many ways to go about treatment of Substance Use Disorders. One can start with medication, behavioral therapies, and help groups. Treatment can come in many shapes and forms. It all depends on how severe and willing the patient is to go along with the treatment. Patient X in this case is very willing to change because he states, “I want to feel like a human again. I want to stop being numb to everything in my life. I feel like I’m watching my life in a video in front of my eyes.”

Boys face the stereotype of always having to be tough and confident (pg.286). So, Terrel, being an athlete, might start to consume alcohol to show his strength and to appear cool and adult-like to his peers, especially to other boys. He might also take on smoking and consuming alcohol since he has lived with his mother who has these unhealthy habits. Even, when she was pregnant with him, she was smoking and drinking and has not been successful in eliminating these habits. Prenatal exposure to smoking and alcohol raises the likelihood of a child to consume these substances early in life (FindYouthInfo 2013). Terrell grew up to be a quite healthy child despite having had a very high risk of developing FAS or FAE. But his mother continuance with these unheathy habits puts him at great risk of developing substance abuse.

In this scenario, client Edward is an African American college student who is currently studying in local public university. His major is Engineering with a minor in criminal justice, and it is dangerous for him right now because he started to stop going to school which might influence his current scholarships. Edward had health insurance and his reports showed that he was in good health two years ago, but he never did physical after that.

Mr. Smith is a 34 year old male who presented to the ED with feelings of dehydration, weakness, nausea, and suicidal ideation with a plan to stab himself with a knife. He denies prior attempts of harming himself. He reports currently not on any medications. Dr. Osborne requested a mental health assessment. Prior to mental health assessment this clinician spoke to Diann, the clinician who assessed Mr. Smith on 6/2/17. She reports he reported to her this morning, he was recently released from Rowan 2 days ago and since then has been homeless. He presented guarded and making conflicting statements about mental health history and substance abuse history. At the time of the assessment Mr. Smith appears guarded with a flat affect. He reports 2 days

A collateral interview was conducted with Ms. Debra Scheulen (Mr. Schnell’s domestic partner). Ms. Scheulen is a 49 years-old individual. She reported that she was raised in New Jersey.

Ms. Roxie Riggs is a Caucasian female 65 years of age who came in today with a history of opiate dependence for the consideration of medically assisted opiate treatment. The patient is at the present time receiving treatment with buprenorphine; however, her provider moved away. She was started on methadone in 2001 (age 51), and was taken off it in 2005 (age 55). The patient has never been treated with naltrexone. Ms. Riggs first started buprenorphine on January 1, 1994, and is presently using the drug.

Understanding of likely impacts of treatment effectives of a co-occurring substance use disorder, the clinicians should understand the effects the substance user will undergo during the treatment thus preventing any unnecessary or unplanned outcome from the substance user.

I enjoyed your post about environmental factors on substance disorders. Your statement that the “spirit, soul and body” need restored is so true. Jesus states in Matthew 11:28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (New International Version). Those suffering from substance disorders can feel trapped and tired, needing the rest that only God can offer. Cognitive distortion is an environmental factor that can effect substance disorders. Cognitive distortion is the “erroneous beliefs that one has about oneself and the surrounding world that can lead to maladjustment” (Kearney & Trull, 2015, p. 270). This belief can make one feel invincible, but the truth is that once a substance problem starts help is

Joanne’s divorce with Jorge Arantes isn’t the adversity, but it is the unofficial justification behind the divorce. Apparently, Jorge’s domestically abusive behaviours caused Joanne and himself to go their separate ways. Joanne simply surmounted this adversity by getting divorced with Jorge to escape his abusive behaviours. This is a successful strategy to solve her adversity, as she no longer experiences the abuse. However, on a sympathetic perspective, this isn’t an entirely successful approach in terms of dealing with Jorge’s abusiveness, as Joanne should have attempted to bring Jorge to a psychological institution or a counsellor. Contrastingly, there’s insufficient reputable sources to authenticate if Joanne didn’t/did attempt this action